If Rock Band Blitz is any indication, plastic instruments are so 2010. While the franchise’s latest game keeps the name and massive music library, it sheds the specialized peripherals, multiplayer focus, and even retail packaging for a strictly single-player Live Arcade affair.
Harmonix specialized in button-based rhythm games long before bringing Guitar Hero and Rock Band to the masses, so it’s no surprise that Blitz works like a charm and feels like a comfortable extension of the franchise. Instead of being limited to the strums or strikes of a single instrument, however, you’ll take control of the entire band, deftly swapping between up to five parts — guitar, bass, drums, vocals, and keyboards — while stringing together score-boosting power-ups.
Unlike the elaborate, multi-colored note charts from past games, you’ll play just two different notes for each instrument, using the A button and a tap of the D-pad (or one of several other control schemes). Every track plays continuously throughout, so the goal is to bounce between instruments to level up the score multiplier before the next checkpoint; if each active track is bumped up before you pass the gate, you’ll have a fresh shot to raise each multiplier even higher.
Keep that giant pinball in play with your note bar to boost your overall score.
The Recommended screen prompts chances to take down friends in Score Wars.Not only is the couch-friendly design a big shift for Rock Band, but so is the newfound emphasis on score rather than accuracy. Missing notes on your current track won’t slow your momentum toward hitting that next multiplier milestone; they’re just missed scoring opportunities. It’s not as enticing an approach, but the addition of selectable power-ups — like one that doubles your multiplier, or another that unleashes a live pinball that rolls over notes — helps set the tone as a different and ultimately lighter kind of experience.
Blitz packs in 25 tracks, including Fun’s “We Are Young” and Elton John’s “I’m Still Standing,” and all of its tunes are playable in Rock Band 3 — essentially making it a cheap DLC pack for aficionados of the last entry. But Blitz’s biggest strength is undoubtedly its ability to repurpose the series’ 3,800-or-so on-disc (excluding Beatles: Rock Band and Rock Band 3) and downloadable tracks, giving fresh life to a mountain of available songs in an enjoyable manner. It’s not quite on par with a raucous multiplayer jam session, but for fans with a stack of DLC, Blitz is a worthy next-best option.
Just like a Queen song ("Death on Two Legs") to feature a killer keys solo.PUBLISHER: Harmonix • DEVELOPER: Harmonix • ESRB: Teen • MULTIPLAYER: None (though Score War feature lets you send friends score challenges) • ACHIEVEMENTS: Creative • COST: 1,200 Microsoft Points ($15) • RELEASE DATE: August 29, 2012
+ Can use most Rock Band DLC and on-disc tracks, while Blitz’s tracks are playable in Rock Band 3.
+ Amusing new score-based and arcade-centric twist.
– Not quite as satisfying as traditional, plastic-instrument Rock Band.
? Will Blitz be a one-off or the start of a new sub-franchise?
