New Rock Band details: instruments explained, first four songs announced

By Frank Caron | Published: June 15, 2007 - 09:48AM CT

Years of observation at the Japanese arcade on campus of the finger-gymnastics necessary to play Guitar Freaks and Beatmania have left me fearing the adored music games of today, but for whatever reason Harmonix's Rock Band seems to get more and more attractive with each additional development. The latest news on the title comes by way of a big preview in the latest GameInformer issue, which provides crucial details on the mechanics of each of the instruments and some other information about the game's "campaign."

Players will be able to play through the main mode with any of the four instruments alone, or with three others in a massive symphony of co-op. The first batch of "original master tracks" for the game's campaign and free-play were noted in the article. Here's some of what you'll be rocking out to when the game ships:GuitarDrums

* Weezer — "Say It Ain't So"
* Black Sabbath — "Paranoid"
* The Who — "Won't Get Fooled Again"
* Nirvana — "In Bloom"

Though the game's guitar and bass are similar to the ones found in Guitar Hero, there are some new functions that will fundamentally change what axe-masters are capable of. First and foremost, the guitar and bass will both have double the frets; a whopping ten buttons will be on each of the instruments which are apparently for the new "solo sections." In addition, a five way switch will enable the application of various effects, like Flange, Wah, Echo and so forth that can be purchased via the in-game store and the whammy bar and tilt-sensing return.

The microphone, too, is a bit of an evolution from the current models available with the likes of SingStar. You won't be able to cheat your way through the game by humming. Rather, the game has a "phoneme detector" that targets phonemes produced during human speech. As an added bonus, the microphone will also double as a tambourine for certain songs.

Lastly, the four-piece drum set will include four pads with stands and a kick pedal. One pad represents the snare while the rest represent song-dependent toms and cymbals. Included will be a set of wooden Rock Band drum sticks.

Also mentioned in the update was a character creation system, which will allow players to unlock new gear and customize their rocker. With some great tunes, and some great controllers, Rock Band is shaping up to be quite the rhythm game indeed. Rock on.

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I don't know about anyone else, but I'd rather learn a real guitar then try to play a fake one with 10 buttons. This sounds damn stupid IMHO if the drums are only going to have 4 and a foot pedal.

Despite photographic evidence of added heatsinks to repaired Xbox 360 units in Europe, Microsoft has refused to issue a statement, choosing instead to make claims that such hardware upgrades are "commonplace within the industry".

By Eugene Huang

Attention was focused once again on the reliability of Microsoft's Xbox 360 hardware when it became apparent that the company was installing heatsinks to combat the dreaded "red ring of death". As GamePro reported just yesterday, a number of European 360 owners opened up their recently repaired units to find a brand new heatsink installed as an extra effort to cool down the system's problematic Xenos GPU.

When confronted by these allegations, Microsoft refused to make a statement explaining the company's repair process, according to a report today from GamesIndustry.biz.

"We do not provide details on these updates," a company spokesperson stated.

However, the spokesperson did make a comment regarding the industry as a whole:

"Regularly updating console components is commonplace within the industry and is a standard aspect of the business for a variety of reasons including cost reduction, improved manufacturability and improved performance," the spokesperson added.

It is still unknown at this point as to whether these alleged second heatsinks are being implemented in newly constructed Xbox 360 systems, nor is it known whether American Xbox 360 units are undergoing similar repair methods in cases of the "red ring of death".

All I can say is that with my 360 on its way back to Microsoft it had better be getting one of these upgrades as well. I don't want to have to turn around and send in my 360 for a 3rd time. If I do, VT has a "Lemon Law" that states I have to be compensated for a crappy product. Well it only applies to cars, but it would be nice if I could apply it to other items as well.

The borderlines between the various videogame tribes and the other gaming cultures have never really been all that clear cut.

It's almost a given, for instance, that those who enjoy playing Neverwinter Nights and other stat-based RPGs have at least some familiarity with the basic fundamentals of a pen-and-paper RPG like Dungeons and Dragons. Those who enjoy playing Catan over Xbox Live probably cut their teeth on the original Settlers of Catan, back when the dice were physical objects held in ones hand and "emoticons" were sent by actually grimacing at your real-life opponent. It is therefore news when a megacompany like Wizards of the Coast (scion of Hasbro and rights holder to just about every geek-friendly IP from D&D through to Magic: The Gathering) decides to announce something like Gleemax.

