Rock Band Blitz In the News

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Hands-On Coverage:

Vox Games: ‘Rock Band Blitz’ brings peripheral-free rhythm gaming to XBLA and PSN this summer
“…it's an incredible way to recycle all those Rock Band tracks you've been meaning to get back to.”

Game Informer: Rock Band Blitz preview
“Rock Band Blitz is here to kickstart your love for music games without socially risky dance moves or plastic instruments.”
“Music games may have faded from the spotlight of my gaming rotation, but they never completely died. I still love busting out the instruments and rocking out with friends until morning, but other times I just want to interact with my favorite songs in a simpler way. With its controller-based play and downloadable format, Rock Band Blitz sounds like the accessible game I need.”

GameSpot: Rock Band Blitz: Kicking It Old School
“…it's shaping up to be a great little game, one that goes back to the roots of the genre for some seriously hardcore button bashing. It's definitely one to look forward to.”

Official Xbox Magazine: Rock Band Blitz (XBLA) announced! First-look preview + video!
“…once you start playing, it’s shockingly intuitive.”
“Yes, any Rock Band tune you own (save Beatles: Rock Band tracks) will be playable in Blitz. That alone is a big selling point, but judging from our brief playtime, it won’t be the only reason to buy this addictive diversion.”

Destructoid: Preview: Rock Band Blitz
“Players will be able to issue song challenges and taunt their competition through the game and the different console messaging systems. This is the feature I'm most looking forward to, as I'm a sucker for any opportunity I can get to flaunt a high score and can't wait to start up some intense rivalries.”
“Either way, I foresee Harmonix selling a lot of copies of Rock Band Blitz. It's terribly good fun, built on a solid foundation and chock full of material. It's a no-brainer."

The Destructoid Show: Rock Band BLITZ! Gameplay + Interview w/ Project Director Matthew Nordhaus

Penny Arcade Report: Rock Band Blitz is a two-button, five-instrument single-player take on Rock Band for XBLA and PSN
“Rock Band Blitz is much more casual and fantastic than previous entries in the franchise. My heart sank when I first saw the game, and I wondered if Harmonix had compromised in too many places to reach a broad audience. Then I had a chance to play it, and saw the strategy involved in how you move and rack up combos in order to get the best possible score. I started nodding my head as I hit those two buttons in time to the music, and I lost myself in the act of playing. Rock Band Blitz still delivers what you want out of a rhythm game, it just gets there in some surprising ways. I can’t wait to play the final version.”

IGN: Harmonix Changes Its Tune for Rock Band Blitz
“Rock Band Blitz isn't quite a proper follow-up to Rock Band 3, but will undoubtedly offer a low price point and fun arcade style gameplay.”

Kotaku: Harmonix’s newest Rock Band ditches plastic instruments without ditching the fun
“It's not very much like the Rock Band we've come to know and love, but that's okay—it's still a lot of fun.”
“The thrill of assembling in the living room and performing as a video-game band has faded somewhat, but Harmonix has rightly concluded that there's still life in the Rock Band franchise. Rock Band Blitz channels that considerable leftover energy and translates it into a fresh-feeling, fun game that anyone can play.”

USA Today: Hands-on with the next ‘Rock Band’
“The game may force players to put the instruments down, but judging from the demo, it appears Rock Band Blitz is a strong encore for the franchise.”

GameTrailers Side Mission: Hands-on With the New Rock Band Blitz, Harmonix’s New Music Game that Ditches Instruments
“While Rock Band Blitz is a very different game from the Rock Band titles we've seen on consoles, it's a great answer to the questions "When are you going to make another Frequency/Amplitude game, Harmonix?" and "What else can I do with these hundreds/thousands of current Rock Band music tracks I've already paid for?"”

Electric Playground: April 4 – Rundown – Rock Band Blitz, Super Meat Boy – VIDEO

[HMXPope]

Updated with a ton of coverage!

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Here's some newer press, y'all:

I did an interview with Venture Beat and they called me a "developer" which is embarrassing. http://venturebeat.com/2012/04/17/ro...itz-interview/

Empire State Gamer talked with Project Director Matthew "HMXMister_Game" Nordhaus - http://www.empirestategamer.com/esg-...ck-band-blitz/

Nick Chester and I did a fun podcast with SplitKick and chatted a lot about Rock Band Blitz. http://splitkick.com/rocket-jump-045...ck-band-blitz/

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MORE SOUNDTRACK DETAILS & NEW POWER-UPS REVEALED FOR ROCK BAND BLITZ!

Cambridge, Mass. – May 29th, 2012 – Today Harmonix has announced 11 additional tracks and more exciting Power-up details for Rock Band™ Blitz, the all-new downloadable title coming to Xbox LIVE® Arcade and PlayStation®Network that brings the excitement of a full band experience into your hand! Designed for use with a standard controller, Rock Band Blitz is beat-match gameplay evolved… fast paced, over the top and no instrument peripherals required!

Rock Band Blitz will support the biggest music library in gaming, fully compatible with hundreds of songs already available in the Rock Band Music Store, as well as tracks exported from Rock Band, Rock Band 2, and more! Additionally, Rock Band Blitz will ship with more than 20 songs from music’s biggest artists, include the following songs that have just been announced:

• The All-American Rejects – “Kids in the Street”
• Barenaked Ladies – “One Week”
• Collective Soul – “Shine”
• Elton John – “I’m Still Standing”
• Fall Out Boy – “A Little Less Sixteen Candles, A Little More ‘Touch Me’”
• Great White – “Once Bitten Twice Shy”
• Iron Maiden – “The Wicker Man”
• Living Colour – “Cult of Personality”
• P!nk – “Raise Your Glass”
• Shinedown – “Diamond Eyes (Boom-Lay Boom-Lay Boom)”
• Tears for Fears – “Shout”

More songs will be revealed this summer, so stay tuned! For a full list of songs revealed so far, including music from Blink-182, Foster the People, and more, head to http://www.rockband.com/games/rockbandblitz!

