It’s the return of THIS WEEK IN ROCK BAND! Wow, it has been five months since my last TWIRB update.  Gee, I have slacked since Simon started doing the weekly Rock Band DLC updates, plus our friend Tommy at RockBandAide has been kicking ass and taking names on all things Rock Band.  Though, I do miss the TWIRB pieces that I used to write, plus there is so much Rock Band news within the past week. So, here goes THIS WEEK IN ROCK BAND!

Rock Band 3 Announced

Let’s start this off with a giant BANG!  Just today, news started flying across the Twitterverse from @deliciousbees at Harmonix, that EA will continue to work with MTV/Viacom to publish Rock Band 3. Sure, that’s great news for the business people, but the big news from @johntdrake is that Rock Band 3 is expected “holiday 2010″.

Here’s the quote:

Harmonix is developing Rock Band 3 for worldwide release this holiday season! The game, which will be published by MTV Games and distributed by Electronic Arts, will innovate and revolutionize the music genre once again, just as Harmonix did with the original Rock Band, Rock Band 2 and The Beatles: Rock Band. Stay tuned for more details!

So, we get no songs or features, or nuthin’.  But, we get something unofficially official, and that’s exciting.

Rock Band Network Store Opens, 116 Songs Available

On March 4, rumblings started in the wee hours from a Billboard.biz web posting about RBN store going live.  As the day progressed, Xbox users noticed a title update to Rock Band 2.  Then a couple hours later, Rock Band Network appeared as a new in-game music store.  Just like that, more than 100 songs were available for purchase. The official announcement came same day.  In less than a week, more than 115 songs have been made available for purchase, from 99 cents to 3 dollars, all in Microsoft funny money of course.  It seems that a few more songs appear available every day.  So, take a look and download the free demos of songs. Many will be unknown, but you may find something new you love.  There are some mid-range names starting to pop up in RBN too; Steve Vai, Flight of the Conchords, Jonathan Coulton, to name a few.  PlasticAxe did a great job building a list of all the RBN songs.

Lady Gaga and Eric Cartman DLC Announced for Next Week

We are going to get some Band Hero equivalent songs for next week.  The bizarre (yet beloved) Lady Gaga will make a 4 song appearance on Rock Band, plus a spoof by South Park’s Eric Cartman.

“Lady Gaga Pack 01” will include “Bad Romance,” “Just Dance,” “Monster” and “Poker Face”

All platforms will get the pack (individual for Wii)
Announcement here.

DLC Week of 3/9 – White Stripes, Shaimus, Neil Pert and more!

This weeks DLC, out today, is a great mix covering a few genre’s. You”l be able to pick these up on all consoles this week.

The Futureheads – “Decent Days & Nights” +
The Futureheads – “Hounds of Love” +
The James Gang – “Walk Away” +
Neil Peart – “The Hockey Theme” + *
Shaimus – “All of This” + *
Shaimus – “Tie You Down” + *
The White Stripes – “Fell in Love with a Girl” +
The White Stripes – “Seven Nation Army”
The White Stripes – “You Don’t Know What Love Is (You Just Do As You’re Told)” +

With that, what’s NWIRB?  NEXT WEEK IN ROCK BAND!

• Closer to PAX East. More details about Rock Band at the big show.
• Looking for more Green Day: Rock Band details.

Last week, we updated our Slacker Radio Rock Band radio station with the recent DLC plus upcoming DLC.  We even started moving into the realm of Rock Band Network (RBN).  Today, we have taken it a bit further.  Realize that many RBN artists are unsigned, and not well known on the internet radio world, but surprisingly,I am able to find quite a few RBN tracks.

I have only sifted through the announced list of RBN tracks from last Wednesday, and only up to the letter “J” “T”.    The good news, 16 31 songs so far from RBN are available on Slacker…and I have added them to the station for your listening pleasure.  The updated RBN list is at the bottom.

Remember, Slacker can be enjoyed from your favorite web browser, as long as you have Flash installed (and I’m 101% sure you do).  Plus, Slacker for iPhone, BlackBerry, Palm WebOS, and Android all exist.  If you haven’t tried Slacker on your phone, just go to www.slacker.com to download the free app.

Direct link to Rock Band Station on Slacker.com

Rock Band Network, now on Slacker:
3 Inches of Blood – Battles and Brotherhood
Bif Naked – Sick
Color Theory – If Not Now When
Dear and the Headlights – Talk About
Despised Icon – Day of Mourning
Fake Shark-Real Zombie! – Angel Lust
Fake Shark-Real Zombie! – Horses in Heaven
Fake Shark-Real Zombie! – Running for the Razors
Fake Shark-Real Zombie! – Sestri Levante
Five Finger Death Punch – Burn it Down
Flogging Molly – Drunken Lullabies (Live)
Flogging Molly – Requiem for a Dying Song
In This Moment – Mechanical Love
Jonathan Coulton – Creepy Doll
Jonathan Coulton – Ikea
Jonathan Coulton – The Future Soon

UPDATE: Just added a bunch more.

