''Rock Band'' is a music video game released for the

iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...

. It was co-developed by

EA Montreal EA Montreal is a Canadian video game development studio owned and operated by Electronic Arts. The studio is based in Montreal, Quebec. It was inaugurated by EA on March 17, 2004. The studio was founded by Alain Tascan a former Ubisoft and BAM! ...

and Harmonix, and was published by

Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the d ...

and

MTV Games MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

. The game was released as a part of the ''

Rock Band A rock band or pop band is a small musical ensemble that performs rock music, pop music, or a related genre. A four-piece band is the most common configuration in rock and pop music. In the early years, the configuration was typically two guita ...

'' series for download through the App Store in several regions on October 19, 2009. On May 2, 2012, RockBandAide announced that EA intended to discontinue ''Rock Band'' with servers being disconnected and support being dropped on May 31, 2012. However, EA stated that the message was "sent in error" and the app would remain available to those who purchased the app. It was later announced that due to an expiring contract with Harmonix the game would be removed from the App Store. This occurred on July 31, 2012, and the game is now currently unavailable; though users who have previously downloaded the game can continue to play it. Gameplay is similar to other ''Rock Band'' series games, but controlled without instrument controllers, and instead with the iOS-device's multi-touch display and built-in accelerometer. The game features multiplayer support over Bluetooth, and online play via

Facebook Connect The Facebook Platform is the set of services, tools, and products provided by the social networking service Facebook for third-party developers to create their own applications and services that access data in Facebook. The current Facebook ...

. A total of twenty songs appear in the game, and extra songs are available as purchasable,

downloadable content Downloadable content (DLC) is additional content created for an already released video game, distributed through the Internet by the game's publisher. It can either be added for no extra cost or it can be a form of video game monetization, enablin ...

Gameplay

Gameplay is similar to that of previous games in the ''Rock Band'' series, as the player has a choice to play either

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

, bass guitar,

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

, or

vocal The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal tract, including talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, shouting, humming or yelling. The human voice frequency is specifically a part of human sound production i ...

s with up to three other players locally via an ad hoc Bluetooth network. The game also features asynchronous multiplayer gameplay through

, which allows players to synchronize progress in a song with others over the internet using a cellular data connection or

Wi-Fi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio wave ...

. Simultaneous multiplayer gameplay is not available on the original iPhone and

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devices due to technical limitations of the iPhone OS. In place of instrument controllers as used in most other games of the series, ''Rock Band'' must be controlled using a combination of the iPhone or

device's built-in

multi-touch In computing, multi-touch is technology that enables a surface (a touchpad or touchscreen) to recognize the presence of more than one somatosensory system, point of contact with the surface at the same time. The origins of multitouch began at CER ...

display and accelerometer. While vocal gameplay has traditionally been done using a microphone in conjunction with a player literally singing words in pitch, the game uses only rhythmic touch input. During each song, each player attempts to match notes as they scroll on-screen in time with the current song. Completing consecutive series of notes will build up a player's scoring multiplier and add to the band's score for the song. Certain phrases of notes will be marked as glowing notes; successfully completing these add to the player's "Overdrive" meter. When the Overdrive meter is at least half-full, a player can activate Overdrive to double the band's scoring multiplier. It is activated by jolting the iOS device, whereas

force feedback Haptic technology (also kinaesthetic communication or 3D touch) is technology that can create an experience of touch by applying forces, vibrations, or motions to the user. These technologies can be used to create virtual objects in a computer ...

is produced by the device to confirm activation. Players are rewarded with up to 5 stars for completing a song based on their scoring performance. Three skill levels are available in ''Rock Band'', and are known as "Easy", "Medium", and "Hard". The game features two main single-player modes known as "Quick Play" and "World Tour". In World Tour mode, a player performs a set list in five in-game world cities: Boston,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

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Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

and

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. After completing a set list in one city, a player unlocks more songs that are playable in the next city. In Quick Play mode, players simply access songs that have been previously unlocked in World Tour mode.

Soundtrack

There are twenty songs available by default on ''Rock Band''. Players are able to download additional songs in the in-game "Music Store", which is available using Wi-Fi or a cellular data connection to the internet. These songs were either on previous

games or

Downloadable Content Downloadable content (DLC) is additional content created for an already released video game, distributed through the Internet by the game's publisher. It can either be added for no extra cost or it can be a form of video game monetization, enablin ...

Downloadable songs

Reception

''Rock Band'' received mixed reviews from critics. Common criticisms by reviewers consisted of the lack of ability to sing vocals such as in the console counterparts of the game, and the limited soundtrack out of the box. As compared to the other portable variant of the franchise '' Rock Band Unplugged'', it was considered on par and similar in gameplay.

Sequel

'' Rock Band Reloaded'' was released for the iPhone/

and

iPad The iPad is a brand of iOS and iPadOS-based tablet computers that are developed by Apple Inc. The iPad was conceived before the related iPhone but the iPhone was developed and released first. Speculation about the development, operating s ...

on December 2, 2010.

References

External links

MTV Games siteEA Mobile site
{{Harmonix games 2009 video games Drumming video games IOS games IOS-only games Guitar video games Rock Band series Video games developed in Canada Video games developed in the United States Multiplayer and single-player video games