BandFuse: Rock Legends

BandFuse: Rock Legends
Developer(s)	Realta Entertainment Group
Publisher(s)	‹See Tfd› NA: Mastiff ‹See Tfd› JP: Hamster Corporation[1]
Distributor(s)	‹See Tfd› NA: Majesco Entertainment
Director(s)	Jon Heiner
Producer(s)	Matteo Marsala
Programmer(s)	Mark Ribau
Artist(s)	Kevin Brown
Platform(s)	Xbox 360 PlayStation 3
Release date(s)	‹See Tfd› NA: November 19, 2013 ‹See Tfd› JP: December 19, 2013
Genre(s)	Music video game
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

BandFuse: Rock Legends is a music video game produced by Realta Entertainment Group. It integrates real musical instruments with video game consoles through a proprietary audio engine developed by Realta Entertainment Group. This audio engine supports up to 4 players, and connects to PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles using real electric guitars, basses and microphones, providing scoring and real-time performance feedback during play.

Overview

The game is designed to be a “Pick up and Play” experience for all levels. Complete novices, experienced musicians and everyone in between can enjoy the game. In addition to the proprietary audio engine, BandFuse: Rock Legends also integrates an animated version of Guitar and Bass tablature, a universal form of musical notation, that is extended to add timing information and interactive feedback. The game also features a scored vocal highway design licensed by strategic partner Harmonix Music Systems, as well as a Karaoke Mode for more casual play.

The game was released on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 platforms on November 19, 2013 in North America, and on November 26 in Latin America. It was released in Japan on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on December 19, 2013. A European launch date has yet to be announced.

BandFuse includes a multiplayer mode for up to four players. The BandFuse: Band pack hardware expansion bundle is compatible with the BandFuse: Rock Legends Artist Pack and allows three additional players to connect and play. The Band Pack includes a special (AcoustiLink) adapter that allows acoustic guitars to be used for game play. In North America, the Band Pack includes a vocal microphone, two additional SpeedFuse instrument cables, an AcoustiLink acoustic guitar adapter and a four-port USB hub.

Gameplay

BandFuse is bundled with a SpeedFuse instrument cable that connects a standard electric guitar or bass’ ¼” (6.35mm) output jack to a USB port on video game consoles. Acoustic guitars can be connected to the game with the optional Acoustilink adapter. The game also supports 2 types of gameplay for vocals using the game’s optional MicFuse USB microphone (Rock Band and Guitar Hero video game microphones are also compatible with the game.) The game works with all standard electric guitars and basses. BandFuse also offers a bundle of the Artist Pack with a Fender Squier Bullet electric guitar online and in store at Guitar Center.

BandFuse gameplay utilizes authentic guitar and bass tablature, which is animated and tracked through the game’s own audio engine. Additionally, vocalists can play without being scored in “Karaoke Mode” or compete head-to-head against stringed instruments using a vocal highway design pioneered by Harmonix. Players find traditional game play in “Tour” mode, where they embark on a musical career and progress through a series of band tours consisting of evolving setlists, musical challenges and festivals.

Accessible for multiple skill levels, the gameplay begins at a novice level appropriate for first-time players which then ramps-up and challenges players to master advanced skills and eventually note-for-note transcriptions of the original music. The game play interface also includes the original music videos for each song in the set list.

While playing a song, the game scores the player on pitch and timing in real-time, which provides both scoring and visual feedback. A scoring multiplier is triggered with streaks of correctly played notes, increasing the scoring potential and creating an extremely competitive experience. Players of differing skill levels and even different instruments can compete head-to-head, competing for the best overall pitch and timing accuracy percentage. When grouped together in simultaneous game play, players also receive a “Band” score in addition to individual instrument scores.

As players progress through game play, they unlock a series of achievements (Xbox 360) and trophies (PlayStation 3), and earn in-game currency that let them “purchase” more prestigious and difficult tours.

Amplifiers and Pedals

The developers implemented 10 original amps and 9 pedals into the game. The game offers complete control over all of the tone shaping tools in game, making the player achieve the sound they prefer. Players/musicians can save presets, call up their favorite tones and use them on all content in the game and DLC.

Soundtrack

As of the day of release, the full song list is available on BandFuse's website, with the exception of DLCs.^[2]

DLC

Legends

The game also features a cast of celebrity musicians, including Slash (Guns N’ Roses, Velvet Revolver), Bootsy Collins (James Brown, Parliament-Funkadelic), Zakk Wylde (Ozzy Osbourne, Black Label Society), George Lynch (Dokken, Lynch Mob), Mike Ness (Social Distortion), Jason Hook and Zoltán Báthory (Five Finger Death Punch), and Alexi Laiho (Children of Bodom).

