Sunday, June 13, 2010
by Ben Silverman
And you thought those piano lessons were a waste of time.
USA Today was lucky enough to score a backstage pass to meet Rock Band 3, and they've come back with loads of juicy details, not the least of which is confirmation of a new instrument: a keyboard.
The new peripheral will work just like the other Rock Band instruments, tasking players with matching colored keys flowing down a virtual note highway. It isn’t just another plastic toy, however. Boasting 25 keys, it plays just like a legit keyboard, and can even be used outside the game, thanks to full MIDI functionality.
Emphasizing the game's more realistic approach is the newly unveiled Pro mode. Playing keyboards in this mode requires the use of all 25 keys; at its highest difficulty setting, it will closely match the actual keyboard parts, potentially turning gamers into real players.
That mode will be extended to the other instruments as well. For guitarists, realistic musical notation will replace the familiar colored notes, guiding players up and down the fretboard of two brand new guitar controllers. One is a full-sized Fender Squier Stratocaster -- six strings and all -- that, says Harmonix PR head John Drake "can tell where your fingers are based on technology in the neck and the bridge of the guitar. No buttons."
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