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Xbox.com | News & Features - Turning It Up To Eleven: Hands-on With Rock Band

It’s the feeling you get as you hit the high notes in Radiohead’s Creep and make it out alive. Or the electricity that crackles through your fingertips as you nail the guitar solo in Metallica’s Enter Sandman. Or the burning in your arms as you slam out a monster drum solo at the end of the Red Hot Chilli Pepper’s Dani California.

Rock Band

What’s that feeling? It’s the power of rock, and when you experience it you’ll realise that Rock Band is much more than just a game – it’s your opportunity to sample the life of a rock and roll star!

This is an epic experience in every way. It’s a rock gig in your front room, since the full setup includes two guitars (one bass and one lead), a four-pad drumkit with a foot pedal for the bass bin, and a microphone for all those rock and roll howls. If you must you can choose any of the instruments and play on your own, but like all the best rock and roll experiences Rock Band really turns it up to eleven when you get your mates involved.

First off you and your pals choose your characters, customising him or her with some choice clothing and a suitably ridiculous haircut. Then you select a band name (our tip: Be as outrageous as you can be!) and head off for your shot at rock and roll stardom.

It’s when you come to choosing a song that things get tricky. Rock Band features over 70 songs including some absolute monster rock names like Bon Jovi, Black Sabbath, The Killers, Iron Maiden, Fall Out Boy and Nirvana. There are also some exclusive local tracks especially for the UK version: Blur’s Beetlebum, Oasis’ Rock and Roll Star, Muse’s Hysteria and Tokio Hotel’s Monsoon. Even if you need a new tune for the setlist you’ll be able to access stacks of downloadable tracks on Xbox LIVE Marketplace. New songs from huge artists will be added on a regular basis.

Once you’ve made your choice it’s showtime. If you’re playing the lead guitar, bass or drums rock Band tells you which note to play or which drum to hit, and the more successful notes you chain together the more the crowd will go into meltdown.

If you’re on lead vocals you’ll see the lyrics scroll along the screen in true karaoke song. As you sing you’ll see the pitch of your voice being measured – wail like a screeching cat and you’ll drag the band’s score down, but nail the notes with your honey-soaked tones and the joint will go wild.

You can tell if you’re rocking the show because the music gets louder, the crowd start screaming and clapping along, and the stage lighting explodes. Here’s where things get really cool. If you’re into a real groove and racking up the points you’ll get the chance to activate your bonus mode, and if every band member does it at once you’ll go into Overdrive mode. Things get insane. People lose it. And when you come to your senses you know you’ve been to rock and roll heaven – and back.

Rock Band is definitely the greatest party game we’ve ever experienced on Xbox 360. People just can’t help but get involved, and we’ve had some wild nights here at the Xbox offices as the power of rock takes us over the edge. But you don’t always need to get the band round – with Xbox LIVE you can have a jam session even if you’re all on tour in different parts of the world!

Like we said, Rock Band is more than a game. It’s like an explosion somewhere deep down in your stomach. It shoots up your spine and around your brain, energising you with 100% pure adrenaline. It’s the power of rock, and it’s available on Xbox 360 from May 23!