Go figure. I move on away from bashing EA repeatedly and now Chella and I are both using the same title for our columns. And once again I have to use it because two of my favorite franchises are coming to an end.
April 1st marked the last DLC for the Rock Band series. That’s right, five years and over 4,000 songs later, and despite my hopes that it is just an April Fool’s joke, it has all come to an end. But what Harmonix chose as the final DLC couldn’t be more appropriate: Don McLean’s 1971 homage to "The Day The Music Died," American Pie.
Though I won’t reference it the same way as McLean did in his song (as that was about the plane crash that killed Richie Valens, Buddy Holly, and the Big Bopper,) this truly ends my time of waiting to see what new songs will come out, but I will give Harmonix credit for their efforts over the past five years.
How many other studios do you know that was as committed as Harmonix to release new content every week? Sure, I feel that they slacked off a bit this year when they released songs that were originally on Rock Band Blitz, but on the bright side they were already in my library and I did not have to "double dip" my purchases to play them in Rock Band 3.
In the end, when you count the main Rock Band Trilogy, the AC/DC Live track pack (thank you Kelly for the great offer on the disc with a new guitar to replace the one I broke,) Lego Rock Band, Green Day Rock Band, and the Beatles Rock Band, plus all the DLC I purchased, I will end my collection with slightly over 1,000 songs. My only regret is that I will not be able to integrate my Beatles Rock Band songs into my general library, but I am more than happy with my song choices, and I will continue playing them to this day and into the future.
The same will go for another game title that finished production earlier this week. Bethesda announced with the latest update, that aside from some minor patches, all work on Skyrim is complete.
I will have to admit that despite not being nearly as deep into Skyrim as many others, (I only have 100 hours logged compared our esteemed editor’s 359) that I have never enjoyed a deeper, more exciting and engaging experience than the latest Elder Scrolls game. And even with adding three expansion packs, Dawnguard, Hearthfire, and the excellent Dragonborn, support for Kinect, and for PC owners the Creation Kit and Steam Workshop, I never got tired of playing Skyrim, and will always go back and play more when I have time.
Of course everyone knows my stance on RPGs, and I always said that Skyrim (and to a lesser extent, Fallout 3) were RPGs for those who disliked RPGs, like myself. I took part in the game’s memes, talked with some of the voice actors about their work, and even bought myself a Skyrim t-shirt on the day of the announcement. And yes, both Rock Band 3 and Skyrim have achieved as rare an honor as I can give a game: they are rendered untradeable by me because they are so good. I have always have them in my collection.
So to both Harmonix and Bethesda, I want to thank both of you for all the years of joy that you have brought me. I can’t wait to see what you both have in mind for the future (I’m seriously hoping for Fallout 4.) Keep up the good work guys, you both deserve it!
Currently Playing: Fallout 3 Game of the Year Edition (360)
Waiting For: Injustice (360,) Earthbound (Wii U Virtual Console)