Rock Band is a 2007 music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems and distributed by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. The game is available for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, and Wii game consoles. Rock Band is based on Harmonix' previous success with the Guitar Hero series of video games in which players used a guitar-shaped controller to simulate playing rock music. Rock Band expands on the concept by adding a drum and microphone peripheral, allowing up to four players to participate in the game, playing lead and bass guitar, drums, and vocals. The gameplay in Rock Band is comparable to that in Guitar Hero along with elements from Harmonix' Karaoke Revolution.
Rock Band for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 2 and 3 shipped with 58 songs on disk, while the Wii version, released at a later date, contained 5 additional songs that were released as downloadable content for the game. The European version of the game also includes 9 additional songs that have since been released as downloadable content for other regions. The player can expand their music library on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions by purchasing new songs offered on a weekly basis through the consoles' respective store systems. A full list of downloadable songs is available. For the PlayStation 2 and Wii versions of Rock Band, Harmonix has created Rock Band Track Packs that contain a selection of the downloadable content already offered.
With Rock Band 2 and Rock Band 3, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 players can export a majority of songs from the Rock Band soundtrack to their console's storage device by purchasing a "transfer license" for 400 Microsoft Points ($4.99).[1][2] Additionally, certain songs rated as "Family Friendly" by Harmonix are playable in Lego Rock Band. "Enter Sandman", "Moonson", "Paranoid" and "Run to the Hills" cannot be exported to any other game in the series. While initially not exportable to Rock Band 3, "Black Hole Sun" and "Dani California" were made available via a patch released on November 8, 2011.[3] On the European version, "Heir Kommt Alex" & "Rock 'n' Roll Star" can be exported to Rock Band 2 but not Rock Band 3.[4]
Contents |
Players can play Rock Band alone through a Career mode for lead guitar, drums, and vocals, earning in-game money for their character to purchase new outfits and instruments. Each of the 45 songs[5][6] has a different difficulty ranking for each instrument part, as well as a total band difficulty. There are a total of nine difficulties, or tiers. In career mode each song in a tier must be successfully completed to move onto the next and unlock the songs in that tier. This tier system is also used for rating the difficulty of the song (the "Band" tier) and its separate instrumental parts for downloadable content even though the songs are not used to unlock new songs in career mode. Once songs are unlocked, they may be played in any mode, including Quickplay, and multiplayer (competitive and co-operative modes) off- or online. Each instrument part in each song can be played at one of four difficulty levels, which include Easy, Medium, Hard, and Expert.
Song titles listed in bold utilize master recordings.
| Song title | Artist | Decade | Genre | Exportable | Family Friendly |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" | Jet | 2000s | Rock | Yes | No |
| "Ballroom Blitz" | Sweet | 1970s | Glam | Yes | Yes |
| "Black Hole Sun" | Soundgarden | 1990s | Rock | Yes[3] | No |
| "Blitzkrieg Bop" | Ramones | 1970s | Punk | Yes | Yes |
| "Celebrity Skin" | Hole | 1990s | Pop/Rock | Yes | No |
| "Cherub Rock" | Smashing Pumpkins | 1990s | Alternative | Yes | Yes |
| "Creep" | Radiohead | 1990s | Alternative | Yes | No |
| "Dani California" | Red Hot Chili Peppers | 2000s | Rock | Yes[3] | No |
| "Dead on Arrival" | Fall Out Boy | 2000s | Emo | Yes | Yes |
| "Detroit Rock City" | Kiss | 1970s | Classic Rock | Yes | No |
| "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" | Blue Öyster Cult | 1970s | Classic Rock | Yes | Yes |
| "Electric Version" | The New Pornographers | 2000s | Rock | Yes | No |
| "Enter Sandman" | Metallica | 1990s | Metal | No | No |
| "Epic" | Faith No More | 1980s | Rock | Yes | Yes |
| "Flirtin' with Disaster" | Molly Hatchet | 1970s | Southern Rock | Yes | No |
| "Foreplay/Long Time" | Boston | 1970s | Classic Rock | Yes | Yes |
| "Gimme Shelter" | The Rolling Stones | 1960s | Classic Rock | Yes | No |
| "Go with the Flow" | Queens of the Stone Age | 2000s | Rock | Yes | Yes |
