Earlier this year, Joystiq EIC Chris Grant and I were invited out to Sir Studios in Hollywood to see a secret unveiling of Rock Band 3, weeks before the embargo dropped for the public. To be honest, we weren't sure what Harmonix still had to offer beyond a new peripheral and a bigger setlist -- Activision had just revealed the silly Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock, and it looked like the music game genre really was as done as all of the analysts routinely claim it is.

But the press conference that day (that kicked off with Huey Lewis' "Power of Love") was pretty astounding. On the ride back from the event, Chris and I couldn't stop talking about what Harmonix had done -- rethought everything that a Rock Band game was, seriously considered and reviewed every single problem with the genre, and really pushed forward the interplay of music and gaming. And when the game finally came out in October, it fulfilled all of the promises Harmonix made during that reveal. Rock Band 3 really is the pinnacle of what these rhythm games have become.