Real-life guitar players have a new reason to plug their axes into either an Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, or Mac today as Ubisoft has released Rocksmith 2014 Edition in North America for all four platforms. The sequel to 2011’s Rocksmith, the game enables rockers to make use of a special USB cable that can plug into any electric guitar or bass with a standard 1/4 output jack, and learn to really play numerous classic and contemporary rock songs note by note.
Rocksmith 2014 Edition hosts a numerous amount of new features and enhancements, including Session Mode, which allows players to strum any way they want with a virtual backup band, and the Instant Riff Repeater, in which players can manually adjust the speed and difficulty of individual song sections via the pause menu.
Besides including over 50 on-disc songs from the likes of Aerosmith, Green Day, Foo Fighters, and Queen among many others, owners of the original Rocksmith can import 52 songs from the original title for a one-time fee of $9.99. All previous downloadable content will also work with Rocksmith 2014 Edition at no extra cost.
As with the original, Ubisoft plans to continually support the game in the months to come with new downloadable songs. Several day-one tracks have been released to coincide with the launch, and they are comprised of the following:
- The Smashing Pumpkins – Cherub Rock
- Them Crooked Vultures – Mind Eraser, No Chaser
- Chicago – 25 To 6 Or 4
- Albert King – The Sky Is Crying
- Queens Of The Stone Age – My God Is The Sun
- Tame Impala – Elephant
- The Hives – Hate To Say I Told You So
- The Lumineers – Ho Hey
The game will be sold in various bundles. The standard edition, which retails for $79.99, includes the Real Tone Cable required to connect instruments. The $199.99 guitar bundle will include both the cable and an Epiphone Les Paul Jr. guitar. Finally, for returning players who already own an instrument and cable, the game can be bought individually for $59.99.
We will have a review for Rocksmith 2014 Edition up later this month. In the meantime, let us know your thoughts on the game’s release in the comments section below.