After a five-year hiatus, the next entry in the Rock Band series is back later this year with Rock Band 4 on PS4 and Xbox One.
Among the details currently revealed we know that Rock Band 4 will have a top-tier soundtrack, a new range of instruments created by peripheral maker Mad Catz and the ability to carry over songs from the previous console versions. But what other features would you like to see?
Check out our wish list…
Cross Platform DLC Transfer
Harmonix has already touched on this, but won’t give a definitive answer to the most important question for Rock Band 4. It’s safe to say that thousands of people played previous Rock Band games on Xbox 360, but have made the switch to PS4 for this generation. Rock Band offers thousands of songs as DLC and it’s simply out of the question for some people to re-purchase their whole music library. Harmonix has stated that you can bring your PS3 library to PS4, but when asked about Xbox 360 to PS4 all they could say was “Cross platform DLC compatibility is not entirely within our control, as DLC ownership is managed by the 1st parties”. So, Harmonix didn’t give a definitive “no” so it’s still a possibility. The single most important aspect of any music game is its soundtrack, so we can’t stress enough how important cross platform DLC transfer is. Let’s hope Sony can work some magic and get this done.
Huge Improvement On Hardware
A common opinion within the music game community is that Guitar Hero’s instruments are vastly superior to Rock Band’s. Flimsy strum bars, loud plastic drums and bass pedals that broke after weeks of playing on expert are all too familiar with any Rock Band player. Harmonix is teaming up with Mad Catz once again to deliver Rock Band 4’s hardware and from what they’ve shown, the instruments look very similar to what we had in the past. Here’s hoping for some vast improvements and sturdier equipment that last for the years to come. More definitive buttons, quieter drums without plastic outer rims, and a nice sturdy strum bar that clicks, would be welcome additions.
Double Bass Pedal
Possibly the most requested drum feature that was left out of Rock Band 3 was a difficulty that charted every bass drum hit. Songs that were submitted to the Rock Band Network had the option for a 2X bass pedal option, but Harmonix never included them with its own submitted songs. Playing songs like ‘This Calling’ by All That Remains, ‘Beast and the Harlot’ by Avenged Sevenfold, or basically any other metal song, just doesn’t feel right when you can hear really fast bass drums but are only playing half of them. Hooking up a splitter to the drum kit and plugging in two pedals already works perfectly, so now we just need all the notes in the game. Maybe add another difficulty or make it an option in pro drums. It may be a little too much to ask to go back through the catalog and add double bass to every song in the past that needs it, but the least we could ask is to add it to every song from here on out. This is a must-have feature for all expert drummers, especially considering it’s been in Guitar Hero for four games.
Robust Online Modes and Options
Rock Band 2 had an amazing online experience, but it was cut down significantly in Rock Band 3. Rock Band 2 had score duels, medallions to show off your achievements, Battle of the Bands and more. Rock Band 3 took out a few features and left the online component rather dry. Score duels are great for competitive players that want the thrill of winning a battle, while medallions help differentiate the good and the legendary. Also, giving players the ability to customize their entire experience would be a great feature. Want to go online and only play impossible songs? There should be an option for that. Want to use breakneck speed but think it’s just a bit too fast? Allow us to tweak it exactly how we like it. Does nobody want to play bass guitar? Allow both guitarists to play lead. Getting the game to play exactly how we like is key to longevity.
Keep the Music Coming
Harmonix has stated that it wants Rock Band 4 to be a platform. No more yearly releases, just one game constantly being updated with new features and most importantly, more music. Weekly DLC worked perfectly for them in the past and we see no reason for them to do it any different this time around. There are an endless amount of songs out there and every player has their own musical tastes. Having too many songs to play will never be an issue with Rock Band and a constant flow of music should keep everyone happy.
What what you like to see from Rock Band 4 that would bring you back? Let us know in the comments.