Rock Band 2 Exclusive to Xbox 360 this September
Score one, or two, or maybe even ten for Microsoft, as Harmonix and MTV just announced that Rock Band 2 will debut exclusively on the Xbox 360 this September. Well sort of exclusively. Temporarily exclusively, i.e. for a month or two, probably tops. That's right, PS3 and Wii owners, you'll still get your own versions, just a little bit later this year.
Uh, wow? That was certainly fast. Rock Band just came out, didn't it? Oh wait, my bad, forgot it's an EA game. So...does that mean Rock Band's about to join the ranks of Madden and NCAA and NASCAR and FIFA as a perennial habitue? Is everyone ready to drop $180 (or thereabouts) every year just to get all the new-and-improved peripherals?
Alright, bite your tongue, me, and here's the nitty gritty from the press release:
Rock Band 2 builds upon its foundation as the first music game to introduce co-operative band gameplay, multiple instruments, a robust online multiplayer experience, an unrivaled offering of downloadable content and raises the bar by delivering an entirely new level of depth, connectivity, authenticity and features including:
- Backwards compatibility with Rock Band downloadable music content.
- All previously purchased tracks will immediately load into your Rock Band 2 song list. No need to re-purchase or re-download.
- The biggest and most diverse soundtrack ever featuring some of rock’s most prolific acts, comprised entirely of master recordings.
- Major new and dynamic online modes that will connect the entire Rock Band community in more ways than ever before both locally and globally.
- More variety of instrument choices than ever before with new and improved drum and guitar peripherals, enhanced functionality and innovative new designs - all fully compatible with the original Rock Band instruments.
- And much more.
The pretty-darned-exciting bits:
- You get to keep all your existing Rock band songs? Really? Can you say "coolest idea ever"? (So...Activision will be offering something similar in Guitar Hero when exactly?)
- "Comprised entirely of master recordings." 'Nuff said.
The really-really-hoped-for bits:
- Getting to keep all your Rock Band tracks, not just the ones you downloaded. Wouldn't that be cool? I gather when they say "previously purchased tracks" they probably don't mean the ones you paid for out of the box.
- A better drum kit, and by better, I mean stabler. The adjustable pipe clamps on my copy are starting to give after half a year, occasionally causing the pads to drop unceremoniously in the middle of a living room gig. Not cool. Incidentally: I once saw this happen to Chip Davis at an actual Mannheim Steamroller concert (don't ask, and no, I wasn't there by choice). Somehow he managed to recover and battle his way to the end of the tune on just two toms. (Well that, or the play-along mix they've always been rumored to use picked up the slack).
- A hugely improved detectably deterministic strum-bar on the plastic guitar. The one on the faux Fender Strat that currently ships with Rock Band is absolutely abysmal. It feels like there's gauze stuck in the mechanism, making rapid passages or tight repetitive strumming an absolute nightmare. Give me Guitar Hero III's Les Paul. You can feel that baby clicking when you're jamming hard without a hint of give or slackness.
- A Rock Band didgeridoo. Come on, you know you want one.
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