[Sallokin]

- 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.


THAT'S ALL SHE WROTE

Sorry for spelling and grammar. Was doing this while doing work.

[Wario64]

Hot.

But I don't understand the 10 frets thing...

[platypotamus]

Hmmm, I wonder how the Guitar Hero guitar will work for hitting those 5 extra frets. I really hope I don't have to do something stupid like press the dpad to switch modes or something.

Maybe the star power tilt function?

[BenjaminBirdie]

That sounds so awesome.

(PLEASEUNLOCKABLEGORILLAZMODELSPLEASEUNLOCKABLEGORILLAZMODELSPLEASEUNLOCKAB LEGORILLAZMODELSPLEASEUNLOCKABLEGORILLAZMODELSPLEASEUNLOCKABLEGORILLAZMODEL SPLEASEUNLOCKABLEGORILLAZMODELSPLEASEUNLOCKABLEGORILLAZMODELSPLEASEUNLOCKAB LEGORILLAZMODELSPLEASEUNLOCKABLEGORILLAZMODELSPLEASEUNLOCKABLEGORILLAZMODEL SPLEASEUNLOCKABLEGORILLAZMODELSPLEASEUNLOCKABLEGORILLAZMODELSPLEASEUNLOCKAB LEGORILLAZMODELSPLEASEUNLOCKABLEGORILLAZMODELSPLEASEUNLOCKABLEGORILLAZMODEL SPLEASEUNLOCKABLEGORILLAZMODELS)

[skip]

Microphone doubles as a tambourine on many songs to combat super long guitar solos where the singer doesn't have much to do

devs are obviously big karaoke fans.

[MercuryLS]

This is going to be awesome.

I love Harmonix.

[Vyse The Legend]

Hot. But I don't understand the 10 frets thing...

I imagine it means you use the full scale for the solos, but only the original 5 for the rest of the song. This greatly increases the difficulty of the solos. Wow. :lol

[Wario64]

I imagine it means you use the full scale for the solos, but only the original 5 for the rest of the song. This greatly increases the difficulty of the solos, I imagine.

But what about the Xplorer controller?

If the Xplorer controller is gimped, I'm gonna need to sell GH2 then...the only reason I bought GH2 was the annoucement of the controller working with Rock Band.

[davepoobond]

this sounds way amazing...

[kenta]

Yeah we're going to need a diagram of these 10 frets

[Vyse The Legend]

But what about the Xplorer controller?

I know, that raises an eyebrow, since they did say you can use GH's guitar with Rock Band, right? Maybe it'll ask you (or detect) which guitar you are using and give the appropiate fret board? Meaning, if you're using the old school guitar, then you get an easier solo using only the 5 frets, rather than the full 10.

[valkillmore]

this sounds absolutely amazing. is this coming to Wii?

[Vyse The Legend]

this sounds absolutely amazing. is this coming to Wii?

No.

[Wario64]

- 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.


Kick pedals confirmed!!



- If all bandmates can reach the end of a song, you'll be greeted with one huge free-form jam session.


Hopefully there's a mode just soley for doing these sessions

[Stryder]

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.

This sounds like fun!
I can so see us singing absolute nonsense and gibberish during the free-form sections. :lol

[KevinRo]

w00t.

i'm going to duct-tape my microphone to my guitar and multi-task.

[skip]

- 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. Kick pedals confirmed!! - If all bandmates can reach the end of a song, you'll be greeted with one huge free-form jam session. Hopefully there's a mode just soley for doing these sessions

35-minute phish songs plz.

[Rorschach]

...wtf wow

[Red Blaster]

Sounds really awesome, a music game dream come true. Too bad I'll never buy it.

[QVT]

None of this is that great, and the extra frets are stupid, but this reveal was supposed to be important because of revealing at least a few songs. I'm disappointed.

I also don't much care for the free form but meh, I guess I still prefer this over GH3. Hopefully the music is either good or bad so I don't have to debate its purchase based on these non-existent merits.

[PedroLumpy]

Are all these free form sections they talk about involve the singer/drummer doing whatever they want? Or are they still following some sort of note pattern?

[StrikerObi]

No.

God you're stupid.

It is coming to Wii, though apparently without online modes. According to this article that's 360/PS3 only.

[Haunted]

I usually don't care for music games (Guitar Hero/Singstar etc.), but even I'm impressed by that feature set. That sounds very nice.

[Jube3]

I came at free-form.. Give me the price i dont care if tis 250 bucks I want this now!

[CajoleJuice]

This sounds SOOOOOO awesome.

[PiecesOfEight]

God you're stupid. It is coming to Wii, though apparently without online modes. According to this article that's 360/PS3 only.

the Rock Band FAQ says otherwise:

"Q: What systems will this be available on?

