Short Pier Productions

So, we've been messing around with Rock Band 3. It has some problems, but I do have to say:

* Pro Drums are AWESOME. It feels even more like you're a real drummer, and hitting the cymbals is surprisingly satisfying. I know there are at least two things that a normal kit would have that are absent (left foot anyone?), but I'm starting to get the feeling I could sit down at a real kit and not look like a total idiot. Apparently percussion runs in my family, because this is pretty much my favorite instrument right now.

* It's so nice to have harmonies on songs other than Beatles. "Cold as Ice?" "Stayin' Alive?" "Bohemian Rhapsody?" Yes, please. I can't actually sing harmony to save my life yet, but hearing the people who can do it is amazing.

* Keyboard adds a whole other layer to the experience. Pro Keys is pretty difficult--you essentially have to learn a whole new way to read music, and since there's seventeen keys on the track at any one time it's difficult to see clearly--but there's definitely something to breaking out the organ on "Free Bird" or "Break on Through." It has its own magic, which is all I can really ask of an instrument.

* DLC around the launch has been superb. Big packs of REM, Bee Gees, Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon, Bon Jovi, and the Doors, with Billy Joel and Elton John in the pipe? Hell yes.

In short, RB3 is full of win. If the Pro Guitar mode is any good at all, I'm going to call this one a quantum leap of improvement-- and I loved Rock Band to begin with.

There are by my count 937 songs that we have available for play on RB2 at Casa Rock, and 72 that we do not: as of last week, 92.9% of all content has been purchased. Most songs goes to Foo Fighters at 25, or 2.5% of all available songs.

Some notes on those numbers, however. Available includes about 20 songs that we all collectively hate, but bought because they a) came on a disc with songs we did want (Visions) or b) were early enough in the DLC process that we were literally buying everything (Thrasher). Since we're on PS3, there's no way to delete them short of redownloading every single thing on a fresh box... a process that would probably take literally a week at this point and at least three people. Unavailable includes quite a few tracks that we will eventually get as DLC but are currently only available on discs that would involve redundant purchasing (I'm looking at you, Country Pack).

We've been growing gradually pickier as the process continues, but we still buy way more than we deny. Generally things that don't get bought are stuff that none of our core members is going to enjoy (Lamb of God) or things that one person likes but more people hate (Ministry). We've only just started not purchasing mediocre songs (Just Kait), but I expect those ranks to swell gradually next year.

I wish that we had access to the RBN tools, as there's going to be a LOT of interesting stuff out there, but we already have a bedrock-solid base to work from. The game's fully matured now, and any additional content we want to add is just gravy.

Rock Band reaches 1000 available songs.

Diversity is love.

So we buy almost all the Rock Band DLC and have since Day One. We have in the vicinity of 700 songs on our PS3, with more than 200 bands represented. Anyone with even the slightest breadth of musical tastes can find at least 20 songs that they like.

And yet there are people who, when presented with the option, will pick the same six songs every time. It drives me nuts.

I appreciate that for any given person, most of the tracklist are going to be unknowns. I know that people want to pick songs they love. But there's other great stuff out there by bands you've never even heard of, if you'd just go look.

It will also save you from getting slugged by me for picking an otherwise good song that I've heard seven million times.

Two thousand stars later, every member of my Rock Band on my home machine now has a custom costume, guitar, bass, and drum set. Everyone has at least one guitar or bass with custom art (out of which I'm happy with all but one), and at least one instrument that's totally ridiculous.

Now I'm not sure what my next goal is going to be, since "completing every gig in the game" isn't exactly going to happen anytime soon (and I'll be working on it anyway).

Hundred million fans, maybe? :-)