Rock Band Blitz (Game)

Rock Band Blitz

GAME » on August 29, 2012

PlayStation Network (PS3) (Platform)Xbox 360 Games Store (Platform)

Rock Band Blitz is an arcade-style rhythm game from Harmonix that is "fast, and loud, and silly, and a little over the top, and bright, and fun, and quick." It is capable of using every song from a player's Rock Band library.

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Overview

Taking place on several lanes a-la Frequency (Game), Amplitude (Game) and Rock Band Unplugged (Game), Rock Band Blitz aims to be a fast, fun arcade take on Rock Band's tried and true formula. The game ships with 25 songs (which can also be exported to Rock Band 3 (Game), free of charge) and requires no plastic instruments to play.

According to Harmonix, the original 83 on-disc songs featured in Rock Band 3 will not be available for Blitz until a disc export option is created for the RB3. However, all existing DLC for the Rock Band (Franchise) series, including DLC specific to RB3, will be compatible with Rock Band Blitz, and vice-versa.

Rock Band Blitz was removed from the Xbox store and PSN store as of July 2017, and is no longer available for purchase.

Gameplay

Playing The Song

Each instrument that a song has (Drums, Bass, Guitar, Vocals, Keyboards) is represented as a different lane that a player can be on. Compared to traditional Rock Band's five-note highway, each instrument in Blitz has two-note highways. Players press buttons on their controller to hit the notes on all the instruments and earn points. Players can switch between instrument lanes anytime they want.

Multipliers

The multipliers for each instrument are shown on the left side of the screen

Each instrument has their own score multiplier, first starting at 1x and with a original maximum cap of 4x as shown on the left side of the screen (1x, 2x, 3x, 4x). Players can raise each instrument's multiplier by playing them! Checkpoints are littered throughout the song, and each checkpoint can add up to three to the maximum multiplier cap depending on the lowest multiplier between all the instruments. For example:

If the player hits the first checkpoint and every instrument is at 4x, the cap is raised by +3, making the new range of multipliers on the left side of the screen between 4x and 7x.
If the player hits the first checkpoint and 3 of the instruments are at 4x but one instrument is only at 3x, the cap is only raised by +2, making the new range of multipliers 3x and 6x.
If the player hits the first checkpoint and 3 of the instruments are at 4x but one is still at 1x, the cap isn't raised at all.

For the best scores, players should play equal attention to each instrument to make sure their multipliers are as high as possible before hitting the next checkpoint.

Blitz Mode

Hitting a streak of 30 notes in a row activates Blitz Mode, which causes the camera view to shift and make it seem to move a little faster along with 250 extra bonus points to the score. While in Blitz Mode, players receive ever increasing amounts bonus points every 10 notes for as long as they can maintain their streak by not missing too many notes.

Power-ups

Before starting a song, players can select a load-out of various power-ups that can contribute to even higher scores. Using power-ups costs Blitz Coins which are earned for playing songs, completing goals on the Rock Band World app on Facebook, competing in Score Wars with other players, and more. When starting Blitz for the first time, power-ups are locked and are earned by getting Blitz Cred through playing songs.

For each play of a song, players can pick one Overdrive power-up, one Note power-up, and one Track power-up.

Overdrive Power-ups

These power-ups are triggered by the player but require Energy to use. Playing white notes fills up the white Overdrive bar in the instrument lane the player is on with Energy.

Bottle Rocket fires into action

Point Doubler: While active, it doubles points earned.
Bandmate: While active on a particular instrument lane, Bandmate will play the instrument automatically, letting players move on to other instruments.
Shockwave: Shockwave fires out a wave of energy forwards, earning points for each note it touches.
Bottle Rocket: A rocket is fired ahead of the player and explodes, clearing out a section of notes and creating some breathing room. Bottle Rocket is not affected by the multiplier, it always awards 100 points per note.
Jackpot: Jackpot will triple points for as long as it is active but forces players to play perfectly for a period of time to earn from it. One miss will cancel out the score bonus.
Road Rage: A car drives ahead wildly and clears notes that it hits.

Note Power-ups

These power-ups appear as special purple notes during the song and are activated when the player hits them.

Blast Notes: Triggers an explosion that clears nearby notes across all lanes. 100 point is awarded per note hit by the blast.
Flame Notes: Notes will start catching fire between all the instrument lanes. Playing these fire notes earns bonus points.
Pinball: A purple pinball starts bouncing out in front of the player hitting notes. Players can keep the ball in play by having it bounce off the player's bar.
Runaway Notes: When hit, the runaway note starts running away, hopping between different instruments. Catching up to it and playing it provides a point bonus.

Track Power-ups

These power-ups passively provide point bonuses while playing.

Synchrony: Earn a point bonus by switching lanes in rhythm to the song's measures. Synchrony will also play the notes during the switch so your streak stays intact.
Super Drums/Bass/Guitar/Vocals/Keyboards: Make the notes on one particular instrument worth one and a half times their value.

Rock Band World

Rock Band World is a Facebook app that ties into Rock Band Blitz. With Rock Band World, players can compare their performance with their friends, challenge them to Score Wars on specific songs, and participate in solo, cooperative, or worldwide challenges that provide bonus Blitz Coins for use in game.

Song List

All-American Rejects — Kids in the Street
Avenged Sevenfold — So Far Away
Barenaked Ladies – One Week
Blink-182 — Always
Collective Soul — Shine
Elton John — I’m Still Standing
Fall Out Boy — A Little Less Sixteen Candles
Foo Fighters — These Days
Foster the People — Pumped Up Kicks
Fun ft. Janelle Monae — We Are Young
Great White — Once Bitten, Twice Shy
Iron Maiden — Wicker Man
Kelly Clarkson — Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)
Kool & the Gang — Jungle Boogie
Living Colour — Cult of Personality
Maroon 5 — Moves Like Jagger
My Chemical Romance — Sing
P!nk — Raise Your Glass
Queen — Death on Two Legs
Quiet Riot — Bang Your Head (Metal Health)
Red Hot Chili Peppers — Give It Away*
Rick Springfield — Jessie's Girl
Shinedown — Diamond Eyes
Soundgarden — Spoonman*
Tears for Fears — Shout
= Originally part of the Rock Band 2 setlist that, due to licensing issues, could not be exported.

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