From the people that brought you Guitar Hero I & II. I figured it was about time it had its own thread. Here is some new info just released yesterday:

Quote :

"- One disk with 4 separate campaigns. Guitar, Drum, Bass and Vocal. Each can be played on its own from start to finish, in addition, a full band game is designed to allow for one huge co-op playthrough. - Will feature full support for four player online play on both 360 and PS3. Any combination of on/offline play will work and each player can pick their own difficulty setting. - Flexible community system will allow you to find bandmates anywhere in the world - There will be a way for you to share your band's triumphs with the world, but the details are still under wraps. - Musical fret-boards are now transparent so you can see more of the background visuals. Guitar is on the left side of the screen, Bass on the right and drums down the middle. Vocals scroll from right to left along the top of the screen. - Guitars and Bass now have 10 frets. 5 for the regular sections of the game and 5 for the newly designated solo sections. - Whammy bar is back as is the tilt to activate rock band's version of star power - there is a five way switch on the guitar that allows for 5 different self-applied effects to the sound. - Singing is now more in depth. There is a phoneme detector that will pick up individual vowels and consonants you say. Build up enough highly judged phrases and you'll be able to sing free-form. If you do well enough in free-form, then you'll trigger the vocalist's version of star power. - Microphone doubles as a tambourine on many songs to combat super long guitar solos where the singer doesn't have much to do. - Drums are apparently insane. You use actual sticks and hit one of four colored pads in front of you, in addition to a kick pedal attached to the drumming unit. Drummers will also have the ability to do fills etc. in their own little free-form section, do well and you'll trigger the drummers version of star power. - If one person fails, the whole band does not fail, their section simply turns gray and they have to sit out the rest of the song unless one your band mates initiates star power, which will bring you back into the fold. - If all bandmates can reach the end of a song, you'll be greeted with one huge free-form jam session. - There will be a character creation system, and you can create multiple avatars that play different instruments. - Four themed clothing stores in addition to licensed guitars and pedals and other rock paraphernalia. - A full set of mo-cap stage movements have been added for each instrument. You can decide whether your vocalist moves like Axel Rose, or stands his ground like Clapton. - 40 performance venues planned - All peripherals will be unique to each platform. This isn't the developer's decision. Apparently MS peripherals require special circuit boards. - You'll be able to craft your own band logo - The HUD in the screens isn't final but is a good indication of what you can expect - 4 songs announced in the article, not sure if this is new or old but whatever. Weezer - Say It Ain't So - Original Master Track Black Sabbath - Paranoid - Original Master Track The Who - Won't Get Fooled Again - Original Master Track Nirvana - In Bloom - Original Master Track INSTRUMENT DESCRIPTIONS Sorry I can't post photos so my descriptions will have to suffice Guitars/Bass Guitars are an exact 3/4 replica of a Fender Strat. Xplorer guitars will work for 360 owners, but you may not be able to pass on all the new stuff this model has. Five familiar buttons near the top of the neck, five buttons near the body of the guitar. You will use these new buttons during specially designed solo sections using ONLY hammer ons and pull offs, no having to worry about your strum bar. Signature Fender 5-way switch has been added. By shopping at the in game store you'll be able to purchase several virtual effects pedals such as Flange, Wah, Chorus and Echo. These can be applied during your song by setting the 5 way switch to the desired effect. Microphone There will eventually be a Rock Band branded Mic Other USB mics will be supported, but Harmonix will probably NOT allow the use of the 360 headset due to its low fidelity. Mics will be usable as tambourines during certain songs. That's all for mics! DRUMS The picture of the drum peripheral in the mag is not final. It consists of four pads, a kick pedal and legs for the enire unit to stand on. Think of it as a TV dinner tray stand only cooler Leftmost pad (red) is your snare drum, everything else doubles as toms and cymbals depending on the song. A set of real wooden drum sticks will ship with the unit. A piece of the stand can be taken off so that the unit can sit lower, or on a coffee table. There is a kick pedal If you play drums in this game on hard or expert, then you're really playing the drums. Apparently you could sit down at a real set and play the same songs."

Source

Official Website

6/15/2007 2:28:02 PM

i gotta say it looks pretty cool but it will be so expensive


i don't know about the whole singing thing though.



[Edited on June 15, 2007 at 2:31 PM. Reason : i wanna play that 10 button guitar.]

6/15/2007 2:30:52 PM

Yeah. Between the Xplorer I already have, the new wireless controller I'll have to get for GHIII and then the new 10 button Guitar, I guess I'll end up with 3 guitars. Plus the drum set ain't gonna be cheap. But seriously GHII is the first game I've really gotten into in years, so I think it'll be worth it. I can't wait for the drum set.

