Rocking your blocks off: LEGO Rock Band released

Warner Bros. Interactive has released LEGO Rock Band, much to the delight of kids and adults alike - assuming the game is good, of course. Combining Rock and Roll with the popular building blocks, LEGO Rock Band adds LEGO style into the Rock Band formula. The game features 45 songs and at launch and lets players of all skill levels play bass, drums, guitar and mic to such songs from Queen, Foo Fighters, Jackson 5, The All-American Rejects, Jimi Hendrix, Good Charlotte, Tom Petty and more.

Unique to LEGO Rock Band is the introduction of Rock Power Challenges, where players can harness the power of rock to pull off killer riffs that have the ability to do crazy things like demolish a building, stop an angry octopus or send players on wild missions. Naturally the game promises build-and-play elements that let players customize their own experience by creating a minifigure avatar, band and entourage.

The game will also be supported by the Rock Band Store’s regular release of weekly content as well, with some tunes already ready for purchase. LEGO Rock Band is available for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii and various incarnations of the DS.

The complete LEGO Rock Band track list

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and MTV Games revealed the full track list for the upcoming LEGO Rock Band game, including songs from Queen, Bon Jovi, P!NK, Jimi Hendrix and Blur. In addition, the game will support downloadable content from the Rock Band Music Store, and enable songs from LEGO Rock Band to be exported on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 across all game modes in the Rock Band Music Platform.

The full track list for LEGO Rock Band on all platforms right after the break:

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Rock Band Metal Track Pack rocks out at retail

Harmonix and distribution partner Electronic Arts have released Rock Band Metal Track Pack, a standalone disc of 20 tracks hand-chosen by the gods of metal themselves (who apparently work at Harmonix or are imaginary). Available for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2 and the Wii. So how much would you pay for this disc? 49.99? To quote Bob Barker, “the suggested retail price for Rock Band Metal Track Pack is $29.99.”

This collection includes tracks from Black Tide, Evile, Godsmack, Lamb of God, Queen of the Stone Age and six new songs brand new to the Rock Band platform from Blue Oyster Cult, Hawkwind, I Mother Earth, Motörhead, Nazareth and Rage Against the Machine. These six songs will be exclusive to the Rock Band Metal Track Pack for a limited time. Complete track list after the break:

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Rock Band, Verizon style

EA Mobile, Harmonix and MTV Games, and Verizon Wireless are serving up Rock Band on Verizon’s wireless phones. This is the first time the music game is available on mobile platforms (not counting the PSP game). Verizon Wireless customers can rock out to 25 songs from great artists including Smashing Pumpkins, Lynyrd Skynyrd, 30 Seconds To Mars, Blink-182, Foo Fighters, and the Beastie Boys with MP3-quality sound. No sleep ’til Brooklyn!

In Rock Band for mobile phones, Verizon Wireless customers can master all four ways to play, including lead Guitar, Bass, Drums and Vocals. Rock Band also lets players hit the road solo or form a band and play with friends. They can select Quick Play Mode and Tour Mode, both of which are pretty self-explanatory.

Customers can get Rock Band mobile by texting ROCK to 4-2-6-3 (Game) from their Verizon Wireless phones or find it in the Get It Now/Media Center under Games>Get New Applications. The game is available for $3.99 monthly subscription or $9.99 one-time use on more than 30 handsets including the just-launched Samsung Rogue and the LG enV TOUCH and LG enV 3.

The Beatles Rock Band Mania sweeps the nation

The Beatles: Rock Band is in stores today in various SKUs including with and without a custom themed guitar, by itself and on various platforms including the Wii, PS3, Xbox 360 and VHS. Okay, it’s not out on VHS but if you’re interested in buying it on that format then you are probably really old and need some assisted living.

For our part we offer three great articles about the game: a brand new Games For Lunch, Harold Goldberg’s The Beatles Rock Band review and Kyle Orland’s The Beatles Rock Band inspired feature - Nine Songs We Want as The Beatles: Rock Band DLC (and Four We Don’t).

Finally, and not surprisingly The Beatles Rock Bandmania has hit the Crispy offices. Thank you Harmonix and The surviving Beatles for giving my co-workers another reason to get drunk after work. Yes, I’m am slightly jealous.

PAX performer tracks on Rock Band next week

The two three-packs of songs from bands appearing at the Penny Arcade Expo this weekend will be available for download in the Rock Band Music Store for the PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii. The packs feature Jonathan Coulton, MC Frontalot, Paul & Storm and Freezepop. Additional tracks from Avenged Sevenfold, The Jam, Oasis and Rage Against the Machine will be available in the Wii Rock Band Music Store, and tracks from Stone Roses and Godsmack will be available for download for Rock Band Unplugged on PSP. Full list after the jump:

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Rock Band coming to a bar near you

Harmonix and MTV Games are bringing Rock Band to a bar near you. Rock Band Bar Nights is a new initiative to let drinking establishments - or sellers of libations and spirits, if you like - to host their own Rock Band Nights. The program gives bars an in-bar entertainment option to increase foot traffic and provide Rock Band fans with the opportunity to take the stage for a drunken rock star experience. To be fair, many Rock Band players can get this experience at home.

To help venues host and promote their own Rock Band Bar Nights, the program offers support to registered bars with everything from exclusive Rock Band product offerings to multiplatform marketing support. The program will also provide bars with a full music solution from the Rock Band catalogue featuring more than 800 tracks. To kick off the program, Harmonix and MTV Games are providing bars that sign up before September 8th an exclusive five-song preview disc from The Beatles: Rock Band, allowing their customers to play the game before it hits stores on September 9th.

Interested bar owners or fans can check out www.RockBand.com/BarNights for registration and more information.