KMFDM – A Drug Against War
KMFDM – Juke Joint Jezebel
Lacuna Coil – Survive
Longwave – No Direction
Marillion – Whatever Is Wrong With You
of Montreal – Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse
Senses Fail – Lady in a Blue Dress
Skeletonwitch – Crushed Beyond Dust
Skindred – Stand for Something
Steve Vai – For the Love of God
Steve Vai – Get the Hell Out of Here
Steve Vai – The Attitude Song
Stroke 9 – Kick Some Ass
Stroke 9 – Little Black Backpack
Suicide Silence – Disengage

Our Slacker Radio Rock Band radio station has been updated with this weeks installment of Rock Band DLC. This week you get 21 new tracks including packs from White Stripes, Mother Hips, HIM, and Disturbed. I now working to locate the additional 116 Rock Band Network songs released withing the past 48 hours.  Yes, 116 RBN songs released in less than 48 hours.  Those will be coming to the channel soon.
UPDATED: Just added a few RBN songs to the station.

3 Inches of Blood – Battles and Brotherhood
Bif Naked – Sick
Color Theory – If Not Now When

Direct link to Rock Band Station on Slacker.com

There is some interesting pontification going on over at the Rock Band forums today, around one of the most anticipated (and yet still not delivered) bands to be added to the Rock Band DLC arsenal. The one and only, Pantera.

From newcomer phildo2000 over at RockBand.com

I know RB likes to sometimes time their DLC releases with cd releases……well check out the news below. March 30?????

“The planned onslaught of Pantera reissues will soon kick off with what looks to be a new greatest hits collection set to be the first out of the gate. Due out through Atlantic/Warner on March 30th is a new compilation titled “1990-2000: A Decade Of Domination“. No further details have been revealed as to what the offering will feature as of yet.” I got this info from www.theprp.com.

For me, I’m more than ready for some Pantera. 1 song, a 3 pack, or their entire greatest hits collection…I’ll take them all.

What about you?

Our Slacker Radio Rock Band radio station has been updated with this weeks installment of Rock Band DLC. This week you get Megadeth’s classic album Rust In Peace, in its entirety; plus 5 tracks from King of Soul, Otis Redding; plus 4 singles to make a very eclectic mix. (see Simon’s post for the details…whenever he gets to writing it).

Direct link to Rock Band Station on Slacker.com

Well it certainly looks like the weeks of ‘re-run’ DLC have come to an end! No more songs that you already heard about when the expansion disc came out and no more limited-time ‘exclusives’.  On Tuesday, Harmonix provided us with a rare full-album DLC: Megadeth’s “Rust in Peace”.  This is Megadeth’s second full-album DLC, and third Tuesday DLC appearance; 1986’s “Peace Sells.. But Who’s Buying” album and their 2007 song “Sleepwalker” were added to the Rock Band DLC catalogue  in August-September 2008.

Released 20 years ago, “Rust in Peace” is a hallmark speed-metal album that is widely regarded as one of the finest examples of speed-metal music.   Late last year the band announced that they would be touring to support the anniversary in March 2010, and they would be playing the album, in its entirety, at each show.

• “Holy Wars… The Punishment Due”
• “Hangar 18″
• “Take No Prisoners”
• “Five Magics”
• “Poison Was the Cure”
• “Lucretia”
• “Tornado of Souls”
• “Dawn Patrol”
• “Rust In Peace… Polaris”

Thanks to Rock Band, you can now play the album, in its entirety, with three of your friends for the low cost of 1200 points for all nine tracks, or 160 for individual tracks.  I have clear memories of owning this album and loving every song as a teenager, but the level of skill required to master these in the game will be quite daunting.   I enjoy challenging setlists, but I also enjoy playing music that people like to listen to and some of the tracks on “Rust in Peace” are very complicated and dark.  The first two tracks on the album are excellent and if you are a passing fan of Megadeth, you should check them out, especially if you plan to simulate your own Megadeth World Tour in your living room.

Next Week’s Predictions:  3 tracks from Angels & Airwaves upcoming “LOVE” album, in stores on February 14th.

