Rock Band Blitz

Just moments ago, Harmonix officially announced Rock Band Blitz. The latest iteration of the Rock Band franchise is a radical departure from the numbered games in the series, and more closely resembles the iPhone Rock Band game as well as Harmonix's PlayStation 2 titles, Amplitude and Frequency. The game is due this Summer for Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network.

Just last week we reported that Harmonix would be revealing a brand new game at their PAX East panel, and wondered whether it could be the next iteration of Rock Band or perhaps the XBLA/PSN game we'd been hearing rumors about. Turns out, it's both.

Rock Band Blitz is a single-player game that uses plain-old game controllers rather than plastic instruments. That single player is responsible for all of a song's tracks, which they can switch between, very much like in Frequency. Harmonix's Matthew Nordhaus took the wraps off the game on today's episode of G4TV's X-Play.

"It's a brand-new way to play your Rock Band games. Instead of having the focus on musical authenticity and performance simulation, it's an arcade game. So, it's fast, and loud, and silly, and a little over the top, and bright, and fun and quick."

For an even better sense of what the game will offer, check out the Rock Band Blitz announcement trailer below.

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Maybe the best part about Rock Band Blitz is that the game supports all of the songs that Rock Band fans already have. Rock Band DLC has been released every week for four years, and every bit of it will work with Rock Band Blitz -- but that road goes two ways. Blitz will ship with 25 songs (in case you missed them, the announcement trailer includes "Mental Health" by Quiet Riot, "Jessie's Girl" by Rick Springfield, "Pumped Up Kicks" by Foster the People, and "Always" by Blink 182), and those will all be playable in Rock Band 3!

As the trailer makes clear, there is a lot happening onscreen in Rock Band Blitz. Tracks need to be charged up, there are power-ups to activate, and that pinball is doing... something. A post on the Rock Band Forums promises "more info about RB Blitz at noon tomorrow (4/4)," so we should find out then. Be sure to keep an eye on Game Rant for all the latest Rock Band Blitz developments.

Ranters, what do you think of your first look at Rock Band Blitz?

Rock Band Blitz releases this Summer for XBLA and PSN.

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Source: G4TV, Rock Band Forums, G4TV