Rock Band Unplugged – Demo Released

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http://www.primotechnology.com/2009/...d-for-the-psp/

Gamespot may have turned the very concept of it into an April Fool’s gag, but EA will indeed be releasing a PSP-exclusive entry in its Rock Band franchise later this year. Primotech has learned that Rock Band Unplugged, as it’s titled, is currently in development at Backbone Entertainment (Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, 1942: Joint Strike) and will mark the third release in MTV Games and EA’s burgeoning series of music video games.

The gameplay is largely the same as that of Rock Band and Rock Band 2; players must hit corresponding buttons in-time as they scroll by on-screen. There will not be a peripheral attachment available, like that which Activision produced for Guitar Hero: On Tour for the Nintendo DS. Instead, all input is handled by the ‘Left,’ ‘Up,’ ‘Triangle,’ and ‘Circle’ buttons. The player can switch between guitar, drums, bass, and “vocals” (although he won’t physically be singing, merely tapping buttons) using the L and R shoulder buttons.

Tracks are broken down into what are called “phrases.” Play a phrase perfectly to earn a multiplier boost and a prompt to switch to a different instrument. The player can actually choose to switch instruments at anytime, but switching prematurely will cause him to lose his multiplier. “Overdrive,” used to rack up big points and avoid failing a track, is of course included as always.

The game will ship with tracks from Blink 182, Boston, AFI, Kansas, Lit, and The Police. DLC tracks will be made available through the PlayStation Network and can be accessed through the game’s own built-in store. Multiplayer functionality will not be available. Visually, the style and feel of Rock Band is maintained perfectly, with only a drop-off in the polygon count.

Look for an official announcement soon. Based on its current development progress, we surmise the game should ship to retail by year’s end.

June 9 release date