10-30-08: AWESOME EDIT!!!! It is OFFICIAL!

**Announced today by MTV alongside Apple Corps, Harmonix will be developing a Beatles music title. It WILL NOT be a Rock Band title, and no word has been given yet on whether or not it will work alongside Rock Band. They are keeping the door pretty tightly closed on all the other details.**

The Wall Street Journal has reported today that The Beatles have licensed their music for use in MTV Network’s Rock Band rhythm video game as DLC or possibly a separate title. The details on which songs and how many has yet to be disclosed (I’m hoping it’s at least a whole album, if not more!) and the deal itself is really only a widely accepted rumor at this point. There is however going to be an announcement tomorrow by the CEO’s of MTV and Apple Corps, the company in charge of licensing The Beatles music. One can only assume it’s not a coincidence.

This is a huge deal for a few reasons, first the fact that The Beatles haven’t even licensed their songs for sale on iTunes at this point in time. Second is it marks the end of what I can only assume was a no holds barred bidding war between Activision and MTV for the rights. Too bad Activision wasted all their cash on the genre specific Metallica deal after having already spent a bundle on the rights to Aerosmith.

I must admit I am a bit surprised with the timing here given the proximity to the AC/DC Rock Band release. But I guess timing doesn’t really matter when it comes to The Beatles.

Logitech Premium Guitar

Logitech’s announcement today that they are bringing an “authentic” guitar controller for use with the PS2/PS3 versions of Guitar Hero: World Tour gives us two of these Wanna Be Real Guitarist fake guitars out there. Initially Mad Catz had announced a Fender Squire Stratocaster retrofitted with all the controlling mechanisms for use with Rock Band, alongside a replica bass controller. Of the two, only the replica bass is currently available. It can be found here.

Along with all the previously noted peripherals is one I just found recently. Peak has come out with a line of Starpex Premium Guitar Controllers for PS2 and PS3. No word yet but I’ll assume for now that they’ll come to the 360 as soon as they decide whether or not they’re going to spring for the wireless capabilities.

Peak Starpex Guitar

For a price tag anywhere from 60 to 200 dollars these guitars are not cheap. Cheap in price, or in quality. The precision bass has dual strum bars allowing for quicker upstrums using two fingers, along with a larger more lifelike size. The full sized replicas? Well, they’re big. They’re also super durable. At least thats the word on the street.

This is my question: Is it worth it?

I’m a proud owner of the ION Drum Rocker premium drum set. It has been a great way to get used to playing cymbals and pads during the course of a song. I have already started beginning my transition into the REAL drumming world with it. These guitars on the other hand, give you no bridge to the authentic playing world. They simply look real. So I decided to break it down using the Pro & Con list format.

Pros:

• Look SO GOOD
• Should last forever given the high quality of materials used
• Excellent way to make fellow gamers jealous
• In the case of the precision bass, lets you play quicker upstrums (which is the only way to play bass and keep it interesting)
• A star power button underneath the strummer on both the Peak and Logitech guitars for those who are frightened by the tilt

Cons:

• Quite expensive
• not real guitars, so you may catch some flak from real guitar playing friends and family

Looking at that list it seems like my initial reaction was about right. If you have the money, go for it. They are all attractive and you’ll be sure to impress everyone at your next Rock Band party. Unless you are a bass fanatic I’d wait until they come out with the wireless version of the precision bass, those should be out earlier next year.

For those arguing against my judgement, keep this in mind. The greatest thing about Rock Band, Guitar Hero, and all the other “wish we could do it that well” rythm games popping up is that they cultivate a better appreciation for music among people who might never have experienced some of the tunes in the game. I would bet more people have picked up a real instrument because of these games than you could imagine, and it is my opinion that anything that further promotes the playing of these games is a great thing for gaming and an even greater one for music!