What is Gleemax? Hard to explain actually; in its most literal form, Gleemax (technically Gleemax.com ) is a social-networking website which aims to be a one-stop-shop for a demographic WotC is referring to as "hardcore gamers." Gleemax is tribe-agnostic, focusing equally on the pen-and-paper, collectible card, tabletop, clicky figurine and videogaming sets.

According to WotC's recent press release, the Gleemax website will be built around three "pillars" -- Community, Games and Editorial Content. While the website will feature all the standard web 2.0 community mainstays (blogs, forums, etc.) what sets Gleemax apart is its intense focus on the integration of all WotC offerings into a single community-driven space.

On your personal Gleemax homepage, WotC will provide the tools to simultaneously showcase to the world at large such things as your latest Friday night D&D character sheets, your current magic deck(s), etc. plus quick links to all the relevant strategy discussions, community 'design your own cards' contests, etc.

Additionally, the website will include an indie strategy game portal devoted to digital distribution of select PC Games deemed attractive to the user community. For those more interested in dice and pencils, the website will also provide a board game portal serving up the complete backlist (!) of Avalon Hill titles (Axis & Allies, Vegas Showdown, etc.). These two portals will in turn support the website's online video game network, stuff like Magic Online and Uncivilized: The Goblin Game, previously announced and slated to begin external play testing later this year.

All these areas come complete with all the prerequisite forums, editorials, discussion and other aids so beloved by the strategy gaming community.

Wizards of the Coast is eager to stress that Gleemax is not about pimping their own products, so much as it is about strengthening the overall culture of gaming as a whole. It's a husbandry approach; by creating a fertile ground where the various tribes of gaming can meet and greet, they hope to build interest (and presumably sales) through the basic principle of cultivating a strong player community.

To ensure that Gleemax will continually provide its users with ongoing content, the company is enlisting industry leaders in all areas of online social experiences and strategy/hobby games to sit on a "Gleemax Advisory Board" with the mandate of keeping the site full of editorials, new features and new ideas. Besides the industry types, the company wants grassroots gamers at their Advisory Board round table. To recruit them, they plan on holding a "reality TV style contest" to select interested members. You can get in on the action through, unsurprisingly, Gleemax.com.

Kotaku has some additional coverage of the Gleemax initiative, including a quote from Randy Buehler, Wizards' VP of Digital Gaming, who sums up the project thusly:

"We think Gleemax is the right thing to do for Wizards of the Coast, the right thing to do for the tabletop hobby gaming industry, and the right thing to do for a sizable group of digital gamers who are being ignored by the mainstream computer gaming industry. We want to build a home that all three groups can feel comfortable in and I think it will change the face of the hobby gaming industry forever. If we pull this off, then Gleemax will become the center of the online strategy and roleplaying gaming universe."

"Deep down in the DNA of our company we know that the way to sell hobby games is to invest in the community of hobby gamers. We feel that Gleemax will provide a lasting infrastructure that supports not just our own customers, but the entire hardcore gaming culture. [...] We want to build something that the whole industry can embrace."

Pretty lofty words, but you can't argue with the ambition of the thing. Like a big digital high-school art room, phase 1 launches in August at GenCon. Until then you can keep refreshing gleemax.com for launch schedules and updates.

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Visit the site HERE. Right now it's not much, but it will be. :-)

I will be out of town for the rest of the week so enjoy this Tech demo of ID's new engine while I'm gone.

"The Beta has been a great success for us in terms of the sheer amount of data it allowed us to gather, for matchmaking, networking, general bug-bashing and of course some gameplay elements. As the Beta heads to the great software graveyard in the sky, it's vital to remember that things you got used to during these short few weeks, are almost certain to change. Some of those changes will be subtle, nuanced, perhaps even invisible. Others will be less subtle - with shifts in game types, weapon functionality, spawn points and map details."

Well the Halo 3 beta is over, and we discovered a lot of good things from it. 1) I can't wait to play the SP game. 2) Master Chief has a funky looking face. and 3) NEW ARMOR MODS! Well my time is over, and I didn't get to enjoy it very long but while I did, I was happy.

I haven't played Bomberman since I was in college on the SNES. I'm really looking forward to this game and am going to snag it once I get my 360 back.