Burnin' Down The House

Burning up the charts might be a better term. Recently Harmonix studios released the third iteration in their Rock Band series and boy is it remarkable. Originally I intended to simply do a write up covering the keyboard but I think I may have to go more in depth after having some extra days to play through some of the challenge system and get a better feel for the set list. Simply put, this is the best rhythm game on the market today and I'm going to tell you why.

When Rock Band 3 was announced the big thing that caught every one's eye was the announcement of the keyboard peripheral. The previous two games, along with Beatles: Rock Band and LEGO: Rock Band already have consumers the ability to mimic guitar, bass, drums, and sing to their heart's content. The Beatles: Rock Band even upped the ante by allowing three part harmonies to be included; a feature that would find its way into Green Day: Rock Band earlier this year. While having three instruments and a singer was great and provided hours of fun, adding keys would open the avenues for an even deeper song selection. This was clearly evident when the first batch of songs were announced, including the likes of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody", Whitesnake's "Here I Go Again", and John Lennon's "Imagine". 

The official Rock Band 3 keyboard/keytar

Now while the addition of a keyboard might not sound revolutionary, what path that it opened up led to the creation of Rock Band 3's defining feature. In adding keyboards, thus came the keyboard peripheral. While modest in size, it's a fully functional midi keyboard that is not limited to a five button set up. Instead you're given 24 keys. The normal way of playing Rock Band would require you only to focus on five colored keys. Harmonix's most ambitious project though would be utilizing the rest of that keyboard in it's brand new Pro Mode which actually allows you to play the full song, note for note. When you jump into Pro Keys on Expert, you're officially playing the song.  They even went to the extent of including a tutorial mode to teach you the basics of playing the instrument as well as a similar game mode that allows you to learn a song piece by piece.

If you're not a keyboard person don't fret! Harmonix saw fit to also include Pro Modes for the guitar and bass as well as the drums. And while pro modes for guitar, keys, and bass are limited to tracks in Rock Band 3 and DLC from this point on; Pro Drums has been charted into every song since day one. So if drumming is what you enjoy most about Rock Band, you'll be able to go through the entire back catalog of Rock Band 1, Rock Band 2, LEGO: Rock Band, Green Day: Rock Band, and any DLC you may have. Of course this requires the the new Rock Band 3 drum kit, or the cymbal expansion kit for your Rock Band 2 kit. Thus, Harmonix provides an even more authentic experience for gamers, further bridging the gap between playing the game and playing music. 

Currently the only Pro Guitar on the market is the Mustang Pro guitar but Harmonix has recently announced the pricing and availability of the Fender Squire guitar. The Squire will be a fully functional midi guitar that players will be able to hook up to an amp when they play. This will of course require the Midi box they will be releasing later this month which can also be used to hook up your own electronic drum set or keyboard for a more authentic Pro playing experience. 

Rock Band's Pro Instruments
(Red Mustang Pro, Fender Squire, Keyboard.)

When you put this together with the expansive Rock Band catalog of music you definitely get one hell of an experience. The ability to import your earlier tracks from the previous games goes a long way, despite the few tracks that will be missing from the packs. And unfortunately, The Beatles: Rock Band remains its own experience and cannot be exported. However there is a great slate of new artists finally lending their material to the rhythm game genre. If you're like me and still enjoy playing rhythm games then this is definitely one you will want to experience. Rock Band 3 elevates the genre to new heights and I applaud Harmonix for their efforts. I also look forward to the release of the Bon Jovi 12 pack next week, featuring pro versions of previously released tracks "Livin' On a Prayer", "Wanted Dead or Alive", and "You Give Love A Bad Name". Rock on ladies and gentlemen!