Rock Band Blitz hits XBLA and PSN in August

Harmonix has announced that its downloadable Rock Band spin-off Rock Band Blitz will release on Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network next month. PS3 owners will get it first, with the game releasing for PSN on August 28. Those playing on Xbox 360 will have to wait a day longer, as the XBLA version doesn't launch until the following day, August 29. Rock Band Blitz will cost $14.99 on PSN and 1200 MSP on Xbox Live Arcade.

Despite having that familiar Rock Band look, Rock Band Blitz is something of a departure for the series. Instead of using those clunky instrument controllers required by Rock Band proper, Rock Band Blitz has players using a standard controller to hit the notes. Truth be told, Rock Band Blitz seems to have more in common with Frequency and Amplitude, two earlier Harmonix titles, than it does with Rock Band.

If you're like me and you've spent more money than you care to count on DLC tracks for the Rock Band series, never fear – Harmonix says that all of those DLC tracks will work in Rock Band Blitz. The game itself comes with 20 tracks, four of which were announced today: "So Far Away" by Avenged Sevenfold, "Jungle Boogie" by Kool & The Gang, "We Are Young" by Fun, and "Sing" by My Chemical Romance. Finally, all of the songs found in Rock Band Blitz are also playable in Rock Band 3, so that's a nice little bonus in exchange for your $15.

[via Eurogamer]