Rocksmith: All-new 2014 Edition – Audioslave Song Pack

The ‘Rocksmith: All-new 2014 Edition – Audioslave Song Pack’ is a downloadable content (DLC) expansion for the music rhythm game ‘Rocksmith 2014,’ designed to help players learn guitar through interactive play. This pack features five iconic tracks from the rock supergroup Audioslave, including ‘Be Yourself,’ ‘Cochise,’ and ‘Like a Stone,’ each with custom-crafted, authentic guitar tones. Players can master the songs using dynamic difficulty adjustments, real-time feedback, and performance tracking, all while immersing themselves in the gritty, high-energy sound that defined the band’s legacy.

Rocksmith: All-new 2014 Edition – Audioslave Song Pack: Review

Introduction

In the pantheon of music education games, Rocksmith 2014 Edition stands as a revolutionary bridge between gamified learning and authentic musicianship. The Audioslave Song Pack DLC—released October 7, 2014—represents a convergence of grunge-era legacy and interactive instruction, offering players a chance to channel the fiery chemistry of Chris Cornell’s vocals and Tom Morello’s virtuosic guitar work. This review argues that while the pack delivers a potent dose of early-2000s alternative rock energy, its true value lies in how it leverages Rocksmith’s adaptive learning systems to transform iconic riffs into pedagogical tools—a dynamic tribute to a band whose short-lived collaboration left an indelible mark on rock history.

Development History & Context

Developed by Ubisoft San Francisco (formerly Ubisoft Reflections), the Audioslave Song Pack arrived one year after the launch of Rocksmith 2014 Edition—a foundational upgrade from the original 2011 Rocksmith that streamlined menus, enhanced note detection, and introduced session-oriented “Non-Stop Play.” Ubisoft’s vision was clear: to position the game as a de facto guitar tutor rather than a rhythm-game novelty. By 2014, the franchise had pivoted away from plastic peripherals (a la Guitar Hero) toward real-instrument integration, capitalizing on advancements in low-latency USB audio processing and dynamic difficulty algorithms.

The DLC’s release coincided with the height of Audioslave’s posthumous resonance—eight years after their disbandment—yet leveraged the enduring popularity of their self-titled debut (2002) and sophomore album Out of Exile (2005). Technical constraints of the era included the challenge of accurately transcribing Morello’s unorthodox techniques—scorching harmonics, whammy-pedal acrobatics, and pick scrapes—into Rocksmith’s tablature-style notation. Ubisoft’s solution was twofold: meticulous studio tone replication (“authentic tones” per the official description) and adjustable difficulty curves that initially simplify avant-garde passages before ramping up to note-for-note fidelity.

Narrative & Thematic Deep Dive

While rhythm games rarely emphasize narrative, the Audioslave Song Pack carries latent storytelling through its curation. The five tracks—Be Yourself, Cochise, I Am the Highway, Like a Stone, and Show Me How to Live—chart Audioslave’s evolution from Rage Against the Machine’s political fury toward introspective, arena-ready anthems. Chris Cornell’s lyrics—tackling isolation (I Am the Highway), disillusionment (Be Yourself), and existential yearning (Like a Stone)—resonate through gameplay as players navigate melodic verses and explosive choruses.

Thematically, the DLC mirrors Rocksmith’s broader mission: empowerment through mastery. Each song becomes a narrative arc itself, with players progressing from tentative strums to commanding performances of Morello’s solos. The absence of traditional characters is supplanted by the guitarist’s own journey—a silent protagonist wrestling with muscle memory and split-second timing. Dynamic Difficulty acts as a proto-“skill tree,” scaffolding complexity in lockstep with player growth—a mechanical metaphor for Audioslave’s own metamorphosis from supergroup experiment to cultural touchstone.

