They promised us Fallout Boy. They promised us The Protomen. They promised us Arctic Monkeys, and Uptown Funk. Now Harmonix is continuing the trend of appealing directly to my musical taste by including two tracks from U2 in Rock Band 4.
The tracks in question are “I Will Follow,” from U2’s 1980 debut album “Boy” and “Cedarwood Road” from last year’s album “Songs of Innocence.” Harmonix also promises that more U2 songs will be available to download from Rock Band 4’s Music Store after the game comes out. This is the first time that U2 has been included in a rhythm game.
Of course, there are tons of U2 songs to choose from. I like the inclusion of something old, something new. “Cedarwood Road” especially has a killer guitar hook. U2’s most famous songs, like “Mysterious Ways” and “Where The Streets Have No Name,” are immediately recognizable and would be fun to play. I’d love to see some deeper cuts, like “The Fly,” from 1991’s “Achtung Baby” album, and “Gone” from “Pop” in 1997. (Though to be fair, if you ask me, “Gone” is one of their most underrated songs.)
Now let’s have a moment of silence for all the living room musicians who have to try to keep up with Bono’s vocals. RIP.
Rock Band 4 will come out on October 6 for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Besides all the great new tracks, it will be backward-compatible with any previously purchased songs for older Rock Band games. Harmonix and Mad Catz Interactive also worked to make sure that most old instruments will be compatible with the new game. This is great news for Rock Band fans that have hung on to peripherals over the years.
Some changes to the game include Freestyle Guitar Solos, which can be improvised just like the drum solos and won’t affect your overall score.
Watch our preview of Rock Band 4 below:
