“Sha————a–a—-a–a——a–a—–ake!!!”

As we reported earlier, the disc that comes with the February issue of the Official Xbox Magazine has three downloadable Rock Band songs that can’t be found anywhere else. Are the tracks good enough to warrant buying the magazine from the newsstands?

Obviously, this factor is completely irrelevant if you subscribe to OXM because you already paid for it. You also got a better deal on the songs considering subscribers only pay about $2 per issue. But considering a magazine at the store is about the same price as a 3-song track pack from the marketplace, the question remains: are these songs worth the price of admission?

Let’s first take a look at what you’re getting:

• “Sprøde” by Freezepop

• “Rock Rebellion” by Bang Camaro

• “Shake” by Count Zero

There are already songs in the game by Freezepop and Bang Camaro, so you should have an idea what you’re in for with these two bands. Personally, I find OXM’s songs to be slightly better than the two already on the Rock Band disc. I especially like “Sprøde” for its flat-out kookiness.

The mystery song here is “Shake”. To be completely honest, the song annoyed the piss out of me when I first heard it. The “chorus”, if you can even call it that, is just a whiny “Sha-a—a—–a—a—ke” that lasts a good 4 to 6 seconds. About three-quarters through the song, however, it started to grow on me.

The guitar is fun to play, as are the drums. Surprisingly, even though I find Count Zero’s singer to be mildly irritating, singing the song was actually pretty fun as well. That is the whole point of the game, so I guess I can’t really bitch too much about it, can I?

Maybe you don’t need my opinion since you got the videos right there, but I’m giving it to you anyways. So, combine my first-hand account of the experience with what you see in the vids and decide for yourself whether or not the songs rock.

In short, I would say that if you don’t find the price of the track packs on the marketplace to be too rich for your rock-infused blood, this is actually a worthwhile purchase. Basically, you are buying the songs and getting a bunch of extra crap on a disc, as well as a free magazine.

The February issue of OXM will be available at newsstands for about another week, if you’re interested.

Tags: bang-camaro, count-zero, freeze-pop, freezepop, Official-Xbox-Magazine, OXM, Rock-Band, rockband

• New Rock Band DLC
• More Pixies For Rock Band
• OXM Band: The Opening Act
• Rock Band DLC – A Matter of Life and Death
• Wii: Rock Band Release Date Announced
• Interview: Rock Band, Ton-Essa La’Rocque, MTV West Coast
• Becoming The Next Great Rock Band Won’t Come Cheap
• Preview: Rock Band 2

1 Comment »