Not much going on in the world of music gaming right now, which is rare. Harmonix recently confirmed that Rock Band 3 isn’t coming this year – they’re focusing on some British band instead. RB2 Wii has DLC, finally, though the weekly releases are having some issues. Watch for updates on the Wii DLC here every week whenever they get those fixed. Activision’s got another cash cow coming out in late March (why is it getting Queen instead of a main-series game?), and has released a rather subpar DLC schedule for February. So let’s focus on this week’s batch of fairly good songs!

February 3, 2009 (360) / February 5, 2009 (PS3)

Thin Lizzy Pack 01 ($5.50 / 440 MSP or $2 / 160 MSP each)

• Thin Lizzy – Boys Are Back In Town (Live)
• Thin Lizzy – Jailbreak (Live)
• Thin Lizzy – Cowboy Song (Live)

Singles ($2 / 160 MSP each)

• Pat Benatar – Hit Me With Your Best Shot
• The Pretenders – Precious

Singles ($1 / 80 MSP each)

• Nikko – Don’t Tell Me
• Nikko – Break My Heart

Videos and tier information after the break.

This week’s giving us some good tracks! Thin Lizzy 01 is three songs from a “new” live album being released this year, but actually recorded in 1977. Everyone knows Hit Me With Your Best Shot, and the other tracks are solid, despite being an album filler song and two Nickelodeon songs.

Thin Lizzy – Boys Are Back In Town (Live)

Album: Still Dangerous – Live At The Tower Theatre Philadelphia 1977 (2009)
Full Band: Tier 3
Guitar: Tier 4
Drums: Tier 3
Vocals: Tier 1
Bass: Tier 4
Notes: Everyone should recognize this song by its opening riff. Should be an amazing guitar song!

Thin Lizzy – Jailbreak (Live)

Album: Still Dangerous – Live At The Tower Theatre Philadelphia 1977 (2009)
Full Band: Tier 3
Guitar: Tier 4
Drums: Tier 3
Vocals: Tier 1
Bass: Tier 2
Notes: This song’s just as good as Boys Are Back, even if you’ve never heard of it. Again, guitar is the highlight.

Thin Lizzy – Cowboy Song (Live)

Album: Still Dangerous – Live At The Tower Theatre Philadelphia 1977 (2009)
Full Band: Tier 3
Guitar: Tier 4
Drums: Tier 3
Vocals: Tier 3
Bass: Tier 2
Notes: Also not as well-known; also just as good. This one’s a little trickier to sing. Pick up this entire pack!

Pat Benatar – Hit Me With Your Best Shot

Album: Crimes of Passion (1980)
Full Band: Tier 1
Guitar: Tier 3
Drums: Tier 3
Vocals: Tier 1
Bass: Tier 0
Notes: Guitar should be a bit harder than the cover in Guitar Hero III. Drums have some fun fills. Definitely worth picking up for the “oh, I know that song!” factor.

The Pretenders – Precious

Audio preview @ playlist.com

Album: Pretenders (1980)
Full Band: Tier 2
Guitar: Tier 3
Drums: Tier 3
Vocals: Tier 5
Bass: Tier 3
Notes: The Pretenders’ label is hardcore about this song not appearing anywhere on YouTube. This song’s vocals will destroy you, though it’s worth singing for the “shitting bricks” line, and the bass is fairly interesting. Drums are annoying in the fast-and-repetitive way, but some of the patterns are all right.

Nikko – Don’t Tell Me

Album: Spectacular! (2009)
Full Band: Tier 2
Guitar: Tier 2
Drums: Tier 3
Vocals: Tier 2
Bass: Tier 1
Notes: Both of the “Nikko” songs are from am upcoming Nickelodeon (see what they did there?) direct-to-TV movie, making them effectively the same as “Get Your Rock On”, back in August. This one is actually all right, because (or in spite of) a very new-All-American-Rejects-album feel. Get it, it’s only $1.

Nikko – Break My Heart

Album: Spectacular! (2009)
Full Band: Tier 2
Guitar: Tier 3
Drums: Tier 3
Vocals: Tier 2
Bass: Tier 2
Notes: The lesser of these two songs. A potentially catchy swing beat is ruined by sheer annoyance. Might still be worth getting because it’s $1, though.

Credit to IGN for all tier information. Keep up with the Master Song List to stay updated. See you next week!