Rock Band Unplugged is a 2009rhythm game developed byHarmonix in partnership withBackbone Entertainment, published byMTV Games, and distributed byElectronic Arts for thePlayStation Portable. It is the third installment in theRock Bandseries and the first to be exclusively developed for a handheldconsole. The game was released in North America and Europe in June 2009.

Rock Band Unplugged
Developer(s)	Harmonix Backbone Entertainment
Publisher(s)	MTV Games
Series	Rock Band
Platform(s)	PlayStation Portable
Release	NA: June 9, 2009[1] UK: June 19, 2009[1]
Genre(s)	Rhythm
Mode(s)	Single-player

The core game is functionally similar to the note-matching gameplay of Harmonix's previous titles,Frequency andAmplitude, with the player responsible for playing all four instruments—lead andbass guitar,drums, andvocals—using the Portable's controls. Game modes are similar toRock Band's, and the soundtrack includes a number of songs that have already been a part of theRock Band series. Additional tracks will be a time-limited exclusive toUnplugged before they are released asdownloadable content for the console games. The game supports the addition of new songs that can be purchased through thePlayStation Store.

Rock Band Unplugged, in addition to being released separately, was also released as part of a "Limited Edition Entertainment Pack" that also includes aRock Band Unplugged-branded PSP, a 4GB memory card, and a voucher to download the movieSchool of Rock.^[2] A voucher for an exclusive 5-song demo ofRock Band Unplugged that is compatible with downloadable content was included with thePSP Go.^[3]

The main gameplay modes inRock Band Unplugged are similar to that of the console versions of the game. In Tour mode, the player creates a customized band, plays sets of songs at venues around the world, earning cash and fame, and unlocking new vehicles, venues, and staff. Songs completed in Tour mode then become available in Quick Play mode, which allows any song to be played without the need to create a band.

Songs inRock Band Unplugged feature tracks for the same four instruments as inRock Band: lead guitar, bass guitar, drums, and vocals. During the Quick Play and Tour modes, gameplay is similar to Harmonix' previous gamesFrequency andAmplitude: The player presses combinations of buttons on the PSP to match notes in time with the rhythm of the currently-selected instrument. After completing aphrase without missing any notes, the instrument continues to play automatically for a set amount of time, allowing the player to switch to another instrument using the shoulder buttons.^[4] Successfully completing multiple phrases in a row builds a score multiplier, as well as allowing the song to play in its entirety. Not completing a phrase in a track for an extended period of time will drain the Crowd Meter for that instrument, eventually causing the instrument to fail. A failed track will eventually cause the entire band to fail if not saved in time.

Overdrive is handled similarly to the mainRock Band series. By hitting certain white-colored sections of notes placed throughout a song, the player fills the Energy Meter. Once the meter is at least half full, the player may press down on the D-pad or X to activate Overdrive, which revives all failed instruments and enables a temporary state that boosts the score multiplier and slows the degradation of the Crowd Meter for all instruments. During solos, the player is automatically switched to the appropriate instrument; each note is scored individually, and the phrasing and track-switching elements do not apply until the solo is over.

Two additional modes, Band Survival Mode and Warmup Mode, are included in the "Extras" section of the game. In both modes, notes are scored individually, instead of being divided into phrases. Tracks will not play automatically, causing the Crowd Meter for unselected instruments to continually drop in Band Survival Mode. In Warmup Mode, only the currently-selected track is affected by missed notes. No multiplayer mode is included in the game.^[5]

The Nintendo DS version ofRock Band 3 andLego Rock Band feature identical gameplay toUnplugged.

Rock Band Unplugged features 41 tracks, all of themmaster recordings, chosen from the songs present inRock Band 2 and those present in the main games' Music Store. The game uses the PSP's Wi-Fi capabilities to provide additional downloadable content from music providers through the PlayStation Store. Players can also download new tracks to the PSP through the PC version of the PlayStation Store.^[2][6] Ten songs were made available for download on the day of the game's release,^[7] and two new songs were released each week until November 19, 2009, when further DLC development was cancelled; Harmonix, while stating thatUnplugged has "run through [its] planned state", has not ruled out future downloadable content but are presently focused on otherRock Band projects.^[8] There is no cross-compatibility between music libraries forRock Band Unplugged and the console versions ofRock Band, nor any interaction with the PlayStation 3 version of eitherRock Band game.^[7][9]

The songs included in the game are as follows:^{[4][10][11][12][13][14]}

The songs included in theRock Band Unplugged Starter Pack are as follows:

Currently, "Toxicity", "Under the Bridge", "Back from the Dead", and "Smooth Criminal" are no longer available through thePlayStation Network store.

On March 10, 2010,Rock Band Unplugged Lite was released on thePlayStation Network, which is a downloadable version of the game. TheLite version includes the 5 Starter Pack songs, but can accept all downloadable content (DLC). The in-game Music Store enables users to download any of the originalRock Band Unplugged songs for the same price as the existing downloadable songs. OriginalRock Band Unplugged songs can only be purchased through the in-game Music Store, while additional DLC songs can be purchased from either the PlayStation Store or the in-game Music Store. The lite version was removed at one point from the PlayStation store.

Rock Band Unplugged was met with generally positive reviews. The game's gameplay was praised, likening it to the success of Harmonix' previous gamesFrequency andAmplitude,^[20][21] and called a "unexpectedly nostalgic pleasure".^[19] It was further considered a general improvement on the standardRock Band gameplay format, "adding a new level of depth for veteran players",^[21] and that by being in control of all parts of the band, the player would be more connected to their virtual band than in the console versions.^[22] Reviewers praised the use of sound, particularly the slight volume emphasis given to the current instrument that is being played, though recommended the use of headphones to overcome the poor speaker quality of the PSP unit.^[22][21] The choice of control scheme was also praised, which avoided introducing too many difficult button combinations on the PSP unit.^[19] The game's difficulty was also noted to be well-balanced both between songs and individual difficulty levels.^[19]

Reviewers noted that the "World Tour" mode of the game suffered the same problems that bothRock Band games had when they were first released, in that without additional content, the player would be likely playing the same song several times over as they progress through the tour.^[22][20][18] The lack of multiplayer or online leaderboards forRock Band Unplugged was considered its largest weakness.^[18]IGN's Greg Miller lamented that unlike the social nature ofRock Band on consoles, the lack of such interaction cooperative or competitively with a second player leaves little reason to come back to the game or purchase additional content.^[22]GameSpot's Carolyn Petit, in considering the success of the multiplayer aspects of the otherRock Band titles, considered the omission "baffling".^[21] The cost of additional downloadable content, even in consideration of it being more of the same that already exists in theRock Band series, remains the same, from $0.99 to $1.99 a song.^[22] Reviewers also criticized the need to repurchase such downloadable content for the game, with no way to reuse existing PlayStation 3Rock Band content with the PSP game.^[18]

• Rock Band Unplugged website