Rocksmith 2014


Rocksmith 2014 is a music video game produced by Ubisoft. It has been described as a replacement to the 2011 rhythm video game Rocksmith rather than a sequel. The game's main focus is the feature that allows players to plug in virtually any electric guitar or bass guitar and play. It was announced at Ubisoft's 2013 E3 presentation.

Gameplay

Rocksmith 2014 recommends the use of the "Hercules" adapter, a USB cable that connects to the standard in output jack of most electric and bass guitars. Other guitars, such as acoustic guitars, may require additional hardware, such as a pickup.
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 in Rocksmith. The game includes a Session Mode, which enables players to perform in jam sessions with the in-game musicians. Other new modes include an enhanced Master Mode to help with memory-playing and new Guitarcade minigames. New missions have been added as a way to challenge and direct players towards areas they need to improve upon.
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. Rocksmith 2014 also features a mode for colorblind players.

Development

On why the publisher chose the name Rocksmith 2014 as opposed to Rocksmith 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 see Spanish 1 and then Spanish 2, you think that you need to learn Spanish 1 first." He described Rocksmith 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 original Rocksmith.

''Rocksmith 2014 Edition — Remastered''

On 26 August 2016, Ubisoft announced Rocksmith 2014 Edition — Remastered, an updated version of the game to be released on 4 October 2016. The new version includes "a customizable learning curve, expanded practice tools, stat tracking, improved menus and more". The Remastered 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 as DLC for all other users.
On 13 December 2016, Ubisoft released an additional patch for Rocksmith 2014 Edition — Remastered, which added two new capabilities that removed the requirement for the Real-Tone Cable. 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 the Rocksmith 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 that Rocksmith 2014 would receive no further DLC after the Opeth song pack, as focus was shifting to a new project.

Track list

The game initially contains 66 playable tracks with over a thousand more available as DLC. "Cherub Rock" by the Smashing Pumpkins was a free DLC giveaway with pre-orders of the game. Rocksmith 2014 is capable of importing most songs from Rocksmith.
SongArtistRelease yearLead Tuning
"Self-Destruct" Aching Head2013E Standard
"Walk This Way"Aerosmith1975E standard
"No More Mr. Nice Guy"Alice Cooper1973E standard: A447
"Stone"Alice in Chains2013Eb
drop Db

"R U Mine?"Arctic Monkeys2012E standard
"Bat Country"Avenged Sevenfold2005Drop D
"Ultra Soul"B'z2001E standard: A444
"Snarling of Beasts" Bedowyn2013D standard
"Knockin' on Heaven's Door"Bob Dylan1973E standard
"Peace of Mind"Boston1977E standard
"Machinehead"Bush1994E standard: A447
"Don't Stop" Crimson2011E standard
"Stuck on a Wire Out on a Fence "The Dear Hunter2011E standard
"Pour Some Sugar on Me"Def Leppard1987E standard
"My Own Summer "Deftones1997Eb drop Db
"Sea to Swallow" Disonaur2013E standard
"Wasteland"EarlyRise2011Drop D
"Chompers"Fang Island2012Drop D
"Everlong"Foo Fighters1997Drop D
"Brand New Kind of Blue"Gold Motel2012E standard
"X-Kid"Green Day2013E standard
"Eight-Ball, Coroner's Pocket" Hail the Sun2013E standard
"The Trooper"Iron Maiden1983E standard
"Sixteen Saltines"Jack White2012E standard
"Stay In"JAWS2012E standard
"Satch Boogie"Joe Satriani1987E standard
"Desolate Motion" KarawanNAE standard
"You Really Got Me"The Kinks1964E standard: A461
"Rock and Roll All Nite"Kiss1975Eb standard
"Love That's Gone"La Sera2012E standard
"Black Magic"Magic Wands2012E standard
"Blood and Thunder"Mastodon2004D standard
"On Top of the World" Matt Montgomery, Brian McCune, Brendan West2013E standard
"Cold Company"Minus the Bear2012E standard
"Sweet Mountain River"Monster Truck2013D standard
"Knights of Cydonia"Muse2006E standard
"Heart-Shaped Box"Nirvana1993Eb drop Db
"Don't Look Back in Anger"Oasis1996E standard: A451
"Cemetery Gates"Pantera1990E standard: A434
"Now"Paramore2013Drop D
"Sore Tummy"PAWS2012E standard
"Self Trap" Playground Kings2007E standard
"Every Breath You Take"The Police1983E standard
"We Are the Champions"Queen1977E standard
"Losing My Religion"R.E.M.1991E standard
"Paranoid Android"Radiohead1997E standard
"Blitzkrieg Bop"Ramones1976E standard
"Round and Round"Ratt1984Eb standard
"Wires"Red Fang2011Drop D
"Savior"Rise Against2009Eb standard
"Paint It Black"The Rolling Stones1966E standard
"The Spirit of Radio"Rush1980E standard
"Monochromic "Sabaka2013Drop D
"Rotten Apple"Screaming Females2012E standard
"For a Fool"The Shins2012E standard
"War Ensemble"Slayer1990Eb standard
"The Chimera"The Smashing Pumpkins2012Drop D
"All I Wanna Do"Splashh2013E standard
"Hypnotize"System of a Down2005Eb drop Db
"Go Further"Tak Matsumoto1999E standard
"Mary Jane's Last Dance"Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers1993E standard
"Rocksmith 2012 Theme" Ubisoft2012E standard
"Impossible Dreams" Versus Them2012E standard
"Say It Ain't So"Weezer1994E standard
"Thunder Kiss '65"White Zombie1992E standard
"My Generation"The Who1965E standard

Downloadable content

All Rocksmith DLC songs are forward-compatible with Rocksmith 2014, but DLC songs released on or after 22 October 2013 are compatible only with Rocksmith 2014 and will not play on the original version of Rocksmith. As of 3 January 2017, there are 835 songs and 209 song packs available to download from the Rocksmith store. Ubisoft San Francisco announced in April 2020 that they would be stopping development of further DLC for Rocksmith 2014 as they transitioned to a new project, after delivering 383 weeks of DLC content.
In addition to the DLC for Rocksmith 2014, owners of the original Rocksmith are able to purchase a Disc Import Tool that will import 52 of the 57 songs available on the original Rocksmith. The tracks that do not carry over are:
ArtistSongYear
Chris LeeBoss2011
CreamSunshine of Your Love1967
Eric ClaptonRun Back to Your Side2010
Seth ChaplaJules2011
Seth ChaplaThe Star Spangled Banner2011

Reception

Rocksmith 2014 was released in the US on October 22, 2013 to mostly positive reviews. Aggregating review website Metacritic rated the PC version 89/100, the PlayStation 3 version 86/100, and the Xbox 360 version 87/100.
Lee Cooper of Hardcore Gamer praised the game and its general improvement over 2011's Rocksmith, saying, "Every facet of gameplay has been given a nice thick coat of improvement in Rocksmith 2014, issues that the original title was known for have either been removed entirely, or overhauled beyond recognition."