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Rock Band 3

Platform(s): Nintendo DS, PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360
Genre: Rhythm
Developer: Harmonix
Release Date: Oct. 26, 2010 (US), Holiday 2010 (EU)

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PC gamer, WorthPlaying EIC, globe-trotting couch potato, patriot, '80s headbanger, movie watcher, music lover, foodie and man in black -- squirrel!

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Rock Band Music Celebrates 20 Years Of Nevermind With Nirvana 4-Pack

by Rainier on Sept. 16, 2011 @ 12:07 p.m. PDT

Featuring an 83-song set list and access to far more music than ever before, as well as innovative new gameplay modes and instruments, Rock Band 3 will change the way fans think about and play music games.

The Rock Band 3 disc soundtrack contains 83 of the best bands from around the world, including bands that have never appeared in a music game, as well as support for existing Rock Band tracks (Rock Band and Rock Band 2 discs, downloaded songs, track packs, AC/DC Live: Rock Band Track Pack, LEGO Rock Band and Green Day: Rock Band).

Additionally, Rock Band 3 will give players immediate access to a music library approaching 2,000 songs by launch, with new content added regularly. Rock Band’s gigantic music selection dwarfs that of any other music game on the market.

Rock Band DLC Additions for Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii

On September 20th, Nirvana’s era defining Nevermind will be reissued as a deluxe 5-disc package to celebrate the 20th anniversary of its September 24th, 1991 release. Rock Band will celebrate the band’s career by releasing 4 songs new to the Rock Band catalog and adding Pro Guitar/Bass upgrades to 10 existing Nirvana Nevermind DLC tracks.

Since the entirety the Nevermind tracklist already appears in Rock Band’s catalog, we’ve gone to other releases for this collection celebrating the band’s career, and the “Celebrating Nirvana Pack” is an amazing collection in its own right. The pack features 3 of the biggest songs from 1993’s In Utero, “Rape Me”, “All Apologies”, and “Heart-Shaped Box”, the last of which also features a Pro Guitar/Bass upgrade.

The pack is rounded out with one of the last tracks known to be recorded by the band, “You Know You’re Right”. The track was recorded in 1994 but remained unreleased until the compilation album Nirvana in 2002. Upon its release, it charted at #1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock and Modern Rock charts.

In addition, Rock Band is upgrading a staggering 10 tracks from the existing Nirvana catalog with Pro Guitar/Bass upgrades! Get ready to play along with your favorite Nirvana songs on your Rock Band 3 compatible Pro Hardware!

On the occasion of Nevermind's 20th anniversary, Universal Music Enterprises will be releasing on September 27, 2011 a spectrum of re-releases worthy of such a pivotal classic. With configurations ranging from a 4-CD/1-DVD Super Deluxe Edition to a standard digital/CD remaster of the original album, the 20th anniversary reissue of Nevermind makes the most of the occasion, unearthing literally dozens of previously unreleased recordings, obscure B-sides, alternate mixes, radio sessions, studio rarities and live recordings, including the band’s 1991 Halloween concert at Seattle's Paramount Theatre which will be released for the first time in its entirety, Live At The Paramount, and will also be available in standalone DVD, Blu-ray and digital long form video formats on September 27, 2011.

As always, songs available as downloadable content for Rock Band 3 feature five-button guitar and bass parts, drums, Pro Drums, and keys, Pro Keys and harmonies, where applicable. “Heart-Shaped Box” also features Pro Guitar and Pro Bass upgrades available for an additional $0.99 upgrade download.

Available on Xbox 360, Wii and PS3 (September 20th, 2011):

  • Nirvana – “Heart-Shaped Box” X
  • Nirvana – “Rape Me”
  • Nirvana – “All Apologies”
  • Nirvana – “You Know You’re Right”

The Nirvana new tracks will be available as “Celebrating Nirvana Pack”, and all tracks will be available for purchase individually on Xbox 360, PlayStation®3 system and Wii. Tracks marked with “X” will include Pro Guitar and Pro Bass expansions for $0.99 per song.

