| Rocksmith 2014 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer | Ubisoft San Francisco[a] |
| Publisher | Ubisoft |
| Director | Paul Cross |
| Producer | Nao Higo |
| Series | Rocksmith |
| Engine | Gamebryo[3] |
| Platforms | Microsoft Windows OS X PlayStation 3 PlayStation 4 Xbox 360 Xbox One |
| Release | Microsoft Windows, OS X, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 PlayStation 4, Xbox One |
| Genre | Music video game |
| Modes | Single-player,multiplayer |
Rocksmith 2014 is amusic video game produced byUbisoft. It is a followup to the 2011 gameRocksmith, but has been described as a replacement to the original game rather than a sequel. Like its predecessor, the game allows players to plug in virtually anyelectric guitar orbass guitar and play along via the use of a USB adapter – removing the need for any proprietary controller like other music games such asGuitar Hero. The game comes with 66 songs on disk, withover a thousand more available to download as paid DLC. It was announced at Ubisoft's 2013E3 presentation and was released forPlayStation 3,Xbox 360 and PC/Mac in October 2013, with versions forPlayStation 4 andXbox One releasing in November 2014.
Rocksmith 2014 was released to generally positive reviews from critics who praised the game's improvements over its predecessor. The game continued to receive new DLC song packs weekly until March 2020. The game was succeeded byRocksmith+, a music education-based subscription service based on the previousRocksmith games, which was released on September 6, 2022.[4]
Rocksmith 2014 was removed from all digital storefronts on October 20, 2023, due to the game's music licenses expiring, with downloadable tracks being delisted separately as their respective licenses expired.[5][6] However, it was relisted on Steam on December 19, 2024, renamed toRocksmith 2014 Edition REMASTERED LEARN & PLAY.[7]
Rocksmith 2014 recommends the use of the "Hercules" adapter, a USB cable that connects to the standard1⁄4 in (6.35 mm) output jack of most electric and bass guitars. Other guitars, such as acoustic guitars, may require additional hardware, such as apickup.[8]
Rocksmith 2014 offers three different development paths for lead, rhythm, and bass guitar respectively. It now includes the ability to set song difficulty, rather than having to play the song starting at the lowest difficulty, as inRocksmith.[9] The game includes a Session Mode, which enables players to perform injam sessions with the in-game musicians. Other new modes include an enhanced Master Mode to help with memory-playing and new Guitarcade minigames.[10] New missions have been added as a way to challenge and direct players towards areas they need to improve upon.[9]
Rocksmith 2014 is intended to be more of a teaching tool than the original game, featuring more than 85 lessons covering bends, accents, slides, and more. A new finger positioning tool has also been added.[9]Rocksmith 2014 also features a mode forcolorblind players.[11]
On why the publisher chose the nameRocksmith 2014 as opposed toRocksmith 2, senior vice president of sales and marketing Tony Key explained it was to encourage those who had not played the first game yet to buy and play the second one, without needing to invest in a previous installment of the franchise. He compared it to foreign language learning courses: "This is not the second step in guitar playing. Some people might interpret it that way. If you seeSpanish 1 and then Spanish 2, you think that you need to learn Spanish 1 first." He describedRocksmith 2014 as a "replacement" for the original game rather than a sequel, and argued that its new songs, modes and improvements justified the purchase for people who had already bought the originalRocksmith.[12]
On August 26, 2016, Ubisoft announcedRocksmith 2014 Edition — Remastered, an updated version of the game to be released on October 4, 2016. The new version includes "a customizable learning curve, expanded practice tools, stat tracking, improved menus and more". TheRemastered version is a free update to existing versions of the game, but was also released at retail for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One with six additional songs. These six bonus songs have been released asDLC for all other users.[13]
On December 13, 2016, Ubisoft released an additional patch forRocksmith 2014 Edition — Remastered, which added two new capabilities that removed the requirement for the Real-Tone Cable.[14] The first capability added to the software was Microphone Mode, which allowed players to use USB microphones and input devices that could simulate microphones for both players of acoustic guitars, and electric guitar players using non-Real-Tone cables. While this mode allows for note detection with the software, it disables theRocksmith 2014's Authentic Tone capabilities, and players are limited to the "clean" guitar sound captured by the software. The second capability added to the software allows players to play along with the note tracks without note detection enabled.
