Though something seems to be missing…

One act builds seem to have become a more accepted deviation for both of these franchises, as a half dozen or so bands have had a rhythm game crafted just for them. From the timeless pieces of The Beatles, to the mega metal majestic of Metallica, we’ve seen that gamers would buy a music game based off of their most beloved bands. Well, that’s not always the case. Guitar Hero: Aerosmith felt more like Guitar Hero 3 with standard definition video clips of the band and the omission of a few of their premiere tracks (Amazing being one, which has yet to surface on any Guitar Hero or Rock Band game). Guitar Hero: Van Halen could barely be given away for free with a purchase of Guitar Hero 5.

Yet, the genre could benefit from just one addition…

While I hold no allegiance towards either franchise (though my whole-hearted appreciation and unabashed love for Guitar Hero: Metallica is well documented), the addition of a keyboard peripheral to the Rock Band franchise opens up a unique list of opportunities to grab hold of those that may have grown tired of that “same ol’ same ol’” feeling that this genre has displayed. A plethora of bands, albums and tracks can fully utilize this keyboard to further immerse gamers into the songs that they are performing. From artists who’ve had previous encounters with the plastic peripherals of pleasure (Michael Jackson) to the virgins of the genre, who can provide the gamers with a more diverse experience (The Calling/Alex Band).

We can sit here, point out bands, albums, or even songs that Rock band 3 can now be open towards (and I invite you to with a comment down below) but I’d like to actually provide a short list of tracks that would not only utilize the keyboard, but provide a musical satisfaction to an entire band, through its entire band performance and enjoyment, as well as the song its self. Forgive my musical tastes, though in all honesty, each song seems custom tailored for Rock Band 3.

(ignore the actual videos shown, and try to immerse yourself into each example below)

Muse – New Born

Muse has become a goldmine of potential with the installation of the new keyboard peripheral, even more so than they were to the genre previously. New Born is a powerful mix of each instrument, as well as some equally pulse pounding vocals. There’s enough repetition through a few segments to push away any type of longstanding difficulty spikes, but would still be a demanding track to play nevertheless, and thoroughly enjoyable to listen to as well. You can put just about any Muse song into a Rock Band 3 set-list and come away with a track that will more than likely steal the show.

Evanescence – Where Will You Go

Off of the precursor to Fallen, this track from their Origin album is one of those tracks that’s been pretty much neglected, for reasons I couldn’t even fathom to guess. Though the darker overtones may not latch onto many, the pace, lyrics and overall style would flow rather well as an intermediate track. While the piano pieces in the beginning will soon give way to a more church keyboard-like performance, which would work in a more than suitable fashion with the new keyboard add-on. From top to bottom, even if you’re not an Evanescence fan in general, Where Will You Go has a worthy pacing, commendable instrumental work and vocal portion that doesn’t require any sort of superhuman manipulation of your voice.

Fingertight – Magical

This song would be better suited for a keyboard and vocal selling point. While the keystrokes are ever changing throughout, they do weave together into a similar enough charting to place in game as something that would not overly intimidate someone just getting comfortable with the keyboard. The vocal piece is soothing, without an excessive amount of effort needed until the latter half of the song. Though the group is now defunct, Magical would surprisingly be an addition to the line up that’s best described as what the song is called.

Muse – Exogenesis: Symphony Pt. 2: Cross-Pollination

As stated earlier, Muse has a wealth of tracks that have become ideal for the Rock Band 3 experience. This is a track off of Muse’s latest album, The Resistance, that I never really “got” until recently. A keyboard centric piece, Cross-Pollination would serve masterfully as an expert run with this instrument, a progressively more powerful vocal performance as the song matures, and a mostly timid string and drum portion that isn’t a focal point in the songs development whatsoever. The power behind the lyrics and its delivery, coupled with a vastly intimidating keyboard carting that never relents, would surely deliver one of the most challenging, yet thoroughly gratifying experience within the genre. Definitely one of those tracks that can exceed as a “final battle” theme, as well as any other major third act soundtrack additions to a movie, but can work just as well, if not better, within a game like Rock Band 3.