On ^[3] November 25, 2013, Realta announced an exclusive partnership with the organization managing the legacy of Jimi Hendrix. The integration of Hendrix will include fifteen iconic Jimi Hendrix songs and videos for release through the game’s downloadable content in 2014. Additionally, Jimi Hendrix will join the list of in-game Legends, and BandFuse: Rock Legends will be the title sponsor of the “Experience Hendrix” 2014 tour.

Musical Instruction

The game provides multiple sources of musical instruction via the Legends themselves as well as interactive lessons and videos found in the game’s Practice and Shred-U sections. Elastic-Time, performance analytics, and other tools enhance the learning experience. Detailed instructional videos demonstrate core and advanced playing techniques for guitar and bass, and an integrated vocal coach teaches the basics to aspiring singers.

Game Legends provide both insight and anecdotes to help aid and inspire aspiring musicians. They share their musical beginnings, trademark techniques, practice and warm-up techniques, suggestions for forming bands, tales “from the road” and much more.

The game’s Practice section covers every song on disc, as well as songs from DLC. Players can select from a list of song sections for each instrument, or practice the entire song. Learning enhancements include a selectable “click-track” to assist with timing, a looping function to automatically repeat sections or the entirety of songs, and speed control to slow down or speed-up playback of the practice song.

The Shred-U section of the game focuses on the difficult sections of songs using multiple tools to break down the song that will assist players. Starting with the most basic “note-for-note” versions of the songs, a virtual music teacher guides players to improvement. The world’s most patient music teacher, BandFuse: Rock Legends waits until the player plays the correct note before moving onto the next note in a song. Analytics measure pitch and timing, and will advance the player once they have achieved at least 80% accuracy for a particular section of a song. The player will start at 60% speed, and the analytics engine will increase it progressively as the pitch and timing are mastered. To be sure players have mastered the section, the game pushes them to play the part 5 times at 110% speed, measuring the accuracy of their pitch and timing throughout.

The backing tracks section includes instruction and practice for scales and modes; this feature guides players to expand styles and techniques.

Hardware Options

There are several pieces of hardware that are supported in ""BandFuse: Rock Legends; they are as follows:

SpeedFuse Instrument Cable

The BandFuse SpeedFuse cable is a ¼” to USB instrument cable used to connect electric guitars and basses to video game consoles while playing the BandFuse: Rock Legends video game. This 4-meter long instrument cable delivers exceptional audio quality with no perceptible latency.

AcoustiLink Acoustic Guitar Adapter

The BandFuse AcoustiLink adapter allows players to connect acoustic guitars to consoles by attaching it to the headstock or soundport when combined with a SpeedFuse cable.

MicFuse USB Microphone

The BandFuse MicFuse mic is a high quality, dynamic cardiod-pattern vocal mic with filters to reduce distortion and an on/off switch.

4-Port USB Hub

The BandFuse QuadFuse is a 4 port USB hub that allows players to simultaneously connect up-to four instruments using only one USB input port.

AudioLink Xbox 360

RCA Audio adapter allows users to connect directly from the Xbox 360 console to supported stereo systems via RCA connectors. It Also includes an optical output jack and 3.5 or 1/8" headphone jack. This adapter allows users to run audio directly from their console to their home stereo system in order to eliminate the high latency that comes with running audio through an HDMI adapter to TV speakers.

Headphone Extension Cable

The Headphone Extension cable is a ⅛" (3.5mm) male to female extension cable with volume control. This cable allows players to comfortably stand back from their console when playing the game with headphones on.

Development

The concept for BandFuse: Rock Legends originated late in 2008. The goal was to provide the final step in the evolution of music gaming for people coming from a background of Guitar Hero and/or Rock Band. The developers of BandFuse: Rock Legends also intended the game to be fun and beneficial for seasoned musicians.

The first half of 2009 was spent building and testing various user interfaces for game play. As testing continued it became clear that scrolling tablature was the ideal method to display the game play elements. Users had adequate time to prepare for the upcoming notes, the design supported full note-for-note accuracy of the original songs, and the interface would also support multiple players simultaneously without degrading gameplay. Another benefit of using scrolling music tablature was the ability to immediately take what is learned in the game into the real world. The initial interface hardware was also designed with emphasis on sound quality and extremely fast audio processing.

Reception

GameZone's David Sanchez gave the Xbox 360 version an 8/10, stating "With tips from the pros, the ability to break down songs and slow them down, bass and mic support, and all of the living room concert fun that the rhythm genre has become known for, BandFuse is a great way to rock."^[4]

References