I'm also meh on the singing part too.

6/15/2007 2:37:59 PM

can you have groupies?

6/15/2007 2:38:53 PM

The music rhythm genre lives.

[Edited on June 15, 2007 at 2:41 PM. Reason : GH3 & Rock Band]

6/15/2007 2:41:27 PM

There are a number of companies that already make 10-button guitars.

6/15/2007 4:36:42 PM

yeah, but you do understand that in this case it will make a difference in gameplay?

6/15/2007 4:49:47 PM

Quote :

"I guess I'll end up with 34 guitars."

there's a bass guitar too.

i think?


also:

Quote :

"- Musical fret-boards are now transparent so you can see more of the background visuals. "

i hope they do this for GHIII, GHII is already burned in on my TV somewhat

[Edited on June 15, 2007 at 4:57 PM. Reason : ]

6/15/2007 4:56:37 PM

why would the bass be any different?

6/15/2007 4:58:01 PM

You can only get so realistic before you just learn how to play the real goddamn thing.

6/15/2007 5:17:32 PM

Quote :

"yeah, but you do understand that in this case it will make a difference in gameplay?"

So the move up the neck is forced instead of optional. That doesn't change anything about the hardware except that the upper buttons have unique assignments.

6/15/2007 7:57:49 PM

And the only hardware difference between the NES and SNES controllers was an extra 2 face buttons and 2 shoulder buttons.

But I guess that didn't really change the gameplay too much.

6/15/2007 9:35:33 PM

i think the GHII guitars can be modded or something, i was reading in that thread that they'll probably come out with something to change the Xplorer guitars, like the removalable necks to be replaced with the 10 instead

6/15/2007 10:27:12 PM

^^ The way the release reads, there will be distinct sections where each set of buttons are used, and no crossover between them. In that respect, it's the same as playing a solo on the high set of buttons on the current 10-button guitars.

Now, if they implement the high buttons realistically into a 10-button setup, it'll rule, but that doesn't look like what's happening.

6/16/2007 12:45:23 AM

6/19/2007 2:09:03 PM

OH SNAP

6/19/2007 2:27:39 PM

^^damn, that's fuckin' sweet

[Edited on June 19, 2007 at 2:28 PM. Reason : .]

6/19/2007 2:28:31 PM

I just came here to post those pics. Damn that thing looks nice. I like how the colors are only on the top so it doesn't look like a kiddie toy as much.

6/19/2007 3:09:50 PM

eh for 200+ bucks that shit better give me some head

since the GH2 controller will still work, might just purchase the disc and maybe a drum kit

Cult of Personality on GH3 though gets my bucks for the meantime

6/19/2007 4:24:36 PM

pic of the drums.

6/24/2007 11:05:19 AM

that's not exactly how it will look though (although probably similar)

6/24/2007 11:19:23 AM

nacho, you are playing a video game about playing music. what difference does it make if it looks like a kiddie toy. thats like wanting your cock pump to look like a flower pot so no one notices. dont be embarassed if you enjoy it.

6/24/2007 11:24:56 AM

lawl

[Edited on June 24, 2007 at 11:28 AM. Reason : .]

6/24/2007 11:27:53 AM

Quote :

"thats like wanting your cock pump to look like a flower pot so no one notices."

hahahahaha, awesome

6/24/2007 12:41:31 PM

I never said anything about being embarrassed to play it. Just that I think it looks cooler without the giant Fisher Price style "my first guitar" colored buttons.

[Edited on June 24, 2007 at 1:53 PM. Reason : congrats on making a post without using the word "shrug" though. is that a first for you?]

6/24/2007 1:52:04 PM

hah, im surprised no one has ever mentioned that. twas a holdover from highschool, but i cannot say why. my guess is the emotes from eq, which we played far too often.

6/24/2007 2:24:07 PM

The boss song of this game will be the 17 minute version of In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida

6/29/2007 9:25:51 AM

http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/puzzle/rockband/news.html?sid=6172721&mode=recent

The price has been announced. $200 for the whole set. Mics are $30. PS3 Wireless guitars are $60. 360 guitars are $80. All prices are subject to change.

Also there's a video of some gameplay footage: (video might not work yet, I just uploaded it to youtube)

7/3/2007 9:29:36 PM

O
M
F
G

I need to start saving.

7/4/2007 12:48:39 AM

damn all the meters and notes take up about 60% of the screen.