Aerosmith – Amazing

This was the one Aerosmith song I desperately wanted, and it was never included in any fashion in its Guitar Hero: Aerosmith compilation. With the genres progression to vocals as well as the keyboard, this would be an amazing fit to the song library. While the general instrumental pieces are not overly complex, the vocals can definitely give seasoned veterans a moderate challenge, as Steve Tyler range and incoherence towards the end could make for some memorable times. A solid fit to the library in every respect.

Though most of my selections lack the range of power, emotion and performance that the Rock Band library provides, the range in keyboard functions, band functions and likely good times more than make up for that. There’s are hundreds upon hundreds of songs out there that might be a better suit for the Rock Band 3 experience, which is where you all come in. Leave a message below with what you feel would be essential additions to the third installment of the Rock Band series, that would best utilize the keyboard for beginners, right on through to those that will surely become keyboard kings.

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But this isn’t about them. Or the demo. It’s the picture that pops in upon exiting.

It raises a few thoughts. Guitar, drums, bass, vocal…harmonies? Okay. It was in B:RB, I can let that slide. Saw that coming.

There’s also a keyboard there. More thoughts. How is this going to work? What is the note chart going to look like? On Expert? Does this mean we now have a max number of SEVEN band members at once, and a minimum of 5 as a full band?

Will we finally get a most triumphant version of Bohemian Rhapsody to play at parties? Piano Man? Love Train? Party Hard?

Can our video content really handle something this epic?

The mind boggles.

Because really, It’s one thing to say, “Yeah, it’s coming out”, and another to come to the table with actual material. Sounds like Rock Band 3 finally has a concrete announcement under its belt!

Here’s hoping the crew gets some hands on time with it at E3 this year, I know I’m dying for the inevitable bombshell come June..

Thanks to JoeCamNet’s Dtoid Blog for the picture, his camera was much kinder to the image than mine.

Ask anyone around here. My name is practically synonymous with games that use music as a part of their collective energy. Ouendan, Lumines, Rez, even Gitaroo Man and the Parappa trilogy (Parappa, UmJammer Lammy, Parappa 2) have my mark on them and can be a spectacle to behold when I’m at the helm (not to toot my own horn). There’s just something about being able to feel the music in a game, feel like you’re composing, feeling like the artist, say what you will about immersion in other genres, but I can claim being so immersed in Dj Max or Guitar Hero that my body was reacting to the gameplay before my mind could, and I found myself caught in a trance, as if I were watching myself play.

Take that, Killzone.

(By the way, I play 6-button now. cower in fear, prospective mixers)

Because I’m so into the rhythm action scene, the recent announcement of Rock Band: Unplugged caught my eye immediately. However reserved I am about Rock Band being shrunk for the small screen, part of this does intrigue me, because instead of working up some kooky prehipheral to hang awkwardly off my already fragile PSP (see Guitar Hero: World Tour), they’ve actually taken a page from Pentavision and come up with a control scheme perfect for the handheld. In what I can only call a stroke of genius, the game controls like DJ Max Fever’s 4-Button mode, using the left, up, triangle, and circle buttons for each respective note. It’s easy to learn, intuitive, and next to the interface for Elite Beat Agents/Ouendan, is the best format for portable rhythm-action, in my opinion.

Hopefully, it gets much harder than the above video, but I know they have to make it seem friendly for us simple folk. (After all, you have to download Caprici Di Diablo if you feel like shattering your instrument in the console versions.)

The feature list for the game is very robust for a portable title as well. Not only will it feature all four band instruments in lead,bass,drum and vocals (can’t wait to see how they’ll handle those!), but the world tour mode is also intact as well. The game ships with 40 master tracks out of the box and downloadable music is also planned for the future. A forthcoming $199 bundle is also planned, which will feature a PSP-3000, copy of the game, and a 4GB Memory Stick. Of course, I could mention the download voucher for the movie School of Rock that’s also included, but haven’t you had enough good news for one day?

The mains here at CL are already famous for our RB stylings, but how many people see this as a definite purchase?

I know I’m already sold.