Not only does next week’s Rock Band Music Store update bring six live tracks from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, it also gives us insight into what Harmonix feels is family friendly. For instance, “Refugee”, “A Thing About You” and “Here Comes My Girl” are all available for LEGO Rock Band as well as the normal version, while “American Girl”, “Even the Losers” and “Mary Jane’s Last Dance” are not. All of the tracks are from The Live Anthology, in stores November 24.

Kelly Clarkson makes her Rock Band/LEGO Rock Band debut with “Miss Independent”, rounding out a non-Petty, family-friendly trio that includes the Go-Go’s “Our Lips Are Sealed” and Pink’s “Who Knew”.

Things can only get worse.

Available on Xbox 360 and Wii (November 24) and PlayStation 3 system (November 26):

· Go-Go’s – “Our Lips Are Sealed” +
· Kelly Clarkson – “Miss Independent” +
· P!nk – “Who Knew” +
· Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – “A Thing About You (live)” +
· Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – “American Girl (live)”
· Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – “Even the Losers (live)”
· Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – “Here Comes My Girl (live)” +
· Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – “Mary Jane’s Last Dance (live)”
· Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – “Refugee (live)” +

The Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band complete the album DLC pack for The Beatles: Rock Band is now available for the Xbox 360 and Wii, with the PlayStation 3 version arriving on Thursday. I’m looking forward to giving the new songs a go, if I can ever wrest my copy of the game away from my older brother. You hear that, Richard? I want my game back! Now more pretending to be asleep when I knock on your door. I can hear you singing. Sometimes I have nightmares.

Next week fans of The Beatles will be able to complete what the Rock Band titles started with “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”, “With A Little Help From My Friends”, “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds”, “Getting Better” and “Good Morning Good Morning” with the final eight songs from the band’s eighth studio album. The aptly-titled “Fixing A Hole” joins “She’s Leaving Home”, “Being For The Benefit of Mr. Kite!”, “Within You Without You”, “When I’m Sixty-Four”, “Lovely Rita”, “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)” and “A Day In The Life” completing the album so popular it was made into a musical starring Peter Frampton and the Bee Gees.

The new tracks will be available on November 17 for the Xbox 360 and Wii and November 19 on the PlayStation 3. The full pack will run $US13.49 or 1080 Microsoft points, with individual songs running $US2 a pop.

Like Activision’s recently-released Band Hero, LEGO Rock Band seeks to be the E for Everyone answer to the band-based rhythm genre, delivering songs that parents don’t have to explain to their children while blushing profusely. Unlike Band Hero, however, LEGO Rock Band has the power of one of the world’s most popular toy lines behind it. There’s really no doubt that the familiar red logo on the front of the case will attract game buying parents like moths to a flame. Will they get burned?

Loved
Rock Band’s Gameplay: It’s the same Rock Band gameplay we’ve all come to know and love, plastic instruments and all. Cosmetic changes aside, there’s nothing stopping anyone who has played previous Rock Band titles from picking up the mic, drumsticks or guitar and rocking out.

LEGO Charm: If you don’t find the LEGO video games charming on some level, you might as well treat LEGO Rock Band as a giant, $US50 track pack. If you do find the LEGO-brand cuteness adorable, then the game has plenty for you to gush over, from the LEGO block notes on the highway to the ridiculous hijinks your band and crew get up to during jam sessions. New venues are opened up by unlocking new, increasingly absurd LEGO vehicles, with each new location loaded with cute little touches that you’ll only notice if you are watching someone else play. Once again, Traveller’s Tales manages to squeeze refreshing water from a LEGO block.

Rock Challenges: While they aren’t particularly challenging, LEGO Rock Band’s Rock Challenges do split up the monotony of playing song after song after song. These special stages have specific goals, like blowing up a building with the power of rock, or ridding a haunted mansion of ghosts. In single player you simply play through the song presented as per normal, but with a friend the action is broken up, giving each player a bit of solo time to accomplish their goals. Again, not all that challenging, but a welcome distraction. Plus, the Ghostbusters challenge features some of the most adorable moments in gaming this year. To quote my girlfriend, “Cutest. Thing. Ever.”

