Coming June 9, 2009, Harmonix, Backbone Entertainment and MTV Games bring you Rock Band Unplugged, the award-winning full band experience found in Rock Band and Rock Band 2 right in the palm of your hands! For the first time, PlayStation Portable gamers will be able rock out – anywhere.

Just in time for Summer Vacation, Rock Band Unplugged gives you the ability to take the show on the road. Start a band and tour for fame and fortune while you learn to master lead and bass guitar, drums and vocals as a one man band. The multi-track game design takes the look, functionality and customization options of the Rock Band games and combines them with enhanced options built specifically for the abilities of the PSP. You’ll be able to control all four instruments at once by hitting the colored gems in time with the musical tracks just as you’ve done on other Rock Band games, but now you’ll have the added challenge of switching between instruments on the fly in an attempt to keep those note streaks going.

Rock Band Unplugged’s soundtrack features 41 songs on-disc and an additional 10 songs will be available for download following the game’s launch. You won’t have to worry about listening to lousy covers, either – all the music in Rock Band Unplugged will be master recordings and span all genres of rock from punk and metal to alternative and classic. And then you have Rock Band Unplugged’s in-game Rock Band Music Store which can be used to purchase downloadable content on the first game to enable the PSP’s in-game commerce capabilities.

The lack of mini-guitars and drum accessories can either been seen as a cursing or a blessing. Either you’re completely upset that you won’t be able to pound the skins in the back of your mom’s mini-van on the way to grandma’s house or you fully appreciate not looking like a complete tool in front of the guy next to you on the plane, but one thing’s for sure – at least you won’t be forced to sing in public. Vocals are handled like any other instrument – tap the buttons in time to the colored gems. Every one around you should be happier knowing this.

The Left, Up, Triangle, and Circle buttons on your PSP will handle hitting the notes while the shoulder buttons jump you from track to track as you attempt to keep the show going. The better you do on a certain track determines how much of a buffer you get between each track as you try to keep them from failing out. It looks like this game is going to be quite challenging.

The bright colors seem to make the game easy to see despite the smaller screen and the graphics look right about what you’d expect, though not any worse than a PlayStation 2 game. Hopefully the sound quality will be good enough a pair of headphones without too much lost to compression – if any.

If you’re not completely sick of Rock Band/Guitar Hero style games and desperately need something to do in the car – when you’re NOT DRIVING, of course – this looks like it could really scratch that itch. On the other hand, if half the fun of a music game is the feeling of playing an instrument, I don’t think this is going to cut it for you. In fact, I’d say that plastic guitars and drum kits are more than half the fun, but that’s just me. Also, where’s the multiplayer? If you like the idea of going solo while you’re on the go, again, maybe this is aimed right at you. We’ll see what the game is like once it drops – which isn’t too far away.

In order to counter the Guitar Hero DS titles, MTV Games and Harmonix have once again teamed up to conquer the video game music scene. But, this time it isn’t on PS3, or even the 360, it seems that they have planned there next Rock Band title for the ‘forgotten handheld’.

Today, MTV Games and Harmonix announced Rock Band Unplugged on the PSP, the first handheld version of the hit band game.

Rock Band Unplugged will allow gamers to take their band on the road and will utilise the PSP’s Wi-Fi capabilities becoming the first PSP game to include a in-game store for downloadable content in North America and Europe.

According to Primotech, who reported the games first details, Unplugged will use the left, up, triangle, and circle buttons to control instruments, switching from instrument to instrument with the shoulder buttons, and playing “phrases” of each instrument to maintain a score multiplier.

Talk about being a bit money hungry, like Metal Gear didn’t make you enough money already. Bloomberg is reporting that Japanese video game creator, Konami has sued Viacom’s Harmonix studio over the well know game, Rock Band. According to the recent complaint, yesterday in a federal court in Texas, Konami demanded cash compensation along with an order that would block Viacom and Harmonix from using the inventions. Some may think this is over the top, but if you ask me this is one case i hope Konami does win.