Hey FreQuency and Amplitude Fans: Harmonix LOVES You
And they're proving it with Rock Band Blitz. Details are a click away.
Published: April 4, 2012
When Harmonix Music Systems broke onto the scene with FreQuency, it was nothing short of a rhythm action revolution. These were actual music tracks that you could build yourself, and for electronic music buffs like us, the track listing wasn't just a revolution, it was a revelation. Being able to sculpt music track-by-track -- sometimes music that couldn't be found easily elsewhere -- was heavenly, and with artists like BT, Paul Oakenfold, Orbital, The Crystal Method and the introduction for those of us who weren't down with the underground Boston-area synth-pop scene to Freezepop, FreQuency sported one of the best track listings ever seen in a game. And you could remix them.
Problem was, electronic music wasn't exactly infecting Top 40 tracks then like it is now, and Sony (who published both the debut and sophomore follow-up, Amplitude) decided to go a little more mainstream with the follow-up. Amplitude wasn't just known artists like David Bowie, Garbage, Pink and Run-DMC, though, it was a clear precursor to the interface and feel of what would become Guitar Hero. Though Amplitude lacked the same build-as-you-go roots of FreQuency, it was infinitely more palatable to the masses, though neither game sold especially well.
That didn't keep fans from begging Harmonix incessantly for more, and now it looks like we're finally seeing a proper successor -- if not in name than at least in spirit. Dubbed Rock Band Blitz, the love letter to Amp/FreQ fans isn't just a re-skinning of the old games with the familiar Rock Band name, it's a proper tie-in to Harmonix's breakout music game, yet doesn't require any clicky plastic instruments to enjoy. The downloadable (yes, that means PlayStation Network and Xbox LIVE) entry piggybacks off tracks from all of the Rock Band games, and the 20+ tracks that will ship with Rock Band Blitz will be fully playable with instruments in Rock Band 3 the second you download them, and for free. How's that for synergy?
"We're excited to give Rock Band fans a new way to play their existing Rock Band library," beams Alex Rigopulos, Harmonix's CEO, co-founder and Colbert SuperPAC benefactor. "With over 3,500 songs at their disposal and addictive multi-track gameplay, Rock Band Blitz is going to be a great way to compete with your friends later this summer!"
And compete we shall, with new tracks from "Jessie's Girl" by Rick Springfield to "Always" by way of Blink-182 to Foster The People's "Pumped Up Kicks" to Quiet Riot's "Metal Health (Band Your Head)" -- all of which seems to indicate that while we're not quite heading into EDM territory just yet, there's still a pretty wide spectrum of musical styles. And really, none of that matters, because it's always been the gameplay that had us coining the term "digital crack" back in our FreQuency review.
For those wondering about the controls, though, we reached out to Harmonix to find out how the game would actually play in this era of triggers on controllers -- something the DualShock 2 never had to worry about, and which made flitting fingers across three different buttons quickly a breeze. Though there are multiple control methods (owing to the fact that Harmonix has plenty of internal opinions about what works best), the default will let players use the L2/R2 buttons to toggle between tracks and, with the reduced two-note lanes, capture them with either the d-pad or left stick for the left note, and X or the right stick to grab the right notes. Power-ups, like a pinball that bounces around to catch notes and a bottle rocket that blasts through all of them (Auto-Blaster, anyone?), are fired off with the Circle button.
If it sounds a little confusing, we're here to help. Take a look at both the launch video and gameplay below, and make sure to tell us what you think in the comments!
[Gameplay]
[Announcement Video]
Problem was, electronic music wasn't exactly infecting Top 40 tracks then like it is now, and Sony (who published both the debut and sophomore follow-up, Amplitude) decided to go a little more mainstream with the follow-up. Amplitude wasn't just known artists like David Bowie, Garbage, Pink and Run-DMC, though, it was a clear precursor to the interface and feel of what would become Guitar Hero. Though Amplitude lacked the same build-as-you-go roots of FreQuency, it was infinitely more palatable to the masses, though neither game sold especially well.
That didn't keep fans from begging Harmonix incessantly for more, and now it looks like we're finally seeing a proper successor -- if not in name than at least in spirit. Dubbed Rock Band Blitz, the love letter to Amp/FreQ fans isn't just a re-skinning of the old games with the familiar Rock Band name, it's a proper tie-in to Harmonix's breakout music game, yet doesn't require any clicky plastic instruments to enjoy. The downloadable (yes, that means PlayStation Network and Xbox LIVE) entry piggybacks off tracks from all of the Rock Band games, and the 20+ tracks that will ship with Rock Band Blitz will be fully playable with instruments in Rock Band 3 the second you download them, and for free. How's that for synergy?
"We're excited to give Rock Band fans a new way to play their existing Rock Band library," beams Alex Rigopulos, Harmonix's CEO, co-founder and Colbert SuperPAC benefactor. "With over 3,500 songs at their disposal and addictive multi-track gameplay, Rock Band Blitz is going to be a great way to compete with your friends later this summer!"
And compete we shall, with new tracks from "Jessie's Girl" by Rick Springfield to "Always" by way of Blink-182 to Foster The People's "Pumped Up Kicks" to Quiet Riot's "Metal Health (Band Your Head)" -- all of which seems to indicate that while we're not quite heading into EDM territory just yet, there's still a pretty wide spectrum of musical styles. And really, none of that matters, because it's always been the gameplay that had us coining the term "digital crack" back in our FreQuency review.
For those wondering about the controls, though, we reached out to Harmonix to find out how the game would actually play in this era of triggers on controllers -- something the DualShock 2 never had to worry about, and which made flitting fingers across three different buttons quickly a breeze. Though there are multiple control methods (owing to the fact that Harmonix has plenty of internal opinions about what works best), the default will let players use the L2/R2 buttons to toggle between tracks and, with the reduced two-note lanes, capture them with either the d-pad or left stick for the left note, and X or the right stick to grab the right notes. Power-ups, like a pinball that bounces around to catch notes and a bottle rocket that blasts through all of them (Auto-Blaster, anyone?), are fired off with the Circle button.
If it sounds a little confusing, we're here to help. Take a look at both the launch video and gameplay below, and make sure to tell us what you think in the comments!
[Gameplay]
[Announcement Video]