PRO GUITAR/BASS UPGRADES:

These are upgrades to existing songs within the Rock Band Catalog

  • Nirvana – “Smells Like Teen Spirit”
  • Nirvana – “Breed”
  • Nirvana – “Polly”
  • Nirvana – “Territorial Pissings”
  • Nirvana – “Lounge Act”
  • Nirvana – “Stay Away”
  • Nirvana – “On a Plain”
  • Nirvana – “Something in the Way”
  • Nirvana – “Lithium (live)”
  • Nirvana – “Come As You Are (live)”

 (These tracks and upgrades will be available in Europe on PlayStation®3 system September 21st)

Price:

  • $6.99, £3.49 UK, €5.29 EU (560 Microsoft Points, 700 Wii Points) for “Celebrating Nirvana Pack”
  • $1.99 USD, £.99 UK, €1.49 EU (160 Microsoft Points) per song
  • $2.00USD (200 Wii Points) per song
  • $0.99 USD (100 Wii Points/80 Microsoft Points), £0.59 UK, €0.79 EU per song for eligible Pro Guitar/Pro Bass upgrade

** Dates for Rock Band game tracks are tentative and subject to change. **

Without further ado, here is the entire, jaw-dropping Rock Band 3 setlist:

2000s:

  • Amy Winehouse, “Rehab”
  • At the Drive-In, “One Armed Scissor”
  • Avenged Sevenfold, “The Beast & the Harlot”
  • Dover, “King George”
  • The Bronx, “False Alarm”
  • The Flaming Lips, “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Pt. 1”
  • HIM (His Infernal Majesty), “Killing Loneliness”
  • Hypernova, “Viva La Resistance”
  • Ida Maria, “Oh My God”*
  • Juanes, “Me Enamora”
  • Metric, “Combat Baby”*
  • Paramore, “Misery Business”*
  • Phoenix, “Lasso”*
  • Poni Hoax, “Antibodies”
  • Pretty Girls Make Graves, “Something Bigger, Something Brighter”
  • Queens of the Stone Age, “No One Knows”
  • The Ravonettes, “Last Dance”
  • Rilo Kiley, “Portions for Foxes”*
  • Riverboat Gamblers, “Don't Bury Me...I'm Still Not Dead”
  • Slipknot, “Before I Forget”
  • The Sounds, “Living in America”
  • Tegan & Sara, “The Con”
  • Them Crooked Vultures, “Dead End Friends”
  • Tokio Hotel, “Humanoid”*
  • The Vines, “Get Free”*
  • The White Stripes, “The Hardest Button to Button”*

1990s:

  • Faith No More, “Midlife Crisis”*
  • Filter, “Hey Man, Nice Shot”
  • Jane’s Addiction, “Been Caught Stealing”*
  • Maná, “Oye Mi Amor”
  • Marilyn Manson, “The Beautiful People”
  • The Muffs, “Outer Space”
  • Phish, “Llama”
  • Primus, “Jerry Was a Racecar Driver”
  • Rammstein, “Du Hast”
  • Smash Mouth, “Walkin’ On The Sun”*
  • Spacehog, “In the Meantime”
  • Stone Temple Pilots, “Plush”
  • Swingin’ Utters, “This Bastard’s Life”

1980s:

  • Anthrax, “Caught in a Mosh”
  • Big Country, “In a Big Country”
  • The Cure, “Just Like Heaven”*
  • Def Leppard, “Foolin’”
  • Devo, “Whip It”
  • Dio, “Rainbow in the Dark”
  • Dire Straits, “Walk of Life”
  • Echo & the Bunnymen, “The Killing Moon”
  • Huey Lewis and the News, “The Power of Love”
  • INXS, “Need You Tonight”*
  • J. Geils Band, “Centerfold”
  • Joan Jett, “I Love Rock N’ Roll”*
  • Night Ranger, “Sister Christian”*
  • Ozzy Osbourne, “Crazy Train”*
  • The Police, “Don’t Stand So Close to Me”
  • Roxette, “The Look”*
  • The Smiths, “Stop Me if You Think You’ve Heard This One Before”
  • Tears for Fears, “Everybody Wants to Rule the World”
  • Whitesnake, “Here I Go Again”*

1970s:

