Crave

(Credit: PDP)

So you love Rock Band 2, but somehow when you're playing, the reality that you're a normal person with a normal job and not a rich rock star is still able to annoyingly creep in.

Now, you could go out and learn how to play a real musical instrument and start your own band. However, it would probably fail to gather any of that widespread popularity you're yearning for, eventually leading to your untimely, but not surprising drug-induced death. Fret not, though, because there is an alternative.

Stage Kit from Performance Designed Products (PDP), attempts to enhance the immersion of Rock Band and Rock Band 2 for the Xbox 360 by creating a light and smoke effect that is supposedly synchronized to the music.

Stage Kit will be available this month for $99. Watch the video below to see it in action. Please excuse the wince-inducing lameness of the video, though. My guess is that the groupies are not included.

While a smoke and light machine is cool, I think I'd prefer a peripheral that allowed for a mini foam Stonehenge to be lowered from my ceiling, but that's just me, I guess.

I smell a hint.

While nothing has been confirmed by Microsoft, a suspicious Xbox Live in-dash ad definitely points to November for the long-awaited dashboard relaunch. CNET sister site GameSpot reports that an ad for Rock Band 2 blatantly claims to "Check out the New Xbox Experience coming in November!"

We first learned details about the brand new Xbox Live dashboard at this summer's E3 2008 press conference, where it was also announced that the new interface would support personal avatars--think Nintendo Mii characters--and Netflix streaming capabilities. Other new features offered by the update will include the ability to completely install a game onto the system's hard drive, which will drastically reduce the strain on the console's DVD drive and potentially decrease loading times.

The Xbox 360 recently saw a price drop, making the entry-level system the lowest priced next-generation console on the market. We hope to have more information on the highly anticipated dashboard update when Microsoft makes an official announcement.

Mock rockers around the country will be warming up their fingers this week for Rock Band 2, the sequel to last year's hit music game. Both Rock Band and rival game Guitar Hero are banking on high-power holiday entries, with competing set lists of classic and new rock, from The Who to Bob Dylan to Jimi Hendrix to Metallica.

We got our hands on the new Rock Band 2 game disc and hardware, and gave the setup a quick run-through (purely in the name of journalism, of course).

It's worth noting that in fact, it's the Guitar Hero franchise that gets the biggest upgrade this year, with Guitar Hero: World Tour (expected in October) adding drums and a microphone for the first time, while Rock Band 2 is mostly content to make some general improvements to its existing peripherals.

The new drum kit looks almost exactly like last year's, but has a wireless connection (removing the need for a separate USB hub) and the drum pads each have a thick rubber cover. The original Rock Band drum kit had hard plastic pads, which made a fairly annoying clacking sound when hit with a drum stick. As a result, many users either bought after-market rubber dampening pads or even glued cut-up mouse pads on top of the drum surfaces. The new wireless drum kit also has a reinforced kick pedal with a metal plate on top. The original one was known to snap in two occasionally under the heavy feet of overenthusiastic gamers.

The new guitars are finally wireless on all the major platforms (last year's Rock Band guitars for the Xbox 360 required a USB connection). While keeping the Fender Stratocaster branding, they're cosmetically different, with a traditional sunburst design that will be familiar to real-life guitarists.

After setting up the drums and guitars, we whipped through a few songs as a test drive. The interfaces, menus, and basic gameplay seem very similar to the original Rock Band game, and the secret code for unlocking all the songs (without playing through the game's story mode) is even the same as last year's.

The game includes around 100 songs on the disc itself, and publishers EA and MTV Games promise a steady stream of new downloadable material throughout the holiday season and into next year. The game disc ($59), drum kit ($89) and wireless guitars ($69) will all be available separately this week, with bundles coming sometime in October. Of course, anyone who shelled out for a full setup last year will still be able to use their old hardware with the new game.

CNET sister-site Gamespot is reporting that instruments for the games Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero: World Tour will work universally with either title on PlayStation 3. In addition, the peripherals will also work with games like Rock Revolution and SingStar. SCEA director of publisher relations Michael Shorrock was quoted saying, "For the past several months, we have been working closely with Neversoft and Activision, Harmonix, and Konami to ensure that PlayStation 3 guitars and drum sets will all feature a basic level of gameplay compatibility."

While this interchangeable functionality was already confirmed for the games on Xbox 360, there was little word on whether a similar fate would play out for the PS3 hardware. This, of course, is a significant development for the gaming audience who chooses to purchase both rhythm-based games as now they won't need to buy both sets of instrumental hardware. On whether the equipment will work with current versions of Rock Band and Guitar Hero, Shorrock replied: "We hope to have an announcement on that shortly."

Rock Band 2 will have limited exclusivity with the Xbox 360 in September. PS3, Wii, and PS2 versions will then ship before the end of the year. Guitar Hero: World Tour is scheduled for a release on all platforms sometime this fall.

We're waiting to get our hands on the new Rock Band 2 hardware Tuesday afternoon, but in the meantime, Harmonix has released the entire set list for the game (or at least the songs that will ship on the game disc--many more will no doubt be released as online downloads).

The game will be available for the Xbox 360 in September and the PS3 and Wii later in the year.

