New shots of Rock Band

Rock Band is the rhythm-action experience thatwe allfantasized about, while crashed out backstage (well, on the couch) after a session with the legendary Guitar Hero. Uniting up to four players in separate band roles - online or within the same room - it's your chance to take your amateur swagger and daft rock salutes to the next level.

One player takes guitar, one takes bass, another yammers out the vocals while the drummer completes the goofy group. If one of your members stumbles and starts trotting out some duff notes, they'll be knocked out of the song; performing signature moves and successful solos allows you to "rescue" them, however. And you can check out the new shotshere.

Above: Bonus points are available for nailing the "Unison Phrase," where all players complete certain sections with zero mistakes

An eight-strong track list has been unveiled, although much more is promised to appear from the major record labels, incorporating rock hits from the 70s through to the present. Downloadable content, too, will expand that library further in the wake of Rock Band's release. Those revealed tracks are as follows; all are master recordings, apart from the first two:

"Mississippi Queen"by Mountain

"Paranoid"by Black Sabbath

"Won't Get Fooled Again" byThe Who

"Suffragette City"by David Bowie

"Don't Fear the Reaper"by Blue Oyster Cult

"In Bloom"by Nirvana

"Main Offender"by The Hives

"Say It Ain't So"by Weezer

Based on the lyrics in the screenshot above, we're going to go out on a limb and say that' "Rockaway Beach" by The Ramones will also be in the game.

July 6, 2007