Gameplay Mechanics & Systems

The Audioslave Song Pack operates within Rocksmith 2014’s refined note highway, transforming guitar input into real-time note detection via the game’s proprietary Real Tone Cable. Key mechanical innovations are tested by the band’s repertoire:

• String-Bending Nuance: Cochise’s opening riff demands precise half-step bends, challenging latency calibration.
• Rhythmic Syncopation: Show Me How to Live interleaves palm-muted 16th notes with open-string power chords, testing fret-hand stamina.
• Atmospheric Textures: I Am the Highway’s arpeggiated chords require clean tone control and sustain management.

Each track includes authentic tones that mimic Morello’s rig (e.g., Be Yourself’s snarling Mesa Boogie distortion). The adaptive Dynamic Difficulty shines, gradually introducing Morello’s eccentricities—like Like a Stone’s pre-chorus harmonics—only after players demonstrate foundational proficiency.

Riff Repeater, Rocksmith’s practice mode, proves indispensable here. Isolating Cochise’s solo at reduced speed reveals Morello’s whammy-dive phrasing—a masterclass in controlled chaos. However, the pack lacks arrangements for rhythm guitar or bass (common in later DLCs), narrowing its utility for ensemble play.

World-Building, Art & Sound

Where traditional games build worlds through pixels, Rocksmith’s environment is auditory—a hyper-focused soundscape where every string squeak and fretting nuance matters. The pack’s production meticulously mirrors Audioslave’s studio recordings, leveraging WAV file stems to isolate backing tracks. Visually, Rocksmith 2014’s minimalist interface prioritizes readability: chromatic note highways (orange for chords, purple for bends) and dynamic fretboard diagrams create a “HUDless” immersion.

The Art of Subtraction defines this DLC: no pyrotechnic backgrounds, no band avatars. Instead, audio-visual synergy emerges through note streaks and crescendo-driven crowd cheers. Stylistically, the design reflects Audioslave’s aesthetic—unpretentious, direct, muscular—eschewing glam for utilitarian clarity. Sound design extends to post-play analytics: phrase-by-phrase accuracy scores dissect performances with surgical precision, reinforcing Rocksmith’s identity as a learning tool first, game second.

Reception & Legacy

At launch, the pack garnered muted mainstream coverage—common for DLC in an era when expansions rarely made headlines. Yet within Rocksmith’s niche community, it was hailed as a love letter to alt-rock guitarists. Review aggregators like MobyGames lacked formal critiques (as evidenced by absent critic reviews and MobyScore), but player forums praised Ubisoft’s transcription fidelity—particularly Show Me How to Live’s lethal main riff—while lamenting the exclusion of deeper cuts like Gasoline or Doesn’t Remind Me.

Commercially, the pack benefited from Rocksmith 2014’s resurgence—a 2022 Ubisoft report noted 5 million lifetime users—and Audioslave’s streaming-era rediscovery after Chris Cornell’s tragic 2017 passing. Its legacy manifests in three ways:
1. Pedagogical Benchmark: Later DLCs (Slash, Muse) adopted its balance between playability and technical rigor.
2. Niche Preservation: It captures Audioslave’s fleeting alchemy—a catalog neglected by mainstream rhythm games.
3. Cultural Time Capsule: For Gen X/Millennial players, these tracks evoke post-9/11 rock radio, a pre-algorithmic musical era.

Conclusion

The Audioslave Song Pack is neither flawless nor revolutionary, but it serves as a microcosm of Rocksmith’s genius: a platform where musicology and interactivity meld seamlessly. Its flaws—limited track diversity, no bass support—are offset by its laser focus on guitar pedagogy and emotional authenticity. For Audioslave devotees, it is an essential tribute; for aspiring guitarists, it is a gateway to Morello’s iconoclastic fretwork. In video game history, it solidifies Rocksmith’s legacy as the rare title where “beating the game” equates to tangible artistic growth—a DLC less about escapism than embodiment. Plug in, tune up, and let the highway speak.

Final Verdict: 8/10 – A focused, ferocious tribute that justifies its place in the Rocksmith canon, even if it plays slightly too safe with song selection.