This winter I find myself obsessed with one game in particular, Bioware’s suitably epic “Dragon Age: Origins“.  By epic, I mean it’s truly “Lord of the Rings-ian” in scale.  DA:O is a deeply complex, story driven RPG for the PC and XBox 360.  For the hardcore enthusiasts, this is Baldur’s Gate 3 without the Dungeons & Dragons licensing to weigh it down, and instead contains some very creative writing to keep the story moving forward and provide a fresh perspective on hack & slash roleplayers.  Dragon Age is anything but predictable and has a handfull of major plot twists that will lead you to multiple endings.

Welcome to the world of Felderen, one that is in critical danger of being overrun by an unending horde of demons called The Blight.  Your army is defeated and your friends and family are all dead.  Your mission is to raise an army by any means neccesary to battle back the cadres of undead and evil minions.  Along the way you will encounter all the modern RPG trappings:  Companions, leveling, spellcraft, looting, dungeons, crafting, and inventory management.

You play the role of a young Grey Warden, a new initiate to a warrior tribe that is charged with the defense of the realm against the Blight.  There are six unique origin stories that setup the rich storyline.  Each origin is entirely unique but ultimately unites you with the same starting companions, albeit through entirely different means.  For example, starting as a Human Noble has you fleeing from your home castle as it is being raided by rogue mercenaries, while starting as a Mage has you taking on the trials of the “Harrowing” which is the final test that all mages must survive.  Origin tales lead the character to the first major battle at Ostagar where they meet certain defeat.  After the conclusion of your Origin, you are uncerimoniously deposited in Ferelden with a long list of quest options ready to explore.

What you do from that point on, is what makes this game very compelling indeed.  Should you choose to seek out more companions, it will comfort you to know that you won’t be lonely on this journey,  you may recruit almost a dozen characters to join your cause, some of them are inherently good and righteous, and others are dark and evil to the core.  The world is ‘open’ but not exactly a ’sandbox’ – you are not free to explore every inch of the realm (like in Elder Scrolls: Oblivion) but there are a large number of locations to visit on the main map.  More sub-locations open up as you visit each major city and discover new areas.  You won’t feel lost, but the maps can feel a bit claustrophobic sometimes, particularly when battling more than 10 enemies at once in some of the narrow corridors.

Combat is strategic, and is conducted in realtime for all characters in the battle. You must always control one of your party in combat.  The rest of your party’s actions are governed by “Tactics” which are a set of commands that each member follows before doing something.  The use of Tactics in the game are what make the combat interesting and challenging, but they require a large amount of experimentation and trial-and-error to get the characters to perform at their best.  Rather than have your party constantly charge into battle, you can use Tactics to cast buffs, heals, and support your tank characters instead of attacking the closest bad guy.  Frequently you’ll be wondering why they are standing still, as it’s easy to set a command that they cannot actually complete due to one condition or another.  Don’t get me wrong, it sounds more difficult than it really is, there are lots of default tactics that you can quickly switch between and they all seem to be effective on some level.  Tactics are what make the combat unique and challenging, and is most of DA:O’s true appeal.

The voice acting is another one of the game’s biggest attractions – Tim Curry, Claudia Black, & Kate Mulgrew.  Bioware never fails to attract some intriguing and talented voice actors. I’m a huge fan of all three Stars:  Trek, Wars and Gate – so an extended scene featuring Vala Maldoran (SG-1) and Captain Katherine Janeway (Voyager) was quite memorable.

There are two final things that I find noteworthy.  First, your main character can have a romantic encounter with most of the main companions, and quite a number of NPC’s.  This trend began in Bioware’s “Mass Effect” and has appeared in all of their games since, and while there are no pre-rendered XXX cutscenes to be seen, the sexuality can be very overt at times and therefore this is not at all safe for a younger audience.  Secondly, and this is more of a warning for younger players,  DA:O contains explicit, over-the-top blood and gore that often covers your party from head to toe, even in the cutscenes (yes, the gore is persistent).  Almost all of the death animations are hyper-exaggerated to include graphic dismemberment with fountains of blood covering everything on the field.    I find this to be excessive and detrimental to the story pacing, but not enough to want me to turn off the option.

I picked up this game in January at Electronics Boutique, trading in two titles (Call of Duty 4 and Civilization Revolution) and paying an additional $19.99.  Bioware has included a few nice rewards for being the first person to purchase the game, both of the rewards are free DLC in the form of a quest addon & companion (The Stone Prisoner) and some unique armor (Blood Dragon Armor, also works in Mass Effect 2).  You can get a further headstart for free, by playing and completing the mini flash game, Dragon Age: Journeys, which will net you a few more helpful items in your starting inventory.  I was so impressed with the ‘bonus’ items, that I also chose to pick up the additional DLC as well for 960 points, and I probably would not have done so without the incentives that came in the retail box.