In April 2020, it was announced thatRocksmith 2014 would receive no further DLC after theOpeth song pack, as focus was shifting to a new project.[15]
The game initially contains 66 playable tracks with over a thousand more available asDLC.[16][17] "Cherub Rock" bythe Smashing Pumpkins was a free DLC giveaway with pre-orders of the game.Rocksmith 2014 is capable of importing most songs from the originalRocksmith, with a few exceptions due to licensing issues.[9]
| Song | Artist(s) | Release year | Lead Tuning |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Self-Destruct" (Unlockable Song) | Aching Head | 2013 | E Standard |
| "Walk This Way" | Aerosmith | 1975 | E Standard |
| "No More Mr. Nice Guy" | Alice Cooper | 1973 | E standard: A447 |
| "Stone" | Alice in Chains | 2013 | Eb drop Db |
| "R U Mine?" | Arctic Monkeys | 2012 | E standard |
| "Bat Country" | Avenged Sevenfold | 2005 | Drop D |
| "Ultra Soul" | B'z | 2001 | E standard: A444 |
| "Snarling of Beasts" (Unlockable Song) | Bedowyn | 2013 | D standard |
| "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" | Bob Dylan | 1973 | E standard |
| "Peace of Mind" | Boston | 1977 | E standard |
| "Machinehead" | Bush | 1994 | E standard: A447 |
| "Don't Stop" (Unlockable Song) | Crimson | 2011 | E standard |
| "Stuck on a Wire Out on a Fence (Orange)" | The Dear Hunter | 2011 | E standard |
| "Pour Some Sugar on Me" | Def Leppard | 1987 | E standard |
| "My Own Summer (Shove It)" | Deftones | 1997 | Eb drop Db |
| "Sea to Swallow" (Unlockable Song) | Disonaur | 2013 | E standard |
| "Wasteland" | EarlyRise | 2011 | Drop D |
| "Chompers" | Fang Island | 2012 | Drop D |
| "Everlong" | Foo Fighters | 1997 | Drop D |
| "Brand New Kind of Blue" | Gold Motel | 2012 | E standard |
| "X-Kid" | Green Day | 2013 | E standard |
| "Eight-Ball, Coroner's Pocket" (Unlockable Song) | Hail the Sun | 2013 | E standard |
| "The Trooper" | Iron Maiden | 1983 | E standard |
| "Sixteen Saltines" | Jack White | 2012 | E standard |
| "Stay In" | JAWS | 2012 | E standard |
| "Satch Boogie" | Joe Satriani | 1987 | E standard |
| "Desolate Motion" (Unlockable Song) | Karawan | NA | E standard |
| "You Really Got Me" | The Kinks | 1964 | E standard: A461 |
| "Rock and Roll All Nite" | Kiss | 1975 | Eb standard |
| "Love That's Gone" | La Sera | 2012 | E standard |
| "Black Magic" | Magic Wands | 2012 | E standard |
| "Blood and Thunder" | Mastodon | 2004 | D standard |
| "On Top of the World" (Unlockable Song) | Matt Montgomery, Brian McCune, Brendan West | 2013 | E standard |
| "Cold Company" | Minus the Bear | 2012 | E standard |
| "Sweet Mountain River" | Monster Truck | 2013 | D standard |
| "Knights of Cydonia" | Muse | 2006 | E standard |
| "Heart-Shaped Box" | Nirvana | 1993 | Eb drop Db |
| "Don't Look Back in Anger" | Oasis | 1996 | E standard: A451 |
| "Cemetery Gates" | Pantera | 1990 | E standard: A434 |
| "Now" | Paramore | 2013 | Drop D |
| "Sore Tummy" | PAWS | 2012 | E standard |
| "Self Trap" (Unlockable Song) | Playground Kings | 2007 | E standard |
| "Every Breath You Take" | The Police | 1983 | E standard |
| "We Are the Champions" | Queen | 1977 | E standard |
| "Losing My Religion" | R.E.M. | 1991 | E standard |
| "Paranoid Android" | Radiohead | 1997 | E standard |
| "Blitzkrieg Bop" | Ramones | 1976 | E standard |
| "Round and Round" | Ratt | 1984 | Eb standard |
| "Wires" | Red Fang | 2011 | Drop D |
| "Savior" | Rise Against | 2009 | Eb standard |
| "Paint It Black" | The Rolling Stones | 1966 | E standard |
| "The Spirit of Radio" | Rush | 1980 | E standard |
| "Monochromic" (Unlockable Song) | Sabaka | 2013 | Drop D |
| "Rotten Apple" | Screaming Females | 2012 | E standard |
| "For a Fool" | The Shins | 2012 | E standard |
| "War Ensemble" | Slayer | 1990 | Eb standard |
| "The Chimera" | The Smashing Pumpkins | 2012 | Drop D |
| "All I Wanna Do" | Splashh | 2013 | E standard |
| "Hypnotize" | System of a Down | 2005 | Eb drop Db |
| "Go Further" | Tak Matsumoto | 1999 | E standard |
| "Mary Jane's Last Dance" | Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers | 1993 | E standard |
| "Rocksmith 2012 Theme" (Unlockable Song) | Ubisoft | 2012 | E standard |
| "Impossible Dreams" (Unlockable Song) | Versus Them | 2012 | E standard |
| "Say It Ain't So" | Weezer | 1994 | Eb standard |
| "Thunder Kiss '65" | White Zombie | 1992 | E standard |
| "My Generation" | The Who | 1965 | E standard |
AllRocksmith DLC songs are forward-compatible withRocksmith 2014, but DLC songs released on or after October 22, 2013, are compatible only withRocksmith 2014 and will not play on the original version ofRocksmith.[18] As of January 3, 2017, there are 835 songs and 209 song packs available to download from theRocksmith store.[19] Ubisoft San Francisco announced in April 2020 that they would be stopping development of further DLC forRocksmith 2014 as they transitioned to a new project, after delivering 383 weeks of DLC content.[20]
In addition to the DLC forRocksmith 2014, owners of the originalRocksmith are able to purchase a Disc Import Tool that will import52 of the 57 songs available on the original Rocksmith.[21] The tracks that do not carry over are:
| Artist(s) | Song | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Chris Lee | Boss | 2011 |
| Cream | Sunshine of Your Love | 1967 |
| Eric Clapton | Run Back to Your Side | 2010 |
| Seth Chapla | Jules | 2011 |
| Seth Chapla | The Star Spangled Banner | 2011 |
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg) | This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding to it.(October 2013) |
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic | PC: 89/100[22] PS3: 86/100[23] X360: 87/100[24] PS4: 82/100[25] XONE: 72/100[26] |
Rocksmith 2014 was released in the US on October 22, 2013, to mostly positive reviews. Aggregating review websiteMetacritic rated the PC version 89/100,[22] the PlayStation 3 version 86/100,[23] and the Xbox 360 version 87/100.[24]
Lee Cooper ofHardcore Gamer praised the game and its general improvement over 2011'sRocksmith, saying, "Every facet of gameplay has been given a nice thick coat of improvement inRocksmith 2014, issues that the original title was known for have either been removed entirely, or overhauled beyond recognition."[27]