Did you hear that? That was the sound of an embargo expiring. That means I can tell you every damn thing I know about Green Day: Rock Band. Now, you already know the full set list details from the story that ran on Friday. But of course there’s a lot more to the game than that…and I’m sure you’re just as curious about some of the set list details as I was when I first saw it.

THE SET LIST
First of all, although I said Dookie was on the disc “from start to finish,” that wasn’t quite accurate. In point of fact, “All By Myself,” the goofy hidden track at the end of “F.O.D.,” won’t be included.

But of course, the bigger deal is the fact that we don’t get anything before that breakout album. While visiting Harmonix during PAX, I asked project lead Chris Foster about the omission. “That’s just access to [master recordings],” he said. “We wanted to get something from 1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours and something from Kerplunk!, but we just couldn’t get those. And we didn’t want to do live versions. We decided the studio stuff was what was important.” I pushed him a little about it — lookit me, I’m a journalist! — and he said, “That’s all I can really say about it. Basically it was just access to masters. I think the multi-tracks were just different in that era; I have no idea what it was even recorded on.” Continue reading →

Oh, will you look at that. Entertainment Weekly has gone ahead and published the entire set list for Green Day: Rock Band. Let’s start off with the biggest news: American Idiot isn’t the only album playable in its entirety.

In fact, the game is almost entirely made up of complete albums. Dookie is there, from start to finish. 21st Century Breakdown is there, from start to finish…minus the six tracks already released as Rock Band DLC — which you already knew can be imported into the game.

In addition, the game includes a selection of popular tracks from Insomniac, Nimrod, and Warning, two to three apiece:

Insomniac (Amazon | iTunes)

• “Brain Stew”
• “Jaded”
• “Geek Stink Breath”

Nimrod (Amazon | iTunes)

• “Hitchin’ a Ride”
• “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)”
• “Nice Guys Finish Last”

Warning (Amazon | iTunes)

• “Minority”
• “Warning”

Now for the bad news. The game includes nothing before Dookie. That means the closest we get to playing anything on Kerplunk! is the re-recording of “Welcome to Paradise.”

I am disappointed by this.

I’ll have a lot more detail for you on Monday about the reasons for the lack of early content, some of the venue choices, and the unlockable material, as well as a one-on-one Q&A with project lead Chris Foster. Until then, you can find more details in the EW story behind the Read link (including some venue info), and the full set list after the break.

[Read]

Continue reading →

Since the American Idiot cat has been released from the Green Day: Rock Band bag, I am now at liberty to discuss the heavy-duty hands-on time I had with the album while visiting Harmonix last Thursday.

How heavy-duty? Well, we spent eighteen minutes and twenty-six seconds playing just two songs: “Jesus of Suburbia” and “Homecoming,” the album’s two most epic tracks. We also hit up some of the other tracks, but I’ll get to those in a moment.

So how was it? Fun. As. Hell. Let’s break it down by instrument.

GUITAR
It’s easy to underestimate the guitar parts in any Green Day song. Yes, they’re a pop-punk band; and yes, that means the guitar is certainly simpler than, say, Dragonforce. But because the music is so chord-focused (as opposed to twiddly solos), the game is more about nailing chord changes and timing than about nailing intricate runs. Continue reading →

Speaking to G4, Green Day: Rock Band project lead Chris Foster confirmed at least half of that previous rumor about complete albums in the game:

“We wanted to have the entire American Idiot album in the game. It’s an album that’s meant to be heard and played as one unit, so you have the ability to do that. It’s the first time we’ve ever shipped any game with a full album involved, and it really fits for Green Day.”

Also revealed: The game will include real venues (Foster mentions the Milton Keynes National Bowl in the UK, site of the performance captured on the band’s live album Bullet in a Bible), “lots of pyro,” crowd surfing, and motion-capture.

You know what this means, of course? This means “Jesus of Suburbia” — all nine minutes and eight seconds of it — is in the game. But more on that later.

Watch the whole interview for a few more tidbits, and lots of gameplay footage.

[Watch, via @johntdrake]

UK retailer Play.com has got the internet all in a tizzy by posting supposedly new details about Green Day: Rock Band on their product page for the game. The site claims that “Players can play through American Idiot and Dookie as complete albums, capturing two landmark moments in Green Day’s career” and “All Green Day DLC can be imported onto your Green Day game disk, completing a third album — 21st Century Breakdown.”

Given how often various references to American Idiot have appeared in official materials for Green Day: Rock Band, it’s not surprising to see someone claiming the whole album will be on the disc; after all, three of the five announced tracks are from that album. But on the other hand, it’s also one of their most significant albums, so it’s no surprise it would appear often in official materials. But on the third hand, so is Dookie, and we’ve seen no official mention of Dookie content.

That’s a lot of hands.

Anyway, if this is true, it means “Jesus of Suburbia” will be on the disc, which I’ve been begging for since the game was first announced. And I certainly wouldn’t mind revisiting my college years with Dookie; hopefully enough time has passed since the album’s near-inescapable radio dominance that I’ll be able to appreciate the songs again. But this would also appear to mean that there’s no room for Kerplunk! in the game, which would be a bit of a disappointment.

Fortunately, confirmation should arrive in less than two weeks, when the preview embargo expires on April 12.

[Read, via Kotaku]

Man, things have really gotten hot an heavy this week, haven’t they? Just as I was hitting Publish on that last post, Harmonix sent out a press release including launch details for Green Day: Rock Band. Here’s the skinny:

The game hits June 8, for the usual $60/$50 retail price for the standalone disc, depending on your platform. There will also be a special $70 “Plus” package for 360 and PS3 that includes “special packaging, export [code] and six Green Day DLC tracks." Kind of a clever idea, I think.

UPDATE: HMXHenry just updated the release post at the Rock Band forums to note that if you pre-order Green Day: Rock Band through GameStop, you'll get "a token that will allow you to export without paying any additional charge." "We’re committed to pushing for export to build on what is already the largest set list in music gaming," he says, "especially if we can do so in a way that’s beneficial to the early adopters and the most dedicated fans of the RB community."

UPDATE 2: Just realized I never noted what that export code is worth: Without it (or the Plus package) it'll cost you $10 to export all the songs to your hard drive to play in Rock Band 2.

As for more game details? The game will include 47 tracks, but no new revelations here: Only the ones played at last night's performance are listed in the press release. (If you're wondering, the press release seems to treat "Jaded" and "Brain Stew" as separate tracks.)

The release also mentions the game's story mode in passing, saying that "players progress through the story and history of Green Day, gaining access into the band’s media vault, where they can unlock more than 100 collectible images, and more than 40 minutes of rare and unreleased video from interviews, outtakes and performances." So, sounds pretty similar to the Beatles treatment, which is fine by me. Even not knowing much about the Beatles at the time I found a lot of the archival stuff fascinating.

And here's one other detail I find kind of neat: "The six Green Day tracks already available in the Rock Band Music Store ... can be played in Green Day: Rock Band with added vocal harmonies, unique performance visuals, and exclusive archival material." Synergy!

So, tell me: Do you plan to pick this up?

UPDATE 3: Box art and new screens after the break!

UPDATE 4: And very loud video from last night's hootenany, via @strngwys and @RockBandAide.

UPDATE 5: And the official trailer!

Continue reading →