Dragon Age: Origins will soon have its own expansion in the form of Dragon Age: Awakenings which is released in March 2010.  This is a full expansion with which you can continue your adventure with your original characters from Origins in an entirely new area in Ferelden.   Bioware is quickly becoming famous for loading savegames from previous titles and reviving some of the choices you made in the new game (like they have done with the Mass Effect series) so it should be interesting to see some of the original characters and locations from Origins make an appearance or reference in Awakenings.

Did you get your 3-day pass for PAX East before they sold out this week?  If not, there are still a few single day badges left.  Are you wondering who is going to PAX East?  Go here for a partial list.  Are you wondering what events are going to be at PAX East?  Go here for the up-to-the minute unofficial schedule.

Are you interested in what games are expected to be demoed (and possibly playable) at PAX East?  Now we have a possible list that has been posted on the PAX East forums.  Sure, it’s rumormill at this point, but I’d put it in the very probable category.

The games are listed in order of current release date. Soonest at the top. SOURCE

• 2K Games:
  • Mafia II
  • Spec Ops: The Line
• EA
  • APB
  • Battlefield: Bad Company 2
  • Dante’s Inferno: Trials of St Lucia
  • Skate 3
  • Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11
  • Medal of Honor
  • Crysis 2
  • Dead Space 2
• Harmonix

  • Green Day: Rock Band

• Microsoft
  • Super Street Fighter IV
  • Lost Planet 2
  • Alan Wake
  • Dead Rising 2
  • Fable III
  • Halo Reach
  • Micorsoft Game Room
  • Natal
• Nintendo
  • WarioWare D.I.Y.
  • Monster Hunter Tri
  • Super Meat Boy
  • Sin and Punishment 2
  • Metroid: Other M
  • Epic Mickey
• NVIDIA
  • Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2
  • Dark Void
  • Resident Evil 5
  • Alan Wake
  • Crysis 2
• Rockstar Games
  • GTA IV: The Lost and Damned (PS3)
  • GTA IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony (PS3)
  • Red Dead Redemption
  • Max Payne 3
  • Agent
• Sega
  • Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Rise From the Ashes
  • Mega Man 10
  • Yakuza 3
  • Iron Man 2
  • Valkyria Chronicles 2
  • After Burner Climax
  • Alpha Protocol
  • Resonance of Fate
• The Behemoth
  • BattleBlock Theater
• Turbine
  • Turbine Next-Gen MMO Project
• Twisted Pixel Games
  • Comic Jumper: The Adventures of Captain Smiley
• Ubisoft
  • Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon 4
  • Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Conviction
  • Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands
  • Tom Clancy’s HAWX
• Wizards of the Coast
  • NEW! Dungeons and Dragons on Microsoft Surface!!

Let’s start February off on the left foot, with a Slacker Radio Rock Band radio station update.  This week you get more live Tom Petty, the rest of the Metal Track Pack (minus Bulls On Parade…sorry it’s not on Slacker), the rest of the Country Track Pack, plus a couple from Blue Öyster Cult. (see Simon’s post for the details).

Direct link to Rock Band Station on Slacker.com

You may know of my obsessions in games and gadgets.  Some of you know, that I spend my days working in Information Security.  With that, I learn interesting topics that cross the paths of my day job and obsessions.  Today is one of those days. Darknet.org has a post on the PS3, which just today announced that it has been hacked, and exploits are now in the wild.

Are you interested in learning more? Read on.

On Monday, when we reported that the prolific hacker geohot had successfully penetrated the previously impervious PlayStation 3 gaming console, readers were understandably skeptical.

After all, the 20-year-old readily admitted his hack wasn’t reliable, and he provided no evidence he was able to do some of the things modders love to do most, such as run arbitrary code or peel open the device’s synergistic processing elements to take a peak at its most prized internal elements.
On Tuesday afternoon, geohot finally released his exploit so the world could see for itself exactly what the hack does and doesn’t accomplish

According to the instructions, it involves compiling and running the kernel module and then pulsing a memory bus on the PS3’s motherboard.

“Try this multiple times,” his instructions state. “I rigged an FPGA button to send the pulse. Sometimes it kernel panics, sometimes it lv1 panics, but sometimes you get the exploit!! If the module exits, you are now exploited.”

While the idea is sound, this hack is clearly not for the faint of heart.

From there, PS3 users get full memory access, including ring 0 access from OtherOS, geohot, whose real name is George Hotz, said here. He’s now turning follow-on work to the PS3 community, directing members to report their findings to the psDevWiki.

His instructions conclude: “The PS3 is hacked, its your job to figure out something useful to do with it.”