A few weeks ago, we reviewed Rock Band 3, letting you all know it still holds the title for the best party band game by far.  One of our reasons for this is because of the ever expanding library of music constantly being added to it. Now, we mentioned we are going to be having a live event in Connecticut with some Rock Band 3 prizes coming up in December but until then we have some awesome DLC codes to give away for any Rock Band 3 owners over our twitter.

With the help of Harmonix’s own @HMXhenry we have acquired four codes to giveaway Bon Jovi’s Greatest Hits packs for the XBox 360. The packs include three revamped Rock Band 3 pro guitar versions of “Livin’ on a Prayer”, “You Give Love a Bad Name” and “Wanted Dead or Alive” in addition to nine new songs never before seen in the Rock Band series.

Check out the full list, and get the giveaway times after the jump.

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*** Note – The following Rock Band 3 review does not formally review the Keyboard, the Pro Guitar peripherals or Pro Mode since they were not available to us at the time of the review. This has been reflected in the review score.***

Harmonix began taking the music genre by storm with their work on the initial Guitar Hero. After parting ways from Activision, they took the game to the next level by making drums and vocals the new standard.

They also came up with the idea of the Rock Band franchise as a platform rather than an annualized release like Guitar Hero has taken (Guitar Hero being on their sixth consecutive yearly release with Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock) After two years since Rock Band 2, Harmonix looked to step up their game by adding an additional instrument in the keyboard to the band mix as well as a Pro mode to help players learn how to play guitar, drums and keyboard using music in the game.

They also took concepts from other spinoff titles such as Rock Band: Green Day like vocal harmonies and brought them to the fold as well.

Gameplay:

Not much has changed for Rock Band 3 for the standard band format. Two guitars and a drum set each have a cascading highway of notes down the screen as the vocals scroll across the top.

There is now of course the substitution of a new instrument in the keyboard which can even be used to play the guitar parts of older Rock Band music that hasn’t gotten the keyboard face lift.

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Video games are a big part of the world these days. People love them and they far surpass pretty much any other form of entertainment in terms of revenue. Yes, they even beat the movies. One of the most popular game titles to hit stores in the last few years has been the Rock Band franchise. Rock Band 1 and 2 have sold millions of copies and now Rock Band 3 has been announced and looks to add millions more units sold to that already impressive total for the franchise.

Some of the new features and tracks announced for Rock Band 3 include access to the most music available in any video game with more than 1,500 tracks and growing, a new keyboard gameplay and three-part harmonies for up to seven players rocking together, Rock Band Pro Mode and much more. We could go into all the new features and song that will encompass Rock Band 3 but instead, why not hear it directly from the people who are bringing you the game. So, here’s all the info directly from an official Rock Band 3 press release. Oh, and at the end we’ve also included a couple preview videos for the game as well so be sure and check them out.

The Most Music. Period.

The Rock Band 3 disc soundtrack contains 83 of the best bands from around the world, including bands that have never appeared in a music game, as well as support for existing Rock Band tracks (Rock Band and Rock Band 2 discs, downloaded songs, track packs, AC/DC Live: Rock Band™ Track Pack, LEGO® Rock Band and Green Day: Rock Band™).
Additionally, Rock Band 3 will give players immediate access to a music library approaching 2,000 songs by launch, with new content added regularly. Rock Band’s gigantic music selection dwarfs that of any other music game on the market.

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Regardless of how you feel about her, Lady Gaga is certainly a pop culture sensation. Fans across the globe are going ga-ga for her newest music video “Telephone” featuring Beyonce, which just hit the web. This week, they’ll be able to rock out to some of her previous hits, including “Bad Romance” and “Poker Face,” which are coming to the Rock Band store.

What’s even more exciting, and hilarious, is that Eric Cartman’s cover version of “Poker Face” is also slated for Rock Band release. The song was first heard on a South Park episode where Cartman would rather play Rock Band than save whales being slaughtered by Japanese terrorists. The cover has been the subject of many a YouTube video, including some remixes with Lady Gaga’s original version, and the version sung/spoken by the amazing Christopher Walken.

Not sure how much fun the original Lady Gaga songs will be to play on Rock Band, but the Cartman version is sure to be a favorite. The Lady Gaga Track Pack and the rest of the new songs available for Rock Band will be released March 16th for Xbox 360 and Wii, and March 18th for the PS3. Here’s the full list of songs.