| "Green Grass and High Tides" | The Outlaws | 1970s | Southern Rock | Yes | Yes |
| "Here It Goes Again" | OK Go | 2000s | Pop/Rock | Yes | No |
| "Highway Star" | Deep Purple | 1970s | Classic Rock | Yes | No |
| "I Think I'm Paranoid" | Garbage | 1990s | Pop/Rock | Yes | No |
| "In Bloom" | Nirvana | 1990s | Alternative | Yes | No |
| "Learn to Fly" | Foo Fighters | 1990s | Rock | Yes | No |
| "Main Offender" | The Hives | 2000s | Rock | Yes | No |
| "Maps" | Yeah Yeah Yeahs | 2000s | Rock | Yes | Yes |
| "Mississippi Queen" | Mountain | 1970s | Southern Rock | Yes | No |
| "Next to You" | The Police | 1970s | Rock | Yes | No |
| "Orange Crush" | R.E.M. | 1980s | Alternative | Yes | No |
| "Paranoid" | Black Sabbath | 1970s | Metal | No | No |
| "Reptilia" | The Strokes | 2000s | Rock | Yes | Yes |
| "Run to the Hills" | Iron Maiden | 1980s | Metal | No | No |
| "Sabotage" | Beastie Boys | 1990s | Rock | Yes | No |
| "Say It Ain't So" | Weezer | 1990s | Alternative | Yes | No |
| "Should I Stay or Should I Go" | The Clash | 1980s | Punk | Yes | No |
| "Suffragette City" | David Bowie | 1970s | Glam | Yes | Yes |
| "The Hand That Feeds" | Nine Inch Nails | 2000s | Rock | Yes | No |
| "Tom Sawyer" | Rush | 1980s | Progressive | Yes | Yes |
| "Train Kept A-Rollin'" | Aerosmith | 1970s | Rock | Yes | No |
| "Vasoline" | Stone Temple Pilots | 1990s | Alternative | Yes | No |
| "Wanted Dead or Alive" | Bon Jovi | 1980s | Rock | Yes | Yes |
| "Wave of Mutilation" | Pixies | 1980s | Alternative | Yes | No |
| "Welcome Home" | Coheed and Cambria | 2000s | Progressive | Yes | No |
| "When You Were Young" | The Killers | 2000s | Alternative | Yes | No |
| "Won't Get Fooled Again" | The Who | 1970s | Classic Rock | Yes | Yes |
A total of 13 bonus songs can also be unlocked through the game's Career mode.[6][7] The bonus setlist consists of bands formed by Harmonix employees as well as local bands from near Harmonix's headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts or from Boston. The exceptions are Flyleaf, Crooked X, and Mother Hips. "Timmy and the Lords of the Underworld" comes from the titular fictional band featured in the comedy show South Park.
| Song title | Artist | Decade | Genre | Family Friendly |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "29 Fingers" | The Konks | 2000s | Rock | Yes |
| "Blood Doll" | Anarchy Club | 2000s | Rock | No |
| "Brainpower" | Freezepop | 2000s | Rock | No |
| "Can't Let Go" | Death of the Cool | 2000s | Rock | Yes |
| "Day Late, Dollar Short" | The Acro-Brats | 2000s | Rock | No |
| "I Get By" | Honest Bob and the Factory-to-Dealer Incentives |
2000s | Rock | Yes |
| "I'm So Sick" | Flyleaf | 2000s | Alternative | No |
| "Nightmare" | Crooked X | 2000s | Metal | Yes |
| "Outside" | Tribe | 1990s | Rock | Yes |
| "Pleasure (Pleasure)" | Bang Camaro | 2000s | Rock | Yes |
| "Seven" | Vagiant | 2000s | Rock | No |
| "Time We Had" | The Mother Hips | 2000s | Rock | Yes |
| "Timmy and the Lords of the Underworld" | Timmy and the Lords of the Underworld |
2000s | Rock | No |
The Wii version of Rock Band features 5 additional songs originally released as downloadable content on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game.[8]
| Song title | Artist | Decade | Genre | Family Friendly |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Dirty Little Secret" | The All American Rejects | 2000s | Emo | Yes |
| "Don't Look Back In Anger" | Oasis | 1990s | Rock | Yes |
| "Roam" | The B-52's | 1980s | Pop/Rock | Yes |
| "Rockaway Beach" | Ramones | 1970s | Punk | Yes |
| "Roxanne" | The Police | 1970s | Pop/Rock | No |
The European version of Rock Band features 9 additional songs not available on the North American disc. These bonus songs include English, German, and French vocals.[9] These songs were released as downloadable content in the North American market on May 20, 2008.[10]
| Song title | Artist | Language | Decade | Genre | Exportable | Family Friendly |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Beetlebum" | Blur | English | 1990s | Alternative | Yes | No |
| "Countdown to Insanity" | H-Blockx | English | 2000s | Rock | Yes | No |
| "Hier Kommt Alex" | Die Toten Hosen | German | 1980s | Punk | Rock Band 2 only | No |
| "Hysteria" | Muse | English | 2000s | Alternative | Yes | Yes |
| "Manu Chao" | Les Wampas | French | 2000s | Punk | Yes | No |
| "Monsoon" | Tokio Hotel | English | 2000s | Glam | No | Yes |
| "New Wave" | Pleymo | French | 2000s | Metal | Yes | No |
| "Perfekte Welle" | Juli | German | 2000s | Rock | Yes | No |
| "Rock 'n' Roll Star" | Oasis | English | 1990s | Rock | Rock Band 2 only | Yes |
|
||||||||||||||||||||