I had a chance to get a preview of the upcoming Rock Band 4 video game from Harmonix at an E3 preview event. But more important, as you can see in the video below, And I saw some people perform with the new music rhythm game who were really into it.
This Rock Band, back after a three-year layoff, has new guitars and drums being made by Mad Catz, and you’ll be able to run it on your PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PS3, and PS3. (Not your PC). It’s coming in late 2015, and it will go head-to-head with Activision’s new Guitar Hero Live. The question is whether it will be different enough to prompt a revival of the genre, which collapsed from oversaturation a few years ago. Publishers turned to dance games and instructional guitar titles as alternatives while the hankering for faux guitars slowly came back.
[aditude-amp id="flyingcarpet" targeting='{"env":"staging","page_type":"article","post_id":1743354,"post_type":"preview","post_chan":"none","tags":null,"ai":false,"category":"none","all_categories":"games,","session":"B"}']Harmonix has some new features coming that sound cool, and Guitar Hero Live spins the camera around so you can see your audience of thousands in front of you.
With Rock Band 4, you can simulate a rock band with your fellow players on lead guitar, bass guitar, drums, and vocals. This is the first return of the franchise after a three-year hiatus. The focus is on the core gameplay, and it reduces the emphasis on musical instruction that came with the previous game. The 2,000 songs available on previous platforms will be compatible with the new version.
I also tried our Rock Band 4, but inside at another demo station where too many people couldn’t watch me. I had actually forgotten how to play and had to give it a second try to do reasonably bad at strumming the guitar. You play through a song and earn points if you’ve got good rhythm in hitting buttons at the right times with the guitars, or banging the drums at the appropriate moments. If you do well enough, you can trigger the Overdrive meter that gets you even more points in multiplayer contests. You can engage in an extended career mode which is like a role-playing game, where you have to play gigs and earn money for the band.
But here’s proof below on stage that Rock Band 4 can turn you into a rock star. Check out some of my colleagues in game journalism, playing Rock Band 4 on a roof in Santa Monica, Calif.
[Updated: I re-cut the video here and have restored it. Sorry for any inconvenience with resetting the earlier post].