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Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment – $49.99

Score: 7.5

The music game formula is nothing new. Start out with a plastic instrument and pick a song. Successful completion of a song unlocks more popular but increasingly difficult tunes. For your sequel, include the ability to play as various famous recording artists, both living and dead. Lather, rinse, repeat. Occasionally pick a specific band and focus a game around them (i.e. Beatles Rock Band) or them and the music they inspired (like when we found out that Van Halen somehow relates to Third Eye Blind).

So what separates Lego Rock Band from the rest of the pack? Personality. Anyone who has picked up Lego Star Wars or Lego Batman sees that something special that Lego-izing a popular character or moment can bring to the screen. The unique and quirky humor of seeing a stormtroopers explode in to a pile of brings or watching the Lego Riddler get locked up in jail hold a special place in our hearts because we don’t just love Star Wars and Batman, but we love Lego too. Sorry Megablocks. It’s great to see that this humor carries over to give the Rock Band series not only its first ever “story” mode, but translates in to unique visuals that fit both the Rock Band and Lego licenses well.

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We’re all pretty excited for the release of LEGO Rock Band around The Flickcast offices. We’ve brought you plenty of coverage of the game, including a brand new Queen video, and even the complete track list to get your mouth watering. We’re now bringing you something even better, as the full trailer has just been released.

The game will do all the things Rock Band fans have come to crave in a game, from singing to rocking out electric base. One of the newest features is the aesthetic look of the LEGO people and surroundings. You can create full bands to use on tours, which are all about as customizable as the LEGO people you used to play with as a kid.

The trailer shows off four of the exclusive tracks that can be found on the game, including Bon Jovi’s “You Give Love a Bad Name”, Counting Crows’ “Accidentally in Love”, Tom Petty’s “Free Fallin’”, and Europe’s “Final Countdown”. Check out the trailer after the jump, and be sure to grab LEGO Rock Band from your local video game store on November 3rd!

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Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and MTV Games recently announced that members of Queen Freddie Mercury, guitarist Brian May, bassist John Deacon and drummer Roger Taylor will appear in LEGO Rock Band! The band members will be seen rocking out LEGO style during the in-game performances of “We Are The Champions” and “We Will Rock You.”

Guitarist Brian May said about his band’s appearance in the game: “This is IT!  I wanna play!  When do I get my toy LEGO man?”

Queen’s rock pack for the Rock Band Music Store of downloadable content was just released, featuring 10 of the band’s greatest hits including “Killer Queen,” “Somebody to Love,” “Fat Bottomed Girls” and “Under Pressure.” In addition, Queen will release Absolute Greatest on Nov. 17, featuring 20 of the band’s biggest hits.

Lego Rock Band will be coming to your Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and Nintendo DS consoles this holiday season.

Good news for all the rockers and Lego fans everywhere! The entire Lego Rock Band set list was released for both the PS3/Xbox 360 and Nintendo DS versions of the game and includes songs from Queen, Bon Jovi, P!NK, Jimi Hendrix and Blur. Warner Bros. and MTV Games also announced that tracks from the Rock Band Store will be available for play within Lego Rock Band, and for $9.99 (800 Microsoft Points), the Lego Rock Band tracks can be exported for play in any other Rock Band games. An internet connection will be required for this export.

LEGO Rock Band will feature everything we know and love about the previous Rock Band games as well as the family-friendly, silly antics gamers have come to expect from the LEGO franchise. Players will be able to design their whole band as well as their roadies and manager. Keeping with the family-friendly theme, only songs that are suitable for all-ages will be available for purchase and play within the Lego Rock Band store.

Lego Rock Band will be coming to your Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and Nintendo DS consoles this holiday season. While you get ready to rock, check out the full track listing for all versions of the game after the jump.

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We’ve been following the game DJ Hero for some time now and are definitely looking forward to its release. As fans of other games like this, including the original Guitar Hero, Rock Band and the recent Beatles Rock Band which, yes, we purchased with all the extras, these games have certainly become a mainstay of our popular culture. Now, the wait is almost over as you can finally pre-order this must-have game right now from your favorite retailer.

But wait, there’s more. Not only can you now order the game, if you do you can get some extra cool stuff as well, depending upon where you order from. Want to know more? Of course you do.

Fortunately, the folks at Activision have provided all the info you could ever need right here in this handy press release.

