Tag archive for 'rock-band'

09
Jul

My Rock Band dream set list

By Damien Guard Categories: Entertainment Tags: , .

Harmonix are taking submissions of ideas for songs in Rock Band. I thought I'd go one stage further and put together an entire dream list using the following criteria:

  • Ideal for the four instruments (Drummer, Singer, Guitarists) - no Bittersweet Symphony
  • Well known enough that you all feel the music - no obscure bands or tracks
  • Attention keeping - no massive 2-minute intros or solos
  • Killer guitar track - this is rock after all!
  • Not previously featured on Guitar Hero I or II
  • Variety - no band more than once plus a mix of 80s, 90s and 00s

So here it is...

1. Opening Licks

  • The Passenger - Iggy Pop
  • I Predict a Riot - Kasier Chiefs
  • Bad Medicine - Bon Jovi
  • Wonderwall - Oasis
  • All Right Now - Free

2. Amp-Warmers

  • Money For Nothing - Dire Straights
  • Let Me Entertain You - Robbie Williams
  • Paradise City - Guns 'n Roses
  • Somebody Told Me - The Killers
  • It's Been Awhile - Staind

3. String-Snappers

  • Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana
  • Boulevard of Broken Dreams - Green Day
  • Going Down/Love in an Elevator - Aerosmith
  • Bohemian Like You - The Dandy Warhols
  • Holy Water - Bad Company

4. Thrash and Burn

  • Summer of 69 - Bryan Adams
  • Eye of the Tiger - Survivor
  • Darts of Pleasure - Franz Ferdinand
  • Inside - Stiltskin
  • Sk8er Boi - Avril Lavigne

5. Return of the Shred

  • Poison - Alice Cooper
  • All The Small Things - Blink-182
  • Walk This Way - Run DMC
  • Danger! High Voltage - Electric Six
  • In The End - Linkin Park

Okay so there is no way they'd ever put so many great tracks in one game - they'd be worried you'd not buy the next one to get more tracks and so we'll get second-rate filler just like the record companies have been doing with albums for years.

Most of these are available at the iTunes store so enjoy my first iMix entitled Dream Rock Band.

[)amien

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24
Apr

Taking on the role of a Guitar Hero

By Damien Guard Categories: Apple, Entertainment and Microsoft Tags: , , , .

My friends and I have been very much enjoying Guitar Hero II on the Xbox 360 released earlier this month.

Despite reservations we've found ourselves jumping around performing a variety of silly stances, head bops and special moves whilst we attempt to strum 'n chord in time to the tricky yet rewarding tracks available. Once we got a second guitar and hit the co-operative (one bass, one lead) and VS modes (turns each or both together) then out-performing the other player off-screen as well as on became an integral part of the game.

The line-up of songs is a little disappointing - when there is one "made famous" by a well known band then it tends to be one of their less famous song. I say "made famous" as the game clearly points it out they are, alas, cover versions bar a small handful.

Extra tracks are available on-line in packs of 3 for 500 MSP's each. These are again cover versions presumably due to the developer being unable to licence the original audio mix to the songs so that they can cut out the guitar and bass lines when you fail to hit the right combination of colourful buttons and strum in time.

One pleasant surprise is that the guitar is just a normal USB device and can be used under Windows once the Xinput common controller driver is installed or on the Mac using TattieBogle's Xbox 360 OS X driver.

Why would you want to do that? To play the free cross-platform Guitar Hero clone Frets on Fire with all the fan-created songs of course!

Whilst there are plans for Guitar Hero: 80s Edition and Guitar Hero III the franchise is being handed over to Activision's Neversoft team (Tony Hawks) as they bought the rights to the name when they snapped up Guitar Hero's publisher Red Octane.

Original music-game-only developer Harmonix aren't whining about it or heading to the courts, oh no. They are fighting back with Rock Band that throws drums and vocals on top of lead and bass guitars.

Fantastic!

[)amien
PS: Under no circumstances consider playing either game with a keyboard or a regular controller - the experience just isn't the same.

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