In Rock Band Blitz, a new high-speed rhythm game developed by Harmonix, players are carried down a track (inherently similar to Guitar Hero and Rock Band) made up of multiple lanes. Each lane is instrument specific, one for guitar, one for bass, ect. Gems (or note markers) come flowing down and players must time the button presses on the controller perfectly. Unlike those previous titles, this is the first Rock Band game to use a standard controller for all aspects of gameplay.
Gameplay
Players can select two different control options, using the L+R sticks or the back bumpers, I personally opted for using the back buttons since I felt it made the game much more enjoyable to play. As for the gameplay, while successfully timing the button presses you switch from different tracks gaining power ups and trying to keep your combo.
There’s a whole slew of different power-ups to select from, but you can only choose three at a time for your loadout. The best combination will increase your chances of doing exceptionally well on a song. When you have filled up your meter, you can unleash some of the power-up’s for huge points bonuses, this will cause your score multiplier to hit the max and the track will go into flux-capacitor mode, hitting 88 mph and sending you back in time. Ok, not really. The track goes into Blitz mode and you’ll get more points, but it’s still awesome! You’ll also gain cred and coins for each song you play and how well you do. These can be used to play more songs with more power-up’s at your disposal.
DLC
Now, here’s one of the great aspects of the game, any DLC you’ve purchased for Rock Band can work with the game So if you’re someone who hasn’t played in a while and have some songs sitting there on your hard drive, this game can breathe new life into them. And if you’re someone who still plays Rock Band, you get a new way to play your DLC. I have over 1,800 songs and I’m hunting for gold stars on all of them. Luckily, if you don’t have any songs, Blitz comes with over 20 new songs, all of which can be imported for use in Rock Band 3 free of charge. Because I, for one, just need to sing ”Jessie’s Girl” in Rock Band. Don’t judge me.
Another thing about the game, it’s incredibly addicting. I’ll be making my 10th attempt at gold stars on “Cult of Personality,” look at my clock and it’s 4 a.m. It’s that good.
Multiplayer
There’s no multiplayer in the traditional sense. Instead, you are encouraged to link your gamertag to your Facebook with the Rock Band World app. There you can challenge your own friends to score wars, and sign up for a variety of goals to earn more coins.
Score wars just happens to be a part of what makes Blitz feverishly addicting. Just when you think you’ve beaten your friend, you log on to your profile and see he’s beating you by 5,000 points and you’re firing the game back up because you just have to beat him!
Impressions of the Game
Blitz is my life now...
There is one complaint I have with the game and that’s the DRM feature. Most will never notice it, but for those who don’t have a constant internet connection, the game won’t allow you to collect many coins, or creds, unless you’re flowing constantly. There were quite a few instances where I was randomly disconnected for the game’s server while playing a song, only to go to the stats screen afterwards and find out that the 5 stars, coins and cred I got were erased. I wasn’t connected to the game’s server, yet I was still on Xbox Live. It’s just an unfortunate decision.
The Verdict!
Aside from the DRM issue, Rock Band Blitz is a fantastic addition to the franchise. It delivers exactly what you want just like its predecessors. While it appears simplistic, you’ll lose an entire weekend to it and won’t feel shameful because your friends did the same.
Now if only this game had “Call Me Maybe...”
About the Author
Shawn "Dogmatic" Vales is a lover of both Music and Games. He currently resides in Maryland, plotting for world domination and rooting for the Redskins. His favorite type of games tend to be Adventure, First Person Shooters, Music Simulation, RPG's and Survival Horror. When not playing games, he's building up his music collection and Tweeting relentlessly.
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