Find your "Personal Jesus" in next week's Rock Band DLC, featuring three tracks from iconic electronic music band Depeche Mode. If you're not in the mood to declare your "Policy of Truth," there will also be a single number from Death Cab For Cutie available.
Check out the full DLC details after the break.
[Pictured: Screencap of "Personal Jesus" music video; source: YouTube / WMG]
Though the cornucopia of Pro Guitar tutorials available on last year's Rock Band 3 possessed multitudes of promise, the absence of a solidly-built, authentic guitar controller squandered away my hopes of learning to more proficiently rock in the real world by taking lessons in a fake one. I've sustained myself over the past four months on the possibility that the MIDI-enabled Squier Stratocaster controller would capitalize on these possibilities. After spending a few hours with the axe, I'm happy to report that I wasn't disappointed.
Check out the video after the jump for the full scoop on the Rock Band 3 Squier, presented in a bold, groundbreaking audio-visual format. (How else could you be impressed by all my mad shredding skills, and my capacity for producing sweet, crunchy riffs?)
"There's no denying that Rock Band 3 hasn't yet sold to the level we hoped it would out of the gate," Harmonix CEO Alex Rigopulos admitted to Edge. "But on the flipside of that we also believe that it's a product that has a lot of life."
It may be difficult to share Rigopulos' optimism. Since the beginning of the year, Viacom sold Harmonix (back to Harmonix), MTV Games was shut down and Activision hit the pause button on its long-running Guitar Hero franchise. Still, Rigopulos offers a "glass half-full" interpretation of Activision's retraction from the genre, seeing a newfound opportunity to expand the developer's audience. "We think there are also a lot of devoted Guitar Hero fans who have probably never given Rock Band a try," Rigopulos told Destructoid. Harmonix wants to convert them and "let them know that Rock Band 3 is worth giving a try."
Rock Band 3 will continue receiving updates through the year, as Harmonix tries to "cultivate" the platform -- though Rigopulos added that "fundamental reimaginings of the Rock Band franchise" are being planned. "The marketplace is clearly demanding something very new," Rigopulos noted. "It's clearly demanding a dramatic evolution of the Rock Band franchise, I think, and I think that's actually exciting for us."
While rebooting the band genre will be an uphill battle for the company, there's still one bright star in the studio's portfolio: Dance Central. Finishing the sequel is an obvious next step, but it seems Harmonix has more motion-gaming ideas. "It's safe to say you'll see a lot more in that domain from Harmonix beyond Dance Central," Rigopulos teased. "We'd be absolutely open-minded about that."
With their future projects still shrouded in secrecy, it seems Rigopulos is confident that his team will easily bypass this dark era for music gaming. Contrary to industry perception, the company might have too much on its plate. "We have a lot of very cool new ideas in the works right now, looking out beyond both Rock Band and Dance Central."
Can the same game really teach you both industrial noise and chooglin'? That's exactly what Rock Band 3 will be capable of doing next week, with four tracks from the remastered version of Nine Inch Nails' Pretty Hate Machine (one of which, "Head Like a Hole," includes Pro Guitar support) and Pro Guitar upgrades for legacy DLC including two Creedence tracks.
Find the full list of tracks available for your versatility training after the break.
In addition to the Mad Catz Mustang guitar controller and the upcoming Fender Squier Stratocaster, there is now a third option for realistic shredding in Rock Band 3, thanks to a firmware update for You Rock Digital's You Rock guitar. The You Rock guitar is similar to the Mustang in that it has real strings for strumming, though they don't stretch along the full length of the guitar. Unlike the Mustang's many, many buttons, the You Rock features a touch-sensitive fret board. The You Rock also functions as a MIDI instrument and includes many built in sounds and effects.
Those wishing to use the You Rock for Rock Band 3 will need to download firmware 1.2 from the You Rock website. Like the Fender Squier, the You Rock requires the Mad Catz MIDI adapter for use with Rock Band 3. The guitar is compatible with all versions of the game and, in addition to pro mode, it can be used to play standard modes as well. That's what we call a two'fer.
Amazon is offering a spate of gaming deals in its Gold Box today, revealing a new time-limited offer every couple of hours. Strangely, the discounts are about half Wii music-game themed -- things like the Wii versions of Michael Jackson: The Experience (the Deal of the Day at $30), Rock Band 3, and Dance Dance Revolution.
However, the non-Wii part includes savings on the DS version of Plants vs. Zombies,Dragon Quest VI, Civilization V and others, so the lack of a fully committed theme is forgivable. Find the list after the break.
A Pat Benatar six-pack is next week's Rock Band DLC offering. Oh, Pat Benatar. Her music and iconic videos during the early days of MTV traveled on parallel lines of logic. There's "Love is a Battlefield," forever remembered for its shoulder shimmy and then there's the toilet-papered land of "We Belong." Also, in retrospect, the drummer in that latter video totally looks like Buffalo Bill from Silence of the Lambs.
Put the Benatar in the shopping basket next week! Full track-pack details can be found after the break.
[Pictured: Screencap of "Love is a Battlefield" music video; source: YouTube / GiraldiMedia]
Today, we discovered that Harmonix is not only one of the most talented developers out there, but also one of the most romantic. The team understands love on a deeper level than we could ever hope to tap into, evidenced by the V-Day DLC pack video past the jump.