Be the first to order the DJ Hero Renegade Edition Featuring JAY-Z and EMINEM and DJ Hero by heading to the following URL: http://www.djhero.com/buy. Those who pre-order DJ Hero from the below retailers will receive the following bonus items:

Amazon.com – Pre-order DJ Hero and DJ Hero Renegade Edition from Amazon.com and get a $5 credit towards the music tracks that inspired the music for the game

Best Buy – Pre-order DJ Hero from Best Buy and receive a free code that unlocks a Daft Punk level

GameStop – Pre-order DJ Hero and DJ Hero Renegade Edition and receive two free playable song downloads

Guitar Hero Store – Pre-order DJ Hero and DJ Hero Renegade Edition and receive free two-day shipping

Hollywood/GameCrazy – Pre-order DJ Hero and receive an exclusive turntable slipmat

Walmart.com – Pre-order DJ Hero at Wal-Mart.com and receive a $10 electronic gift card

DJ Hero and DJ Hero Renegade Edition ship to major retail outlets across North America on October 27th for Xbox 360, Wii, PS3 and PS2.

“Build a band and rock the universe.” Quite an ambitious statement. The universe is a pretty big place. But luckily for Lego Rock Band players, they will be getting some help from a musical space-jamming legend as Ziggy Stardust himself, David Bowie joins the Lego Rock Band roster. For the first time, including actual artists as playable characters in the Rock Band franchise, don’t expect David Bowie to have the same reaction that Courtney Love did upon seeing her deceased husband Kurt Cobain singing Bon Jovi in Guitar Hero 5.

Instead, expect to see a Lego-ized version of The Thin White Duke much in the style of Lego Star Wars, Lego Batman and Lego Indiana Jones as he takes the stage with his hit “Let’s Dance” — which can be seen after the jump. Being the first celebrity included in Lego Rock Band to be announced, fans will likely keep their eyes and ears peeled for any other famous rockers making their way in to the game before its November 10th release date on XBox 360 and Playstation 3 or November 17th on Wii.

Check out an exclusive video of Ziggy in Lego Rock Band after the jump.

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Check out the first half of our interview with Kill Audio writer and creator Claudio Sanchez as he talks about the creation of this very unique character originally based of a designer vinyl toy concept that he and his fiance came up with.

The Flickcast: To digress just a little bit, we also cover TV, movies and video games ant our site and your band Coheed and Cambira was featured in the first Rock Band and as downloadable content. Do you have anything you’d like to talk about being involved in the video game process?

Claudio Sanchez: I’m a gamer. When I have the free time certainly. The last game I played was the Ghostbusters game, which again, going back to being on the road, if I have a game that I really want to play it’s like okay, I’ve got a week because I’m getting out there and I’m not going to bring my XBox. It’s going to get destroyed. I’ve been through like six of them already.

FC: Because you broke them or the red ring of death?

CS: The wheel of death. It’s not me. It’s definitely that ring. So anyway, I beat it. It was definitely satisfying. I’m a big fan of Ghostbusters and I thought they did a fantastic job. Usually when they license a property like that to a game, the game is always a disappointment. And that one I think went above and beyond and I was certainly satisfied. I love video games.

I would love to do a video game based on some of the materials, some of the concepts behind Coheed and Cambria. But we’ll see. It’s nice to be a part of something like Rock Band and to be well received through it. It’s fun, certainly for my brother who gets to play it. That’s a lot of fun.

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Rock Band Tracks This Week for XBox 360 and Playstation 3:

He may not be with us anymore but the King of Pop’s musical legacy is still alive and kicking with one of his first hits (along with his brothers) when “ABC” from the Jackson 5 makes it way to Rock Band this week. In addition, super-zero themed “Kryptonite” from 3 Doors Down joins them. Along with Audioslave’s “Gasoline” and AFI’s “Miss Murder”, all these singles will be available for $1.99 each (160 Microsoft points) when they go live on the Rock Band store on XBox 360 on September 8th and the Playstation 3 on September 10th.

In celebration of this past weekend’s Penny Arcade Expo PAX, the Freezepop Pack 01* and PAX 2009 Collection** will both be available with a selection of songs from the event’s performers. All the Freezepop and PAX songs will be available for $1.00 (80 Microsoft points) each or as 3 song packs for $2.99 (240 Microsoft points) when they go live on the Rock Band store on XBox 360 on September 8th and the Playstation 3 on September 10th.

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