Eclectic Selections: Despite its family-friendly theme, LEGO Rock Band has managed to gather together a nicely varied list of music that might not have seen the light of day in any other Rock Band title. The introduction of my favourite band, Counting Crows, to the Rock Band universe was almost worth the game’s $US50 price tag for me, while songs like “Kung-Fu Fighting”, “Ghostbusters” and “Walkin’ on Sunshine” are exactly the sort of light-hearted fare that other Rock Band games lacked.

It’s A Brick House: Like other LEGO games from Traveller’s Tales, LEGO Rock Band is all about collecting bits, and once you’ve collected those bits you can use them at the in-game store to buy new outfits, instruments, staff members and even decorations for your LEGO headquarters. Your headquarters acts as the main menu for the game, so being able to add your own personal touch is kind of nice. This is really the feature that separates the game from the rest of the Rock Band lineup, even if it doesn’t allow for in-depth customisation of your pad.

Super Easy: A new addition to the standard Rock Band difficulty settings, Super Easy means even your most uncoordinated friends can pick up a guitar and play, as long as they have even the most rudimentary grasp of the concept of rhythm. Just push any button and strum, or hit any drum pad. We don’t care which, just pound the damn thing. There, now you’re playing Rock Band. Perfect for those singers in your group who are afraid of the plastic instruments.

Export Business: If all else fails, LEGO Rock Band functions as a 44-song track pack. A code included with the game allows you to export the songs on the disc to regular Rock Band for $US9.99, meaning that if you’d like to play “Accidentally in Love” with your friends without worrying about LEGO Rock Band’s lack of online multiplayer, you still have another option.

Hated
Skimpy Track List: Three years ago we would have been perfectly happy with 44 songs, but these days that’s around half of what we generally expect. The songs might be a nice collection of tunes, but when you have to play them over and over again throughout your career in order to progress, they wear thin rather quickly. In one venue I played through two songs I wasn’t particularly fond of, only to have both of said songs show up in the mystery set list I played next. That’s not fun. That’s annoying.

Offline Only: I suppose stripping away the online play from previous Rock Band titles was one way of making LEGO Rock Band more family friendly, but its presence is definitely missed.

LEO Rock Band makes several painful trade-offs in order to present a game that can be considered family friendly, and your enjoyment of the game hinges on whether or not you can handle the changes. You get half as many songs as a normal Rock Band release and no online multiplayer, in exchange for a rhythm game that’s brimming with unique LEGO personality and music you won’t find anywhere else, until Harmonix releases the tracks as paid DLC for the regular versions. Plus, LEGO Rock Band is by far the most accessible of the Rock Band titles, with a lower level of difficulty making it an excellent gateway game.

There’s a lot to love in LEGO Rock Band, as long as you don’t try and take it too seriously.

LEGO Rock Band was developed by Harmonix and Traveller’s Tales and published by EA for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Nintendo Wii. Retails for $US49.99/$AU79.95 (Wii $AU79.95). A copy of the game was given to us by the publisher for reviewing purposes. Played through complete career mode on the Xbox 360 version both alone and with a friend.

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The fact he mentions a third Rock Band should surprise only those who wake up every morning shocked to see the sun has risen. But the specifics, and why he’s involved in the project, those are a little more interesting.

“I’m working on ‘Rock Band 3′ and making the controllers more real so people can actually learn how to play music while playing the game,” he told the newspaper. “Give me a couple years, it’s going to happen.”

I don’t know. I enjoy playing Rock Band because I can’t play the guitar. If I wanted to learn how to play the guitar I’d, well… learn how to play the guitar.

