Anticipation of Rock Band 2 (PS3, PS2, Wii, XBOX)

So, I’m sure anyone who’s ever played Rockband has either gotten incredibly addicted and some painful gaming blisters from this inventive video game.  I don’t want anyone going into a diatribe about how this is a fake music game, please.  I do know this and the purpose of this is to give more information about Rock Band to those who love the game as much as I do.  I’m by no means a professional musician but I have played the guitar, violin and cello for many years and continue to love playing instruments which is part and parcel of me really singing accolades about this genre of gaming. 

There seems to be some interesting advances in perfecting some of their instrument controllers.  Apparently, the guitar will be softer and easier on the fingers.  It will also have an antique finish to it making it look a little slicker (definitely easy on the eyes as it looks a little less plasticy)!

There will also be a release of the standard drum set (looks like the one from RB with reinforced pedal and softer, quieter, bouncier pads with option to add cymbals) and the real Ion drumset modified to fit the game.  No more having to soder your own connection to the circuit board and add a midi intrepreter to get your Roland to work.  If you’ve seen some of the youtube videos, you’ll know what I mean.  This allows for better drums playability.  You can see a short preview here:  https://www.drumrocker.com/index.php

From the research I have been doing, it also seems that the peripherals being released will work on the Rock Band 1 and Rock Band 2 games and thus are backwards and forward compatible.  There is also talk of the Harmonix Rock Band peripherals being able to work on Activision’s Guitar Hero’s world tour as well.  This is unconfirmed, however, but gives a better choice in third-party hardware to chose from thus allowing for greater variety.  One of the greatest disappointement I had was purchasing a Guitar Hero guitar and not getting it to work out of the box for PS3.  It’s nice to see that Harmonix is seeing that people are shelling out bucks for this game and they haven’t closed us in on purchasing new hardware for their new game.

It looks like the XBox 360 will get a release first in September and the Wii and PS2/PS3 will get a release in November.  Looking at the prerelease shipment dates on EB, it seems like this may be the case. 

XBOX Game only - Preorder Ships 09/14/2008
http://www.ebgames.com/Catalog/ProductDetails.aspx?product_id=71886

XBOX Special Edition Bundle - Preorder Ships 10/19/2008
http://www.ebgames.com/Catalog/ProductDetails.aspx?product_id=71887

PS3 Game Only - Pre-order ships 10/19/2008
http://www.ebgames.com/Catalog/ProductDetails.aspx?product_id=71963

PS3 Special Edition Bundle - Pre-order ships 10/19/2008
http://www.ebgames.com/Catalog/ProductDetails.aspx?product_id=71966

PS2 Game only - Pre-order ships 11/18/2008
http://www.ebgames.com/Catalog/ProductDetails.aspx?product_id=71962

Wii Game Only - Preorder ships 11/18/2008
http://www.ebgames.com/Catalog/ProductDetails.aspx?product_id=71957

Wii Special Edition Bundle - Preorder ships 11/18/2008
http://www.ebgames.com/Catalog/ProductDetails.aspx?product_id=71965

I will certainly post more info as it becomes available. 

Also, you can check out the new setlist:

Rock Band 2 On-Disc Track List:
Artist Song Title Decade
1. AC/DC “Let There Be Rock” 1970s
2. AFI “Girl’s Gone Grey” 2000’s
3. Alanis Morissette “You Oughta Know” 1990’s
4. Alice in Chains “Man in the Box” 1990’s
5. Allman Brothers “Ramblin’ Man” 1970’s
6. Avenged Sevenfold “Almost Easy” 2000’s
7. Bad Company “Shooting Star” 1970’s
8. Beastie Boys “So Whatcha Want” 1990’s
9. Beck “E-Pro” 2000’s
10. Bikini Kill “Rebel Girl” 1990’s
11. Billy Idol “White Wedding Pt. I” 1980’s
12. Blondie “One Way or Another” 1970’s
13. Bob Dylan “Tangled Up in Blue” 1970’s
14. Bon Jovi “Livin’ on a Prayer” 1980’s
15. Cheap Trick “Hello There” 1970’s
16. Devo “Uncontrollable Urge” 1980’s
17. Dinosaur Jr. “Feel the Pain” 1990’s
18. Disturbed “Down with the Sickness” 2000’s
19. Dream Theater “Panic Attack” 2000’s
20. Duran Duran “Hungry Like the Wolf” 1980’s
21. Elvis Costello “Pump It Up” 1970’s
22. Fleetwood Mac “Go Your Own Way” 1970’s
23. Foo Fighters “Everlong” 1990’s
24. Guns N’ Roses “Shackler’s Revenge” 2000’s
25. Interpol “PDA” 2000’s
26. Jane’s Addiction “Mountain Song” 1980’s
27. Jethro Tull “Aqualung” 1970’s
28. Jimmy Eat World “The Middle” 2000’s
29. Joan Jett “Bad Reputation” 1980’s
30. Journey “Anyway You Want It” 1970’s
31. Judas Priest “Painkiller” 1990’s
32. Kansas “Carry On Wayward Son” 1970’s
33. L7 “Pretend We’re Dead” 1990’s
34. Lacuna Coil “Our Truth” 2000’s
35. Linkin Park “One Step Closer” 2000’s
36. Lit “My Own Worst Enemy” 1990’s
37. Lush “De-Luxe” 1990’s
38. Mastodon “Colony of Birchmen” 2000’s
39. Megadeth “Peace Sells” 1980’s
40. Metallica “Battery” 1980’s
41. Mighty Mighty Bosstones “Where’d You Go” 1990’s
42. Modest Mouse “Float On” 2000’s
43. Motorhead “Ace of Spades” 1980’s
44. Nirvana “Drain You” 1990’s
45. Norman Greenbaum “Spirit in the Sky” 1960’s
46. Panic at the Disco “Nine in the Afternoon” 2000’s
47. Paramore “That’s What You Get” 2000’s
48. Pearl Jam “Alive” 1990’s
49. Presidents of the USA “Lump” 1990’s
50. Rage Against the Machine “Testify” 1990’s
51. Ratt “Round & Round” 1980’s
52. Red Hot Chili Peppers “Give it Away” 1990’s
53. Rise Against “Give it All” 2000’s
54. Rush “The Trees” 1970’s
55. Silversun Pickups “Lazy Eye” 2000’s
56. Smashing Pumpkins “Today” 1990’s
57. Social Distortion “I Was Wrong” 1990’s
58. Sonic Youth “Teenage Riot” 1980’s
59. Soundgarden “Spoonman” 1990’s
60. Squeeze “Cool for Cats” 1970’s
61. Steely Dan “Bodhitsattva” 1970’s
62. Steve Miller Band “Rock’n Me” 1970’s
63. Survivor “Eye of the Tiger” 1980’s
64. System of a Down “Chop Suey” 2000’s
65. Talking Heads “Psycho Killer” 1970’s
66. Tenacious D “Master Exploder” 2000’s
67. Testament “Souls of Black” 1990’s
68. The Donnas “New Kid in School” 2000’s
69. The Go-Go’s “We Got the Beat” 1980’s
70. The Grateful Dead “Alabama Getaway” 1980’s
71. The Guess Who “American Woman” 1970’s
72. The Muffs “Kids in America” 1990’s
73. The Offspring “Come Out & Play (Keep ‘em Separated)” 1990’s
74. The Replacements “Alex Chilton” 1980’s
75. The Who “Pinball Wizard” 1960’s

Bonus Artist Bonus Song Title Decade
76. Abnormality “Visions” 2000’s
77. Anarchy Club “Get Clean” 2000’s
78. Bang Camaro “Night Lies” 2000’s
79. Breaking Wheel “Shoulder to the Plow” 2000’s
80. The Libyans “Neighborhood” 2000’s
81. The Main Drag “A Jagged Gorgeous Winter” 2000’s
82. Speck “Conventional Lover” 2000’s
83. The Sterns “Supreme Girl” 2000’s
84. That Handsome Devil “Rob the Prez-O-Dent” 2000’s