Put to bed all the rumors about when they’ll be available and what songs are included. Harmonix has made it official. The date? November 4th. The songs? Right here:

• The 88 - “Sons and Daughters”
  
• Authority Zero - “No Regrets”
  
• Between the Buried and Me - “Prequel To The Sequel”
  
• The Cab - “Bounce”
  
• The Chevelles - “Get It On”
  
• The Cocktail Slippers - “Give It To Me”
• Dealership - “Database Corrupted”
  
• Endeverafter - “I Wanna Be Your Man”
• The Ghost Hounds - “Ashes To Fire”
• Hollywood Undead - “Young”
  
• Kutless - “The Feeling”
  
• The Len Price 3 “If I Ain’t Got You”
  
• Lesley Roy - “I’m Gone, I’m Going”
  
• Opiate for the Masses - “Burn You Down”
  
• Semi-Precious Weapons - “Magnetic Baby”
  
• Shaimus - “Like a Fool”
  
• Thenewno2 - “Crazy Tuesday”
  
• Tickle Me Pink - “The Time Is Wrong”
• Underoath - “Desperate Times, Desperate Measures”
  
• X Japan - “I.V.”

Wha? Whe? If you happen to have somehow completely missed all the info all the downloads, here’s a quick rundown. Pull out the booklet included with your copy of Rock Band 2 and check the back page. Use the website and code listed to register yourself for the download. When it’s time, you’ll recieve an email with the marketplace code for the songs.

On a related note, it’s almost halloween which means it’s time for pumpkin carving. And a perfect opportunity to let your neighborhood know you’re a rock star. You can use this pattern I made. It’s pretty detailed so I’d recommend a larger pumpkin, maybe blow the picture up a bit on two pieces of paper. I’ll post a picture as soon as I finish the pumpkin myself.

I have been holding off on writing my review of the product because I wanted to base my opinions on as much playing experience as possible. Having played for almost a week now I feel like I can adequately describe the experience for all of you.

I’m going to break each component down by durability, ease of use, and performance. I’m assuming you already have yours pre-ordered or aren’t getting one due to a lack of funding, if so just try to find something entertaining in here for yourself. Maybe take a moment to check out my game collection. For those of you still on the fence, do let me tell you now why you should get off it and pick one of these bad boys up.

First up is the pads, easily the most used part of the set and arguably the most important. As soon as you open the box containing the drum pads you’ll notice the quality. Holding one in my hands made me realize I may have wasted my money on that three year warranty from Amazon.com. They are constructed of a high quality plastic and the hit surface is some sort of silicon rubber substance. I don’t imagine these pads will break down any time soon. The pads are all attached to brackets and are easily moveable, a large wing nut holds each in place. Any Andre the Giants out there beware, it wouldn’t surprise me if they broke due to over tightening. The responsiveness of the pads is absolutely amazing. I have had no problems at all with missed notes and drum rolls are much easier due to the new surface’s increased rebound action. The only noticeable flaw is how much dust they attract. Luckily you can’t really tell, unless of course you have your camera’s flash on.

The most important thing for me was the new pedal. I had a lot of issues with the original and really wanted to find something better. When I first pulled the pedal out of it’s box I, like with the pads, noticed a great attention to quality. It’s completely constructed out of metal. I had no idea how anyone could ever break this through normal use. If you do, you have problems… The pressure required to depress the pedal is much lower than on the original Rock Band pedal. For me this was important because I usually keep the pedal held down between notes and it’s much easier on this one. There is a bit of a clank noise when I really get going on those fast songs. It only seems to happen when my foot isn’t square on the pedal though so I usually just move the pedal to a position where it isn’t as noticeable. One other perk is the retractable spikes, you can use them to keep the pedal from slipping around on the carpet.

The rack isn’t anything special. It does it’s job and not much more. Constructed of aluminum tubes held together by plastic braces, I doubt if this will ever break for anyone. Having not much else say I’ll move on the what is probably the least important part of the kit as far as function goes, but most important to most in terms of form.

“Playing a fake drum set would be much more entertaining if I could whack on some cymbals.” That was me a year ago. Knowing I was not alone in my wish, I assumed all along it would include cymbals this time around but that didn’t make me any less excited to try playing with them. Let me tell you, these were EASILY the hardest to get set up right. After about an hour of play I realized I simply hated where I had put them so I tore down my whole set to move them around. Then I was having all sorts of trouble with double hits and hits not registering. Luckily I found some help on the forums, you can hit up my assembly tips to read about how to fix that…it’s easy. Once I got through all of that funny business I ended up right where I knew I would all along. Drumming heaven.

