Rock Band 2 Update: Wireless Mics, DLC and Other Goodies

According to game developer Harmonix, the next installment in the Rock Band series will bring a great change and, on that note, the announcement made in July revealed the creation of the Rock Band Network. As part of Microsoft's XNA Creators Club, musicians will be able to create playable versions of their own tracks and offer them as DLC for Rock Band 2. This resembles the feature that Guitar Hero World Tour incorporated under the watchful eye of Activision.

Today's update takes a very big step toward bringing the currently closed beta testing Rock Band Network to its fans as a fully developed feature, and it provides access to the Audition mode that enables players to make use of songs they recorded on their PC. The Rock Band Network will become available for the PlayStation 3 and Wii only after the Xbox 360 fans can enjoy the exclusivity of the launch, and it will kick in for the first time somewhere in November.

Also part of the update for Rock Band 2, gamers will now be able to make use of wireless microphones, which are the controllers that Microsoft developed for its karaoke rhythm game, Lips. Quickplay mode also gets a new tweak. Listing is now also made available by star level, a small detail that comes in handy while rummaging through the endless pile of content. Rock Band 2 will now also feature the same chord hammer-on/pull-off that The Beatles: Rock Band used.

To accolade the large number of downloads the game has had up to this point, more than 60 million, game developer Harmonix introduced the queueable download ability. This removes the waiting time between purchasing an item and actually receiving the download. As a final touch, the update adds the velocity sensitivity for the limited-edition Ion Drum kits for Drum Freestyle mode and drum fills.