The ever-changing Thenewno2 [Chicago Tribune]

In order to properly play “Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground”, “Girl, You Have No Faith in Medicine” and “Icky Thump”, the three White Stripes tunes making their way to the Rock Band Music Store next week, you will need a divorced spouse you are still on amazingly good terms with. If you are drumming, it’ll be best if you’ve never had a lesson, and if you are playing the guitar you’d best own a mic stand. Otherwise the experience will be totally ruined.

If you can’t handle those restrictions, you’re probably better off playing The Damned’s “Smash it Up (Part II)” or Kasabian’s “Club Foot”, the two other songs coming to the console versions of Rock Band next week, or No Doubt’s “Excuse Me Mr” and the Dropkick Murphys’ “I’m Shipping Up To Boston”, this week’s Rock Band Unplugged additions.

Available on Xbox 360 and Wii (November 10) and PlayStation 3 system (November 12):

• The Damned – “Smash It Up (Part II)” +
• Kasabian – “Club Foot” +
• The White Stripes – “Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground” +
• The White Stripes – “Girl, You Have No Faith in Medicine” +
• The White Stripes – “Icky Thump”

Tracks available for Rock Band Unplugged (November 12):

• No Doubt – “Excuse Me Mr.”
• Dropkick Murphys – “I’m Shipping Up to Boston”

“I think my Lego character is wonderful. I want one,” he said, according to BangShowBiz.com “We had discussions about the hair, there were a few emails. They had to negotiate to use my likeness, but it’s a nice thing.”

That’s May’s plasticy perm above, depicted with Lego Freddy Mercury in the game. May said a jealous Joe Elliott, the Def Leppard singer, called him up to complain that he didn’t get a minifig version. “Joe Elliott rang me up and said he was pissed off because they didn’t make one of him,” May said.

See? Not everyone hates being paid to appear in a video game…

Brian May’s Lego Hair Demands [BangShowBiz.com on Yahoo! UK, via Eurogamer]

Three shots of Nirvana and a four-pack of Foo Fighters grace the Rock Band Music Store next week, with Joan Jett and the Blackheart’s “Fake Friends” this week’s sole non Nirvana-related track.

For those of you who prefer Dave Grohl stick to drumming, Nirvana’s “About a Girl”, “School” and “Blew” will keep him quietly hitting the skins. Those of you wishing for a more pronounced Grohl presence should be pleased with “Best of You”, “The Pretender”, “Wheels” and “Word Forward” from the Foo Fighters.

If you prefer a more portable Rock Band experience, there’s always Bullet For My Valentine’s “Waking the Demon” and System of a Down’s “Toxicity” for Rock Band Unplugged on the PSP, both of which contain zero Grohl-levels.

Available on Xbox 360 and Wii (Nov. 3) and PlayStation 3 system (Nov. 5):

• Foo Fighters – “Best of You”
• Foo Fighters – “The Pretender”
• Foo Fighters – “Wheels”
• Foo Fighters – “Word Forward”
• Nirvana – “About a Girl”
• Nirvana – “Blew”
• Nirvana – “School”
• Joan Jett & The Blackhearts – “Fake Friends”

Tracks available for Rock Band Unplugged (November 5):

• Bullet For My Valentine – “Waking the Demon”
• System of a Down – “Toxicity”

Traveller’s Tales does what they do best in this cinematic launch trailer, lampooning existing properties through gratuitous use of LEGO blocks. Why simply stop at a tour bus, when the whole of LEGO creation is at your fingertips?

The Japanese are ruthlessly slaughtering whales and dolphins, and only Stan Marsh can stop them, not that his friends give a damn. They’re too busy rocking out to Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face” in Rock Band to care about what happens to the dolphins. “Poker Face” isn’t actually a Rock Band song at the moment, but after watching the clip below I am convinced it needs to be. I mean, I care about dolphins and all, mainly because they add a little extra oomph to my tuna fish sandwiches, but playing Rock Band is much more entertaining.