Rock Band makes you instantly regret your Guitar Hero 3 purchase
If there were ever a videogame industry story more suited for an episode of the Young and the Restless, the Rock Band/Guitar Hero saga is certainly it. Try and follow this: Harmonix, the original developer of Guitar Hero, was purchased by MTV; Red Octane, Guitar Hero’s original publisher, was purchased by Activision; Activision taps Tony Hawk Pro Skater developer Neversoft to create the third installment of the series; EA and MTV, of course, tap Harmonix to make what can politely be called a more ambitious version of Guitar Hero, named Rock Band.
Good god. All that is left is for an evil twin to come back from the grave, pregnant, and seeking revenge.
Hot off the heels of the latest Guitar Hero’s release, Wired’s Game|Life blog has released what songs will initially greet players when the first boot up Rock Band. Even the most cursory of glances can reveal the pure greatness contained within the opening tracks, especially when compared against Guitar Hero 3’s competent, if not disappointing, offering. Guitar Hero fans, prepare to weep some bitter tears:
Beginner:
Say It Ain’t So - Weezer
In Bloom - Nirvana
I Think I’m Paranoid - Garbage
Mississippi Queen - Mountain (cover song)
Here It Goes Again - OK GoApprentice:
Creep - Radiohead
Wave of Mutilation - Pixies
Should I Stay Or Should I Go - The Clash
Maps - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Gimme Shelter - The Rolling Stones
These songs were already revealed back when the full tracklist was revealed 2 days ago, of course. While there is some surprising overlap between the songs in both games, Rock Band does include many more “been dying to play” songs like Radiohead’s Creep.
Rockband will be released on the PS3 and Xbox 360 November 20th, with a PS2 release following December 18th. No official confirmation has been given on a Wii release, but the developers/publishers don’t seem totally against the idea.
- Rob O’Reilly