7/4/2007 1:04:16 AM

Ive never once noticed the background while im playing, so that doesnt bother me too much.

That shit looks hot as hell.

7/4/2007 7:07:11 AM

ugh...$200??? For one freakin game?

if only I had 3 friends that would regularly play this with me and be willing to pitch in some money

7/4/2007 3:45:39 PM

so does MS charge $20 bucks per controller for access to their wireless technology?

7/5/2007 9:25:23 AM

i hope you can buy all the shit separately. i'd just get the software and a drumset.

7/5/2007 9:31:31 AM

if i got this id get all except for the mic

who the hell would wanna sing when you can play drums, have to draw straws for that shit

7/5/2007 9:40:04 AM

the vocal part is for getting your female friends to play when they're too uncoordinated to play the instrument parts

7/5/2007 10:03:11 AM

Here's a pretty in depth preview from IGN:

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/801/801498p1.html

Other songs revealed in the article:

Quote :

"Mountain - "Mississippi Queen" The Hives - "Main Offender" David Bowie - "Suffragette City" Blue Oyster Cult - "(Don't Fear) The Reaper." "

6 of the 8 announced songs use the master tracks and they claim to have over 100 songs lined up for download in the first year alone.

This should be awesome.

7/5/2007 10:41:30 AM

see, that's what I don't get

if they've already got all these songs lined up for download, why can't they go ahead and include them in the game? I seem to bitch about this in every xbox thread, but do they really need to nickle and dime us even more?

7/5/2007 11:19:01 AM

Well the songs actually do cost money to include in the game. They can only put so many in before they would have to charge $200 for the whole thing.

...oh wait.

7/5/2007 11:26:58 AM

i've got a fever, and the only cure is a cowbell controller.

7/5/2007 11:32:26 AM

what about an example like halo 3

$20 says when they start doing pre-release interviews, they will talk about extra maps for purchase that they'll be releasing soon after game release

it's just frustrating to me

anyway, back to talking about rock band

it looks awesome

7/5/2007 11:33:26 AM

Quote :

"i hope you can buy all the shit separately. i'd just get the software and a drumset."

same here

7/5/2007 2:06:48 PM

$200 is a lot better than i thought it would be

7/5/2007 5:17:43 PM

As if they need to say anything else to get me to buy this thing, they went ahead and said "Suffragette City" and "Main Offender." Goddamn this game is going to rule.

7/5/2007 5:37:01 PM

Looking through the IGN screenshots, it also looks like Ramones' "Rockaway Beach" will be in the game, too.

I can't express how excited I am about this game. Since I can actually play the guitar quite well, GH is only fun when the song's fun. Granted, there are tons of fun songs on GH, so that's not a problem. As someone who isn't coordinated enough to be a real drummer, though, Rock Band has the potential to be fun no matter what the song, because I can't get enough air drumming in my life and this is a more satisfying version of that.

I also like the radius they've added to the scrolling note area on each instrument.

I'm not thrilled about having to buy a 360 to play it, but I bought a Gamecube to play Zelda, so such is life. I probably won't be singing a lot, but since the price for the game and a drumset is $130, I'll be getting the whole set.

7/7/2007 5:28:07 AM

7/11/2007 10:02:18 AM

^That woman's voice I couldn't listen to anymore. Plus, the bass player was holding the team back. He was on danger for most of the song. Haha.

Finally got 200/200 on Lumines Live last night. Now, I have to 1000/1000 a retail game. The closest that I am to doing that is NBA Street Homecourt, but I know there are a lot of games that can easily be 1000/1000 to boost the gamerscore.

7/11/2007 10:10:50 AM

apparently peter moore sucks balls at GH

7/11/2007 10:12:08 AM

Yeah that bass player is the VP at microsoft in charge of all things xbox.

which either gives him a really good excuse for sucking, or none whatsoever.

7/11/2007 10:17:01 AM

http://www.joystiq.com/2007/07/11/rock-band-picks-up-metallica-entire-album-dlc/

Quote :

"Rock Band served as the tail end of EA's E3 press conference, and they made sure to save a few announcements for last. CEO of Harmonix, Alex Rigopulos announced that Rock Band will receive downloadable content every single week after its initial release. Even better, he announced that players not only be able to download single songs and multi-song packs, but entire albums. The first album that will be available for download is The Who's Who's Next. Finally, Rigopulos announced that Rock Band musicians will at last be jamming to Metallica. It was revealed that Metallica's "Enter Sandman" will ship with the retail version of Rock Band with many more career-spanning tracks coming as downloadable content."

w00t!

7/11/2007 8:44:22 PM