This drum set is amazing. Yea, I said it…DRUM SET. It’s hard to tell from the pictures and video’s, but this is a genuine drum set. You can head in to freestyle in Rock Band 2 and you’ve got an electronic drum set sitting right in front of you. I have a hard time believing this thing will ever break down on me, I am in love. The responsiveness is great. The sense of realism I get is unbeatable. And on top of all that, my friends all think I look like a real badass when I play. Thank the lord for cymbals!

Okay don’t get me wrong, the setlist on Rock Band was amazing. The setlist for Rock Band 2 is arguably even better. But there are some songs I think should really be available for download.

Derek and the Dominos - Layla

The Animals - House of the Rising Sun

The Beatles - Come Together (I realize this one, and all other beatles tracks is just a money issue)

Bruce Springsteen - Born in the USA

Creedence Clearwater Revival - Have you ever seen the rain?

The Eagles - Hotel California

Some Neil Young or Crosby Stills Nash and Young

Rod Stewart - Maggie May

Tom Petty - Runnin’ Down a Dream

These are just the ones I’d pay double for. Feel free to tack on any you think I should check out.

So I’ll admit I’m way late on my Rock Band 2 thoughts. I’ve just been so busy playing the game that I’ve had no time to spend writing something like this.

If you enjoyed Rock Band then I can guarantee you will love the second release. They added some new venues and upgraded the band world tour in more than a few ways.

Most of the game is going to look and feel the same. There are a handful of new venues, which I don’t care too much about myself. I’m usually so busy looking at the notes on screen that I don’t really notice where I’m playing or what’s going on around me.

One of my favorite additions to the game is your ability to use one created character for any instrument at any time. Just back out to the band selection screen and you can change which character is playing which instrument. It goes a long way towards keeping your friends interested when they want to switch instruments but don’t care enough to make a new character.

Taking band world tour online and upgraded instruments are both a huge plus but the track list is obviously the big selling point for most people. Over 80 tracks on the disc with free downloads to come bringing it over 100. You can check out the track list over on wikipedia. And any Rock Band one DLC owners will be happy to know that all the downloaded content is perfectly compatible with Rock Band 2.

I have been playing this game non-stop since it’s release early this week…and I do not plan on slowing down any time soon. STRONGLY recommend you pick it up if you have your Rock Band one instruments. If not you’ll have to wait until next month when the bundle ships. Or you could just pick yourself up a bad ass ION Drum Rocker….

Mine arrived today at around 3pm. I spend the better part of an hour and a half taking it out of the box, admiring all the beautiful parts included and assembling everything. I took some pictures so those of you who do not yet have one and enjoy opening boxes of all sorts can enjoy the process. You can check them out on my myspace.

Having now spent an hour or so playing around with the set I have a few thoughts:

1. This set is seriously awesome. The rebound off the pads is amazing which makes drum rolls easier, the sound of the sticks is noticeable at worst, and the responsiveness is amazing. The cymbals however, leave a little bit to be desired. I had to give them a decent whack if I was hitting anything faster than quarter notes and they just feel a little clunky. [edit] After some play I seem to have gotten used to the way the cymbals play. I imagine the more I play the more at home I’ll feel with the new set.

2. Using these in freestyle mode is essentially a real drum set without a hi-hat pedal. The game recognizes the difference between cymbals and pads so you have enough options to come up with a decent beat if you have the skills required. That is awesome.

3. The kick pad is very light which makes it pretty easy to do faster kick patters. You can place it wherever you want which is great for comfort if you’re like me and have longer legs. As a matter of fact, the whole kit is adjustable. It’s near perfect.

If you loved drumming on Rock Band, pick this bad boy up because it’ll only enhance the experience. It’s well worth the 300 dollar price tag. The ION Drum Rocker makes playing much easier and above all else, it makes you feel like a real bad ass.