Players will rock out to their favorite tracks while fighting to outscore their friends in Rock Band Blitz! The key to making scores soar are Rock Band Blitz’s over-the-top Power-ups, which players equip before launching into their favorite tracks. Topping the leaderboards is all about strategically selecting Power-up loadouts that best suit personal player styles and deploying these score boosters at the perfect time in each song.

There are over 15 Power-ups for players to unlock across three different categories, including the following that have just been revealed today:

Overdrive Power-ups: Play glowing notes to earn Energy, then deploy insane Overdrive Power-ups, including…

• Shockwave: Sends a sonic wave that earns you bonus points for every note it touches! The more Energy you’ve stored, the larger the Shockwave!
• Point Doubler: Earns two times the points for every note played!
• Jackpot: Launch Jackpot to start a run that will earn you three times the points if you can play a section of notes perfectly. Be careful – miss a note and you lose it all!

Note Power-ups: Equip Note Power-ups to randomly scatter glowing purple notes throughout a song. Hit those notes for some wild, point-boosting effects, like…

• Flame note: Hit this note to start a fire. Follow the spreading blaze to earn bonus points!
• Runaway Note: Trigger this type of note to send a spark down the track. Chase that runaway note down and get the big points.
• Synchrony: For the rhythm junkie, Synchrony allows you to switch tracks on the downbeat for bonus points. Switching at the measure markers also plays notes on both tracks!

Rock Band Blitz is scheduled for release on Xbox LIVE Arcade and PlayStation®Network this summer. For the latest assets, including screenshots and the game logo, please visit http://www.rockband.com/press/blitz.

Website Links:
For more information, please visit:

Rock Band Blitz website

For more information on Rock Band Blitz, Rock Band 3 and Harmonix Music Systems please visit www.rockband.com and www.harmonixmusic.com.

Xbox LIVE is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and or other countries.

“PlayStation” is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

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Got a bunch of coverage today! Here are some links to cool stories and interviews!

• Destructoid: Preview: Rock Band Blitz: New songs and power-ups
• GamesRadar: Rock Band Blitz preview – hands-on without any plastic instruments
• Machinima: Inside Gaming: Rock Band Blitz w/ Matthew Nordhaus (Pre-E3 2012)
• Venture Beat: Rock Band Blitz trades peripherals for pandemonium (preview)
• Game Informer: Rock Band Blitz – Harmonix releases new song list, video detailing power-ups
• ShackNews: Rock Band Blitz setlist partially revealed
• TeamXbox: Rock Band Blitz Power-Up Trailer
• GamerRant: 15 ‘Rock Band Blitz’ Songs Revealed Along With New Trailer
• Joystiq: Rock Band Blitz tracks include Elton John, All-American Rejects, Iron Maiden, more
• DigitalSpy: ‘Rock Band Blitz’ partial track list and power-ups trailer – watch
• VG247: 15 songs from Rock Band Blitz revealed
• VG247: Rock Band Blitz power-up gameplay shown in new trailer
• CVG: Rock Band Blitz trailer reveals power ups; Brain-destroying rhythm-action pinball

[HMXPope]

Here's a great preview from Shack News! Some insightful discussion of the game's difficulty that I haven't seen from other outlets yet.

http://www.shacknews.com/article/740...ck-band-blitz#

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Cool interview with Nord by 1Up!

http://www.1up.com/previews/intervie...ting-rock-band

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Hey! We just posted a new Power-Up video on our youtube channel with Nord!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2OiHcQjpDc

And in case you missed the previous one, here you go: http://youtu.be/6furl1DQTck

[HMXPope]

Cambridge, Mass. – July 18th, 2012 – Harmonix is excited to announce that Rock Band™ Blitz will be coming to the PlayStation®Network on August 28th for $14.99 and to Xbox LIVE® Arcade on August 29th for 1200 Microsoft Points™. Rock Band Blitz takes the popular franchise in an exciting new direction, with over-the-top and addictive controller-based gameplay – no instrument peripherals required!

Rock Band Blitz will support the biggest music library in gaming, fully compatible with thousands of songs already available in the Rock Band Music Store, as well as tracks exported from Rock Band, Rock Band 2, and more! Additionally, Rock Band Blitz will ship with more than 20 songs from music’s biggest artists, including music from Blink-182, Foster the People, Iron Maiden, and the following songs that were announced today:

• Avenged Sevenfold – “So Far Away”
• Fun. ft. Janelle Monáe – “We Are Young”
• Kool & The Gang – “Jungle Boogie”
• My Chemical Romance – “Sing”

Rock Band Blitz's songs are also immediately compatible with and playable in Rock Band 3, where players can experience these hits as a full band, using compatible guitar, microphone, drum, and keyboard peripherals! For a full list of songs revealed so farhead to http://www.rockband.com/games/rockbandblitz!

Harmonix has also released its latest video featuring Rock Band Blitz Project Director Matthew Nordhaus explaining some of the game’s crazy, game-changing Power-ups: Bottle Rocket, Blast Note, Flame Note, and Synchrony. Find the video online at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2OiHcQjpDc.

For the latest assets, including screenshots and the game logo, please visit: http://www.rockband.com/press/blitz.

Website Links:

For more information, please visit: http://www.rockband.com/games/rockbandblitz

For more information on Rock Band Blitz, Rock Band 3 and Harmonix Music Systems please visit www.rockband.com and www.harmonixmusic.com.

Microsoft and Xbox LIVE are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries.

“PlayStation” is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.