It came as a surprise to many gamers to learn that Harmonix was planning to create Rock Band 4, after allowing the main series to go dormant since 2010. While rhythm game fans may be happy to see its return, Harmonix has its work cut out for it, with competitor Guitar Hero releasing its own new title just days after Rock Band 4's release.

It makes a lot of sense for Harmonix to try and make Rock Band 4's new features stand out before its release date. Harmonix has released a new comical video doing just that, and highlighting some of these features in action.

Harmonix has decided to showcase some of these features in a purposefully cheesy parody video. While the decision is amusing, the new features definitely look interesting.

"Kool Terry," the video's host, shows off three major features from Rock Band 4. The first of which is that players will be able to create their own custom guitar solos during certain segments of songs. During these solo portions, rather than sticking to what the original recording artist played, gamers will be able to play whatever sounds good to them personally.

In addition, vocalists will also be treated to the freestyle mode. Vocalists will be able to deviate slightly from the official melody of whatever they're singing, allowing them to change the pitch at will. They'll be able to continue their score streak while doing so, which should improve replayability for singers, and allow them to put some passion into their delivery.

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Finally, Rock Band 4's version of the story mode has been improved by allowing players to make their own decisions. This mode is now called Career Mode, and lets players make choices along the way that affect their career. In the video's example, players can choose between hitting the road in a van, which will help them to get more fans, or hiring a manager, which will help them to earn more money.

Rock Band 4's new mode additions should help to alleviate some of the boredom that often developed from Rock Band 3. Rock Band 3's story mode, in particular, forced players to replay the same songs many times over in order to progress, with limited options to choose which songs the band could play. From the sound of it, being able to play the songs a little bit differently each time, and having more freedom to make personal decisions in the game's Career Mode should help to alleviate this problem. Harmonix has also made a good decision in allowing players to import DLC songs from prior Rock Band games, and use their old instruments if they so choose.

Rock Band, Guitar Hero, and similar titles began to flounder after flooding the market with mandatory plastic controllers and an overabundance of sequels that didn't do much to create innovation. Hopefully, Harmonix has taken the time these past five years to consider what worked and what didn't, and gamers will be able to enjoy rocking out with friends all over again.

Rock Band 4 will release on October 6th, 2015 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

Source: Harmonix