Rock Band 2 is looking to top any competition in the plastic instruments genre and they are hoping that Guns N’ Roses debuting a new song from their long-awaited album Chinese Democracy will help spark some interest. Rock Band 2 actually strived to have 100 songs on one disc, but they ran out of room so to compensate MTV and Harmonix will release 20 free songs via downloadable content.
Here is the complete list of what will be available on the disc.
# Artists Song Title Decade
1. AC/DC Let There Be Rock 1970s
2. AFI Girl’s Gone Grey 2000s
3. Alanis Morissette You Oughta Know 1990s
4. Alice in Chains Man in the Box 1990s
5. Allman Brothers Ramblin’ Man 1970s
6. Avenged Sevenfold Almost Easy 2000s
7. Bad Company Shooting Star 1970s
8. Beastie Boys So Whatcha Want 1990s
9. Beck E-Pro 2000s
10. Bikini Kill Rebel Girl 1990s
11. Billy Idol White Wedding Pt. I 1980s
12. Blondie One Way or Another 1970s
13. Bob Dylan Tangled Up in Blue 1970s
14. Bon Jovi Livin’ on a Prayer 1980s
Looks like EA is trying to cross promote by tying in the Madden soundtrack with the orignal Rock Band by making it available is downloadable content over a period of time. They are also pumping it out on iTunes for all you new and old iPhone users.
Most notable for the music industry is a tie-in between the game’s soundtrack and the “Rock Band” videogame. (EA serves as the game’s distributor, which is actually published by MTV.)
Under the deal, “Rock Band” will feature music from the “Madden 09″ soundtrack in its weekly downloadable songs update, a handful at a time, over several weeks, with each song carrying the “Madden” brand. Additionally, each soundtrack song will be available for sale via iTunes as part of a special “Madden” playlist.
As an added nice touch EA is giving a little incentive to thos gamers that pre-order the game as well.
EA is also offering fans who pre-order the game from Target an iTunes gift card worth 10 free downloads once they pick up the title.
Remember that debacle we talked about this morning with Konami putting restrictions on reviews of Metal Gear Solid 4? Adam Sessler of G4’s X-play got to speak with Stephen Totilo about how the all is going down. Check out from the mouth who broke the story.
According to a source at MTV, Microsoft has been working on motion controller similar to Wii remote since last summer.
It’s said that the project is being led by Rare as they create a unified interface and look for the controller. No other concrete details are known, however MTV’s source sketched out what the controller looks like.
How many more types of controllers does the Xbox 360 need? I have wired and wireless controllers as well as Big Button Pads for Scene It. Now we’re going to need Wii Remote style controllers too? No word on how the motion controls will interface with the Xbox 360. But I can tell you this, I have no more room another sensor bar on top of my TV.
Remember that downloadable content pack we told you about for Mass Effect? Well, you’re going to need to be a couple hours into the game to use it. You’ll need your Normandy Spaceship to get to the new content in the game.
Here’s the problem with that: the spaceship isn’t available until about 2-3 hours into the game, and it’s also not available for the last hour or so of the game either (the Mass Effect galaxy gets closed off to the player after you complete the main story arc). So you’re going to need a gamesave somewhere in the middle to get able to quickly access the new content.
If you’ve beaten the game already, or if you haven’t gotten that far, I’d suggest putting in some time before the content pack is released later this week. That way you’ll be able to hop in and play as soon as your download is finished.
In an effort to ease the searching of rhythm game tracks, and to boast about the set list of their own game, MTV released a pretty damn cool track finder. The tool allows you to easily view what songs each rhythm game has, as well as searching by artist and game platform.
With my rhythm game library growing like whoa, this has come in handy already. The only think about it that bothers me is how it displays songs per game. Right now, Rock Band is listed at 96 songs, which includes all the downloadable tracks. Personally, I’d like to see it broken down to show songs that ship with the game separately from those that are available for download. Either way, it’s a great tool to find that elusive song from rhythm games of old.
Anyone who is unhappy with the musical instruments that comes with the beloved Rock Band game can rejoice. Sometime in the first half of this year, Mad Catz will release every peripheral for every console that Rock Band can be played on. This includes wired and wireless guitars, professional quality drum set, and top notch microphone. Here is a direct quote from Darren Richardson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Mad Catz, courtesy of Gameargus.
This agreement with MTV Games represents a natural opportunity for Mad Catz to combine our core competencies of producing and distributing high-quality accessories with the entertaining experience of Rock Band’s interactive controllers,”
You have to love third parties throwing their hat in the mix. It always benefits the gamer because we are given a choice as opposed to settling for what is already there.
Rock Band is gearing up to launch it’s own community website on November 20, same day as the launch for the PS3 and Xbox 360, to allow gamers to view leaderboards, read blogs and even look for band members via the classified section. They are trying to make this like a real band where you look for different components in the band based on istrument and even create photos of oyur virtual band with profiles. I like the concept and I think it adds to the depth of the game, similar to how Bungie tracks your stats.
From the press release:
Cambridge, Massachusetts – October 25, 2007 – Harmonix, the leading developer of music-based games, and MTV Games, a division of MTV Networks which is a division of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), along with distribution partner Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS), revealed today details for the ROCKBAND.com social community website. The site will launch on November 20, alongside the North American release of Rock Band for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system and Xbox 360 ™ video game entertainment system from Microsoft®. A PlayStation 2 version of the game will also ship on December 18. Read More »
Stephen Totilo over at MTV’s Multiplayer Blog put up a cool video of how to take apart the drum kit for Rock Band for easy storage. Glad you don’t have to try and squeeze that whole thing into the closet as is.
Yeah, Reggie has a tough last name. He’s getting tired of you screwing it up. So he went on record with MTV’s Multiplayer Blog to set the record straight.
Just remember, Reggie can and will whoop that ass if you say his name wrong to his face.
We're like Spaceballs... we're making Loot Ninja everything. Coming soon we'll have hats, shirts, hoodies, possibly banana hammocks if one Editor has his way...
Check out the shirt prototypes here and the hats here
Anyone who is unhappy with the musical instruments that comes with the beloved Rock Band game can rejoice. Sometime in the first half of this year, Mad Catz will release every peripheral for every console that Rock Band can be played on. This includes wired and wireless guitars, professional quality drum set, and top notch microphone. Here is a direct quote from Darren Richardson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Mad Catz, courtesy of 
Rock Band is gearing up to launch it’s own community website on November 20, same day as the launch for the PS3 and Xbox 360, to allow gamers to view leaderboards, read blogs and even look for band members via the classified section. They are trying to make this like a real band where you look for different components in the band based on istrument and even create photos of oyur virtual band with profiles. I like the concept and I think it adds to the depth of the game, similar to how Bungie tracks your stats.
