Gearfuse

Hmmm. LEGO Rock Band. Seems like a good idea, given the plethora of other LEGO-based video games available, right? Maybe. Joystiq spent some quality hands-on time with the new Rock Band title and had this to say about it:

It’s tempting to just take a review of Rock Band 2 and stick it under here and label it Lego Rock Band, because that’s pretty much what it is, albeit with a few family-friendly tweaks. They’re mostly aesthetic, and Harmonix is working with Lego, who has approval over all of the songs in the game, to make sure it’s an experience that little kids can enjoy with adults. It might be a bit jarring to see Suzie, age 6, gyrating along to “Sex Bomb,” for instance.

Makes sense. A kid-friendly game with kid-friendly tunes. The problem is, Harmonix is getting lazy. Instead of just spewing out new titles with different themes and different songs, I’d like to see it innovate and bring all new features and devices to its popular franchise. Add a keyboard player to Rock Band and then I’ll get excited about your upcoming games.

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PSP owners have been patient long enough! Finally, a Rock Band title is coming to the console in the form of Rock Band Unplugged. Were you hoping this would include exclusive MTV Unplugged versions of songs by your favorite 1990s bands? Hopefully not, ’cause that’s just not the case with Harmonix’s latest rocker game. But judging by the tracklist, not all hope is lost. Hit the jump to view the list in full.
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Thank god! I was worried that Harmonix wouldn’t be releasing a Rickenbacker-replica along with the upcoming The Beatles: Rock Band but my prayers have been answered! Check out these super sweet replicas of old 1960s axes. There’s the classic Gretsch Duo-Jet (my uncle has one of these) and a Rickenbacker 325 (I used to own a 330), both of which will certainly put you in a very Harrison mood. Are you as psyched as I am for this release? Please say yes.

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According to Billboard, the ever-popular Rock Band is due to get “as many as 5000″ new tracks this year via downloadable content. The report comes as I completed “…And Justice For All” on Expert at 100% last night. Harmonix has already released over 500 songs for the Rock Band series, putting it way above the number of tracks Guitar Hero: World Tour offers. But for Harmonix to meet the 5000 mark, it would need to release over 90 tracks each week for the rest of the year.

I don’t really see that happening, but hey, 2000 new songs is perfectly OK with me. Just stop charging $1.99 for a fuckin’ song!

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Being the renaissance men that we are, we hardly need to play a guitar-based game, seeing as we can play real classical guitar, while pleasing three women at the same time. For those who aren’t as multi-talented, Harmonix and EA announced in a conference call that the guitar controller for Xbox 360 from Guitar Hero will also work with the recently announced Rock Band game.

Gamers using a PS3 will have to buy a new controller unless an adapter is released. But come on, there’s adapters for everything these days. — Andrew Dobrow

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