Tue Jul 15, 2008 3:35 am
Los Angeles, Calif. – July 14, 2008 – Harmonix, the world’s premier music video game development company, and MTV Games, a division of Viacom’s MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), along with marketing and distribution partner Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS), today revealed at the 2008 E3 Media & Business Summit new features for the next evolution of the groundbreaking music platform, Rock Band™ 2. With the original Rock Band title providing millions of players with a new way to interact with the music and artists they love, Rock Band 2 builds upon its core band foundation to offer an unparalleled, deeper, dynamic gameplay experience.
Rock Band 2 raises the bar in music gaming innovation with new features to rock the world:
Local and global online modes to connect the entire Rock Band community
World Tour mode, now online, simplifies the best of gameplay from the original Rock Band by fusing Solo Tour and Band World Tour modes and cranks it up a notch with an all new collection of opportunity gigs, challenges, cities, venues and hirable staff
Tour Challenges that offer rockers a chance to play through mini-campaigns focused on the best songs by instrument, decade, genre, artist, album and more
Battle of the Bands mode challenges players to go head to head against other bands in constantly refreshed contests* created by Harmonix (*internet connection required)
§ Quickplay makes it easier than ever to get in and jam without hassle while allowing for new prefab characters or customized characters that can play on any instrument plus lets you make your own set lists and organize your song lists in a variety of categories (genre, era, etc.)
Customizable Set Lists keep the music rolling and your band rocking in Quickplay mode
Drum Trainer mode gives players the fundamentals of different beats and fills, translating gameplay into real drumming skills
§ Character Creator completes your look with all new choices in clothing, accessories, tattoos, hairstyles, instruments and more to keep your unique rock avatar playing the full rock part
Backwards compatibility with all Rock Band downloadable music content released to date
Disc Export Feature gives owners of the original Rock Band the ability to export most of the Rock Band disc tracks and upgrade them into Rock Band 2 gameplay--the first time ever in videogame history![2]
Rock Band 2 features the largest music catalogue of any music-based videogame to date including:
The Rock Band 2 soundtrack will feature over 100 songs - with over 80 songs on disc plus an additional 20 bonus tracks which will be made available for free download this fall .
Unrivaled Blend of Classic, Developing and Emerging rock acts including Pearl Jam, Metallica, Allman Brothers, Motorhead, Devo, Jane's Addiction, Megadeth, Paramore, Modest Mouse and more.
Rock Band 2 is the first and only video game to feature the music of AC/DC. It includes their epic rock anthem, "Let There Be Rock”
After 14 years since Guns N’ Roses last official music release, Axl Rose selects Rock Band 2 to debut official new track, “Shackler’s Revenge” from the highly-anticipated album Chinese Democracy
For the first time ever, music from American music icon, Bob Dylan, is featured in a video game with “Tangled Up In Blue”
With ongoing weekly DLC releases including individual tracks, track packs and full albums, the Rock Band music library will feature more than 500 songs by year’s end!
From the solid officially licensed Rock Band 2 instruments to the expanded third party options, Rock Band 2 introduces new and improved choices that promise to deliver unsurpassed realism. In addition, Harmonix and MTV Games have become the first companies to officially support third party instruments and accessories in a music videogame.
Achieve ultimate stardom with the upgraded functionality and smooth new look of the official Rock Band 2 instruments.
§ Fender Stratocaster Controller takes on a new authentic look plus adds a reinforced strum bar, quieter buttons, wireless functionality and a built in calibration tool that automatically sets your AV setup to an ideal setting for maximum rock.
§ Drum set goes wireless while also featuring quieter, velocity sensitive drum pads and a metal reinforced pedal.
§ Microphone showcases authentic styling and weight.
Kick up the intensity with officially licensed third party instruments from Mad Catz:
§ Fender Telecaster Controller features soft buttons with lower action to help you shred faster than ever.
§ Fender Bass Controller, the first bass guitar controller ever, takes the shape of the Fender P-Bass with extended length, tuning pegs and a split strum bar to replicate finger-bass style picking.
§ Full-sized Squire Stratocaster Guitar Controller multiplies the authentic guitar experience by featuring a controller built into an actual Squire Stratocaster body.
§ Cymbal Expansion Pack is a straightforward but amazing upgrade to the Rock Band 2 drum set featuring add-on cymbals.
Take Rock Band 2 instrument authenticity to a whole new level with a high-end peripheral from ION:
§ ION Drum Rocker, a real electronic drum kit that functions as a game controller, brings the Rock Band fantasy to life featuring a simple substitution that takes the drum kit from a controller to a real instrument.
Rock Band 2 will make its debut on Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft this September and have an exclusive launch window in North America. Rock Band 2 will be available for additional platforms later this year. Rock Band 2 will be available for the PLAYSTATION® 3 and PlayStation® 2 computer entertainment systems and Wii™ later this year.
As previously revealed today, Rock Band will ship with an exclusive launch window on the Xbox™ 360™ videogame and entertainment system from Microsoft in Italy, Sweden, Spain, Switzerland and Benelux July 24th, and on other platforms this Fall.