1. AC/DC "Let There Be Rock" 1970s
2. AFI "Girl's Gone Grey" 2000s
3. Alanis Morissette "You Oughta Know" 1990s
4. Alice in Chains "Man in the Box" 1990s
5. Allman Brothers "Ramblin' Man" 1970s
6. Avenged Sevenfold "Almost Easy" 2000s
7. Bad Company "Shooting Star" 1970s
8. Beastie Boys "So Whatcha Want" 1990s
9. Beck "E-Pro" 2000s
10. Bikini Kill "Rebel Girl" 1990s
11. Billy Idol "White Wedding Pt. I" 1980s
12. Blondie "One Way or Another" 1970s
13. Bob Dylan "Tangled Up in Blue" 1970s
14. Bon Jovi "Livin' on a Prayer" 1980s
15. Cheap Trick "Hello There" 1970s
16. Devo "Uncontrollable Urge" 1980s
17. Dinosaur Jr. "Feel the Pain" 1990s
18. Disturbed "Down with the Sickness" 2000s
19. Dream Theater "Panic Attack" 2000s
20. Duran Duran "Hungry Like the Wolf" 1980s
21. Elvis Costello "Pump It Up" 1970s
22. Fleetwood Mac "Go Your Own Way" 1970s
23. Foo Fighters "Everlong" 1990s
24. Guns N' Roses "Shackler's Revenge" 2000s
25. Interpol "PDA" 2000s
26. Jane's Addiction "Mountain Song" 1980s
27. Jethro Tull "Aqualung" 1970s
28. Jimmy Eat World "The Middle" 2000s
29. Joan Jett "Bad Reputation" 1980s
30. Journey "Anyway You Want It" 1970s
31. Judas Priest "Painkiller" 1990s
32. Kansas "Carry On Wayward Son" 1970s
33. L7 "Pretend We're Dead" 1990s
34. Lacuna Coil "Our Truth" 2000s
35. Linkin Park "One Step Closer" 2000s
36. Lit "My Own Worst Enemy" 1990s
37. Lush "De-Luxe" 1990s
38. Mastodon "Colony of Birchmen" 2000s
39. Megadeth "Peace Sells" 1980s
40. Metallica "Battery" 1980s
41. Mighty Mighty Bosstones "Where'd You Go" 1990s
42. Modest Mouse "Float On" 2000s
43. Motorhead "Ace of Spades" 1980s
44. Nirvana "Drain You" 1990s
45. Norman Greenbaum "Spirit in the Sky" 1960s
46. Panic at the Disco "Nine in the Afternoon" 2000s
47. Paramore "That's What You Get" 2000s
48. Pearl Jam "Alive" 1990s
49. Presidents of the USA "Lump" 1990s
50. Rage Against the Machine "Testify" 1990s
51. Ratt "Round & Round" 1980s
52. Red Hot Chili Peppers "Give it Away" 1990s
53. Rise Against "Give it All" 2000s
54. Rush "The Trees" 1970s
55. Silversun Pickups "Lazy Eye" 2000s
56. Smashing Pumpkins "Today" 1990s
57. Social Distortion "I Was Wrong" 1990s
58. Sonic Youth "Teenage Riot" 1980s
59. Soundgarden "Spoonman" 1990s
60. Squeeze "Cool for Cats" 1970s
61. Steely Dan "Bodhitsattva" 1970s
62. Steve Miller Band "Rock'n Me" 1970s
63. Survivor "Eye of the Tiger" 1980s
64. System of a Down "Chop Suey" 2000s
65. Talking Heads "Psycho Killer" 1970s
66. Tenacious D "Master Exploder" 2000s
67. Testament "Souls of Black" 1990s
68. The Donnas "New Kid in School" 2000s
69. The Go-Go's "We Got the Beat" 1980s
70. The Grateful Dead "Alabama Getaway" 1980s
71. The Guess Who "American Woman" 1970s
72. The Muffs "Kids in America" 1990s
73. The Offspring "Come Out & Play (Keep 'em Separated)" 1990s
74. The Replacements "Alex Chilton" 1980s
75. The Who "Pinball Wizard" 1960s
76. Abnormality "Visions" 2000s
77. Anarchy Club "Get Clean" 2000s
78. Bang Camaro "Night Lies" 2000s
79. Breaking Wheel "Shoulder to the Plow" 2000s
80. The Libyans "Neighborhood" 2000s
81. The Main Drag "A Jagged Gorgeous Winter" 2000s
82. Speck "Conventional Lover" 2000s
83. The Sterns "Supreme Girl" 2000s
84. That Handsome Devil "Rob the Prez-O-Dent" 2000s

The new Xbox 360 dashboard

(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET News)

The E3 conference opened Monday in Los Angeles with a press conference from Microsoft. Here are some highlights.

Microsoft showed off first-ever game play footage from the post-apocalyptic title Fallout 3 and announced that there will be downloadable content exclusive to Xbox Live. We saw real-time action from Resident Evil 5, shipping on March 13. We got a peek at the new co-op feature in the game, where players will be able to team up and make their way through together. Developer Square Enix also made announcements that included the release of four titles for Xbox 360 including Final Fantasy XIII.

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Complete E3 coverage

Expo is no longer a huge free-for-all,
but that doesn't mean Microsoft
and others aren't making noise.

As for console exclusives, we saw in-game action from Fable 2, shipping in October. Players will be able to seamlessly invite other friends who are also playing the game. Finally, we were blown away by the impressive game demo of Gears of War 2 shipping November 7. The game actually looks better than the original and will feature a five-player online co-op mode.

Microsoft will be releasing a new dashboard interface this fall that incorporates an avatar system--the Xbox answer to Nintendo Mii characters. The new feature allows you to join up with other friends to form a "party," a group of up to eight people where you can share multimedia items or start a game. A new mode called Primetime will actually incorporate real-life TV shows like 1 vs. 100 and allow Xbox Live members to play and watch these game shows and possibly even win real prizes.

Microsoft also announced ... Read more