You might think that the developer of the Rock Band franchise would currently find themselves doing a victory dance over the grave of the recently buried Guitar Hero franchise -- however, Harmonix's John Drake recently posted the studio's very tasteful response to the news over on the Rock Band forums. "We were sad to hear yesterday that Activision was discontinuing development on Guitar Hero," Drake said. "Our thoughts are with those who are losing their jobs, and we wish them the best of luck."
The statement acknowledges that sales in the music genre have slowed, but pledges, "In short, the beat of Rock Band marches on." Drake later adds, "It's been a wild battle of the bands since 2007, but we respect and appreciate all of the hard work and innovation of our peers who have shared the music gaming space with us, and we look forward to rocking in the future." Yeah! Maybe one day, after the wounds of battle have healed, you guys could get together, and form up some kind of supergroup-jam-band! You could call it Guitar Band, or Rock Hero, or, perhaps, Damn Yankees.
Hey there, lonelyheart. Need some musical accompaniment for a Valentine's Day spent in romantic anguish? This week's Rock Band 3 update has your back -- not only is it eschewing the game's usual DLC schedule, dropping the tracks this Friday so that they'll be available on Valentine's Day, but each of the songs is an absolute heartbreaker. Though, ironically, most of them feature duets, which is kind of a slap in the face to lonely-folk like yourself. Check out the tracks from Meatloaf, Bonnie Tyler, Stevie Nicks and more after the jump!
Bob Marley Pack 01
- “Bend Down Low”
- “Burnin’ and Lootin”
- “Coming in from the Cold”
- “Kaya”
- “Lively Up Yourself”
- “No More Trouble”
- “Small Axe”
- “Them Belly Full (But We Hungry)”
- $13.49/1080 MS Points/1350 Wii Points
- individual songs for $1.99/160 MS Points/200 Wii Points
- “Them Belly Full” can be upgrade for Pro Guitar and Pro Bass [...]
If you've got a contact high from playing "Get Up, Stand Up" and the entire Legend album a hundred times, Harmonix wants to keep the party going by delivering more Bob Marley tracks in an eight-pack next week. The latest DLC from the reggae icon includes "Burnin' and Lootin'," "Kaya," and "Them Belly Full (But We Hungry)." Get a case of the munches by checking out the full update details after the break.
Cambridge, Mass. - Harmonix today announced that a pack of classic songs from legend Bob Marley will be available beginning Feb. 8 in the Rock Band 3 Music Store of downloadable content for the Xbox 3 ...
Harmonix has been hard at work on a major title update for Rock Band 3 -- today, we finally get a look at the fruits of the studio's labor. The update -- which is live now on Xbox 360, and is expected to drop on PS3 within the next 24 hours -- addresses a diverse load of problems; for instance, pausing the game too many times while playing a song disables scoring, which prevents players from using the pause-rewind feature to artificially boost their scores. Also, that Stage Kit you dropped a Benjamin on a few years back? The game now supports it in a limited capacity.
Our personal favorite patch is one that fixes a crash that cropped up whenever the player chose a "particular eyebrow asset," which, henceforth shall be known as the "eyebrow of death." Sadly, that power has been extinguished by the update, and now rests solely in the forehead of Mr. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Check out the full list of updates after the jump!
Sure, there are some Clash songs available for Rock Band 3, but how about the entirety of the band's most famous (and arguably best) album, London Calling? Coming February 1, you can get just that.
Out of the legendary album's 18 tracks, five have "Pro" guitar and bass functionality available for an extra $1 each, while all of them have thoroughly enjoyable music and lyrics. As per usual, individual tracks are available for 160 MS Points/200 Wii Points/$1.99, and the entire album can be purchased (at a hefty discount) for 1600 MS Points/2000 Wii Points/$19.99.
Sure, there are some Clash songs available for Rock Band 3, but how about the entirety of the band's most famous (and arguably best) album, London Calling? Coming February 1, you can get just that.
Out of the legendary album's 18 tracks, five have "Pro" guitar and bass functionality available for an extra $1 each, while all of them have thoroughly enjoyable music and lyrics. As per usual, individual tracks are available for 160 MS Points/200 Wii Points/$1.99, and the entire album can be purchased (at a hefty discount) for 1600 MS Points/2000 Wii Points/$19.99.
All you need to know about next week's Rock Band DLC featuring David Bowie is: Ziggy played guitaaaaaaaaaaar! Also, he believed in "fame" and "modern love" with "young Americans" named "Blue Jean." Check out the full details after the break.
Hope you like metal, because next week's Rock Band DLC is full of it -- if you'd consider a three-track release form the band Stone Sour "full." Check out the details for one of the smallest updates we've seen in a long time after the break.
The first track pack from nu-metal group Linkin Park, featuring six songs from across the band's discography, will come to Rock Band 3 on January 11 for $10. All the pertinent details for next week's DLC release can be found just below the break. You'll note the selections differ from the newer ones available in Guitar Hero, so if you want to play as many Linkin Park songs as possible, you'll need to indulge both video game rhythm rivals.
#rumor
A copy of the disc-only version of Rock Band 3 currently sells for $49.99 at GameStop. According to The Wall Street Journal's sources, that's exactly how investment group Columbus Nova paid to take Harmonix off Viacom's hands. More »