  • The B-52’s, “Rock Lobster”*
  • Blondie, “Heart of Glass”
  • Bob Marley, “Get Up, Stand Up”
  • Chicago, “25 or 6 to 4”
  • Deep Purple, “Smoke on the Water”
  • Doobie Brothers, “China Grove”*
  • Elton John, “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting”
  • Foreigner, “Cold As Ice”*
  • Golden Earring, “Radar Love”
  • John Lennon, “Imagine”
  • Lynyrd Skynyrd, “Free Bird”
  • Queen, “Bohemian Rhapsody”*
  • Ramones, “I Wanna Be Sedated”
  • Steve Miller Band, “Fly Like an Eagle”
  • T. Rex, “20th Century Boy”
  • Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, “I Need to Know”
  • War, “Low Rider”
  • Warren Zevon, “Werewolves of London”
  • Yes, “Roundabout”*

1960s:

  • Beach Boys, “Good Vibrations (Live)”
  • David Bowie, “Space Oddity”
  • The Doors, “Break on Through (To the Other Side)”*
  • James Brown, “I Got You" (I Feel Good) – Alternate Studio Version*
  • The Jimi Hendrix Experience, “Crosstown Traffic”*
  • The Who, “I Can See for Miles”

*Songs available on Rock Band 3 for Nintendo DS

Rock Band 3 allows players to create and save setlists and share them with friends, both in-game and through RockBand.com. New song filters make it easier to find the types of songs fans want to play and hide the songs they don’t, while a built-in song recommendation system will suggest tracks from Rock Band’s colossal music library, based on personal fan preference.

In addition to guitar, bass, drums and solo vocals, Rock Band 3 adds three-part vocal harmonies that were introduced with The Beatles: Rock Band and, for the first time ever, a keyboard peripheral to the band. Up to seven players can rock together for the ultimate social gaming experience.

Rock Band 3 empowers players to develop actual musical skills through the fun of fully scalable Rock Band Pro gameplay. Fans can dive in on Easy to try out basic skills and work their way up to Expert for real mastery.

  • Pro Drums supports three expansion cymbals, with gameplay differentiation between toms and cymbals.
  • Pro Keys features pitch-accurate keyboard performance across a two-octave range, displayed on an easy-to-read keyboard track.

The Rock Band 3 Squier by Fender Stratocaster Guitar Controller is a fully functional, full-sized, electric guitar with strings that also functions as a game controller for Rock Band 3’s innovative Pro mode gameplay. Its revolutionary technology will allow gamers and music lovers around the world to experience the immediate joy of playing guitar through the fun and accessibility of Rock Band gameplay.

Rock Band Pro, which incorporates more realistic instrumental performance information into gameplay, including string and fret information on guitar, differentiated cymbal and tom notation for drums, and full pitch-accurate gameplay for keyboards. Rock Band Pro is available in all modes of Rock Band 3, and features tutorials and a variety of difficulties, including Easy, meaning that real instrument performance is within reach of any player, no matter their experience level.

The Rock Band 3 Squier Stratocaster uses technology built into the neck and fingerboard of the guitar to track finger positions in real time. The guitar also transmits strum data for the six individual strings, allowing the game to give feedback to players as they make the leap from rhythm game rocking to real world skills. Players can unplug from the fun of Rock Band 3 and plug directly into an amp to rock for real.

For the casual player, Rock Band 3 has great new party modes that allow fans to get rocking with friends quicker than ever, including party shuffle and persistent drop-in/drop-out and difficulty selection from any gameplay screen. For the serious player, the revamped Career Mode features 700+ goals and rewards and seamless leaderboard integration for an endlessly deep campaign experience. Rock Band 3 also adds a suite of social networking tools to the game so fans can engage friends and fellow rockers over Facebook, Twitter and more. Whether players want to jump in for a quick song or take their band to the top, Rock Band 3 has a mode for everyone.

Rock Band 3 will ship simultaneously worldwide and will be compatible with all Rock Band and The Beatles: Rock Band peripherals, as well as most third-party instrument and microphone controllers. Mad Catz is the official peripheral manufacturer and distributor for Rock Band game controllers.

Rock Band 3 will ship in North America for the Wii/PS3/Xbox 360 ($59.99), and NDS ( $29.99).


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