A: We are putting this out for Xbox 360 and PS3 for Holiday 2007. We're looking into putting it out on other platforms but we haven't announced anything specific."

[Vyse The Legend]

God you're stupid. It is coming to Wii, though apparently without online modes. According to this article that's 360/PS3 only.

Watch your mouth, thanks.

:lol Owned by PiecesofEight. You were saying, moran?

[Alien Bob]

This thing sounds too big to be true

[Wario64]

Looks like they finally got their Weezer track.

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.

Hmm, I don't understand why the need for 5 additional frets. I guess it's easier to hammer on since it's closer to the body of the guitar? Using two hands to hammer on I suppose.


Pending further info, looks like I'm gonna have to sell GH2 Xplorer controller

[KevinRo]

Watch your mouth, thanks. :lol Owned by PiecesofEight. You were saying, moran?

hypocrite much?

http://wii.ign.com/articles/777/777553p1.html

Rock Band on Wii Harmonix CEO says "Absolutely." During a conference call to announce its latest music game Rock Band for release on Xbox 360 and PS3, Harmonix CEO Alex Rigopulos hinted strongly that a Wii-specific version of the title would be coming out in the future. When asked if there was any chance Rock Band would arrive on Wii, Rigopulos said without hesitation, "Absolutely." "We will, at some time, bring Rock Band to every [important] platform," Rigopulos said. He added that Harmonix would optimize future versions of Rock Band to fit the strengths of the platform. "I think the Wiimote is something that holds enormous promise." Rock Band comes to Xbox 360 and PS3 this holiday. No Wii version has been officially announced.

:lol

[Darko]

- - Guitars and Bass now have 10 frets. 5 for the regular sections of the game and 5 for the newly designated solo sections.

:o
10?

[Trakdown]

Nirvana - In Bloom - Original Master Track

Sweet! I requested that song! =D

[krypt0nian]

godlike. period.

I'm with Wario. Selling my GH2 since the Xplorer doesn't work correctly. =(

[Tiktaalik]

"Shane was right" confirmed.


Holy shit this sounds awesome. It's like 4 games combined with extras extras EXTRAS!

[Neodiablo22]

Potential Scope Creep Anyone?

[Ace 8095]

godlike. period. I'm with Wario. Selling my GH2 since the Xplorer doesn't work correctly. =(

You could just use the Xplorer with co-op. No way would a noob need 10 frets.

[Wario64]

If you play drums on 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.

Holy shit

Drummania am owned?

[Sallokin]

First post is done. That's everything the article had :)

[StrikerObi]

the Rock Band FAQ says otherwise: "Q: What systems will this be available on? A: We are putting this out for Xbox 360 and PS3 for Holiday 2007. We're looking into putting it out on other platforms but we haven't announced anything specific."

But this interview with Harmonix again says otherwise

http://wii.ign.com/articles/777/777553p1.html

When asked if there was any chance Rock Band would arrive on Wii, Rigopulos said without hesitation, "Absolutely."

"We will, at some time, bring Rock Band to every [important] platform," Rigopulos said. He added that Harmonix would optimize future versions of Rock Band to fit the strengths of the platform. "I think the Wiimote is something that holds enormous promise."

It's not concrete, but with the way Wii is selling, and EA's big Wii support, it seems that it will only be a matter of time. But no, it is not yet confirmed.

Edit: Beaten by KevinRo

[Ace 8095]

If you play drums on 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.

The awesomeness

[CajoleJuice]

I completely missed the songs....

The Who - Won't Get Fooled Again - Original Master Track

HOLY SHIT

[Tiktaalik]

If you play drums on 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.

Holy shit... I want to buy this now.

[Bo130]

Thank you Sallokin. Between this and Brawl, we're entering a great time for all gamers. It sounds amazing! :D

[jet1911]

Sounds absolutly amazing. Can't wait to see the drum controller.

[RiskyChris]

TEN FRETS!

KERMITCRAZY.GIF!!!!!!!!!!!!

[krypt0nian]

You could just use the Xplorer with co-op. No way would a noob need 10 frets.

Nah, it's a gonner.

[BenjaminBirdie]

I completely missed the songs.... HOLY SHIT

YYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

[robochimp]

Yeah we're going to need a diagram of these 10 frets

My guess is it will look like this

http://www.theguitarmania.com/servlet/Detail?no=25

[QuickKick89]

GUITAR HERO KILLER CONFIRMED.

[StrikerObi]

Looks like they finally got their Weezer track.

And they picked a ****ing good one. Rock Band is now 1,000,000x better because of this, and Guitar Hero 3 can only sit in the corner and cry.

Say it Ain't So >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> My Name is Jonas