The Rock Band online music store recently surpassed 16 million paid downloads since the game’s launch in late November 2007. With more than 200 tracks available to date via disc and download purchase (complete list of tracks at http://www.rockband.com/dlc), the massive Rock Band Music Store allows players to preview and purchase downloadable individual music tracks, packs and albums from the vast selection of offerings available as they build their own custom Rock Band library.
Tue Jul 15, 2008 1:12 pm
Tue Jul 15, 2008 1:24 pm
Wed Jul 16, 2008 12:57 am
Sat Jul 19, 2008 12:18 am
Sat Jul 19, 2008 3:30 pm
Mon Jul 21, 2008 8:27 pm
* Your Rock Band instruments will be compatible with World Tour, at least on the Xbox 360 -- even the drums.
* Previous guitars will be compatible with the game (although you obviously won't be able to use some of the functionality that comes with the new guitar).
* The drum kit is being designed to be a seriously robust piece of hardware. Not only is the skin composed of a thick layer of silicon, giving the drums authentic-feeling bounce back and making them quieter, but the harder you hit them, the louder the sound.
* The drums have inputs galore: two standard input ports on the back (so you can plug in two kick drums if you want), plus a MIDI input, so you can run your Groovebox or similar piece of kit through the game's music studio software. Future-proof? Check.
* The Microphone is wired to reduce latency, and has extremely accurate pitch detection. Again, it's designed to be a solid, quality piece of kit.
* Travis Barker, the drummer from +44 (and former Blink 182 drummer) was an advisor in the design and feel of the drum kit. He will be a playable character in the game, as will Hayley Williams, the singer from Paramour.
* The team has partnered with Line 6 for the hardware guitar effects. This basically means you have access to a huge range of different guitar sounds from the last 40 years.
* The game has a 'machines' option for those after a more electronic sound. For instance if you want to create a drum beat for a track, while you could play and record it on the drum kit, but you could also use the Drum Machine in the game to play and cut between a huge range of loops on guitar (with tilt changing velocity and crashes on the whammy). There are machines for drums, rhythm, lead and keys.
* There are 80 different synth sounds for creating keyboard melodies, from acid house-inspired sounds through to deep bass. Tilting the guitar while laying down a keyboard melody changes octaves, with three available at any one time.
* You can choose from 20 drum kits that range from 8-bit sounds and Indian-inspired drums through to reggae and heavy rock.
* You can record what you're doing at any time (even if you're jamming with four people), then hop into the editor - GH Mix - to clean it up.
* GH Mix is like a simplified version of Pro Tools and Cubase in one… that's navigated via guitar. Wild. Not only can you edit and clean up jam sessions, but you can manually create drum beats as well. You can even set markers on the timeline for your light show during the track.
* GH Tunes is where you download other people's tracks. Once you've played a track you can then rate it – the best will rise to the top, while the worst will sink to the bottom.
* The game is hugely customisable – there's an in-depth character creator and instrument creator, plus a skinning system so you can further customise every single instrument. Too lazy? Try out the instrument randomiser.
* You can create an album cover (with up to 40 layers) to go with (and be uploaded with) a created track.
* The game will feature all the characters from the previous game, plus other characters from Guitar Hero past. The character creator uses sculpting technology and a heap of adjustable elements to help you create the rocker you want.
Mon Jul 21, 2008 8:37 pm
Tue Jul 22, 2008 5:49 pm
JaoSming wrote:http://www.trustedreviews.com/gaming/news/2008/07/14/Rock-Band-2-Premium-Drum-Kit-Spotted/p1
I'd take that over the GH:WT set.
Tue Aug 26, 2008 9:14 pm
Wed Aug 27, 2008 12:04 am
Tue Oct 07, 2008 6:21 am
Tue Oct 07, 2008 9:12 am
Tue Oct 07, 2008 9:39 am
Tue Oct 07, 2008 11:14 am
Tue Oct 07, 2008 3:13 pm
]JaoSming wrote:Hm, I consider you my friend and I have played it every single day since it came out
Tue Oct 07, 2008 9:12 pm
Sun Oct 12, 2008 5:15 pm
Pdub wrote:Rockband - What you really sound like.
http://www.gamesradar.com/video/v-20071213171210434073
Sun Oct 12, 2008 11:38 pm
Tue Oct 28, 2008 3:48 am
Fri Oct 31, 2008 8:10 pm
Fri Oct 31, 2008 9:01 pm
Sun Nov 02, 2008 12:47 am
JaoSming wrote:my neighbor/friend downstairs from me got it on Sunday and its just a majorfor me. Didnt care for the drums, especially after my new set, don't care for the songs that aren't in RB already except for Beat it and I just am not a fan of their drum or guitar charts anymore. Just not fun for me. Ill take my library of 250+ RB songs plus the ACDC disc and 20 free DLC that is coming out for RB this week.
Sun Nov 02, 2008 1:10 am