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Rock Band

Rhythm
Releases: 11.20.07
MTV Games
Harmonix Games
ESRB: Teen

Rock Band

Grab your friends, a case of PBR and get rockin’.

by Sarah Schutz

Rock Band has been one of the most highly anticipated games of the year and by its definition alone, any fan of Guitar Hero or other music-based game had it on their must-by list. While the ticket price is a bit high, if you whip out your calculator to add up how much time you will most likely spend playing this game and factor in the future inevitable downloads and sequels, you can rationalize the purchase quite easily. I can, however, successfully rationalize nearly any game-related purchase. When you get four people together and start jammin’, Rock Band can be pure bliss. The Special Edition comes with a guitar, a drum set and a microphone, so you are all set to rock. You do, however, need an additional guitar (Guitar Hero guitars will work) to add the base and complete your band. The game offers a single player campaign, local multiplayer and online multiplayer.

My first efforts with the game were quite solitary. Quietly playing the game by yourself or with one other person can be a bit depressing. While the guitar mode is similar to playing Guitar Hero, singing or even drumming by yourself feels a bit ridiculous. The clacking of the drums is annoyingly loud, so you need a group together to legitimate turning up the volume and rocking out proper. Once you and a few friends gain momentum, the true purpose of the game is realized. Single player is useful when practicing and if you’re a Guitar Hero fan, gives you venue in which to hone your skills. Most of the songs are pretty well known and fun to play, so you won’t find any complaints there, though there are quite a few that will be familiar if you’ve collected the Guitar Hero series. The game allows you to customize each character animation down to the musician’s rock, goth or punk attitude, which will affect how they perform each song. As you progress in the game you earn money allowing for further customization, so your band will become your own. The character animations and music video-esque design are amazingly in-sync with the music making gameplay entirely satisfying.

Like most new series, Rock Band has its annoying bits. Actually getting your band set up can be a bit of a pain. Each player needs to get logged in and if you play with different people at different times, you have to ensure that the right band leader with the right Xbox Live account is signed in on the right instrument yada yada yada . . . but then it’s cake. Also depending on your television settings and numerous other variables, including your personal musical expertise, the instruments might seem a bit out of sync with the music. We had a drum aficionado of sorts over to rock the drums in Rock Band and he is used to listening to the music rather than eyeing the timing (crazy, I know). While our LCD TV is set up for gaming, we still couldn’t get it right with any of the pre-calibrated settings, so had to tediously test and retest the calibration before our aficionado friend was satisfied. Once we tweaked the settings we suddenly found all of the instruments much easier to play. When we finally got playing we also realized that in order for you and your band to level up and continue on your tour, you must repeat far too many of the songs to gain more fans and experience. While this may be normal for a real-life rock band, it drove me and my virtual band (Health Armor Ammo) a bit batty in the near middle of the night when we had already played Mississippi Queen too many times to count. We probably would have kept playing, but the insanity had to cease to be picked up another time. So we picked up Guitar Hero III and oops! we had to play it there, too. Finally, my last complaint is the guitar. I’ve heard rumored that many are breaking. I wouldn’t know since I am sticking with my tried and true Guitar Hero III Les Paul and my Xplorer. The Rock Band guitar just feels cheep. Though they tried to make it feel like a real guitar, the buttons are not sufficiently identifiable to your fingers and when strumming it just feels broken. So it sits in my cluttered closet of gaming cast-offs.

Ultimately, Rock Band so oozes with potential and is such a great reason to have a party that any music game fan must put it on their Holiday wish lists. It is a great reason to get silly with friends, with plenty of songs you’ll want to sing and more undoubtedly on the way. I only wish I had something like this when I was twelve and singing into a spatula.

Old fashioned fun with a high tech twist.

Initially a bit out of synch and songs repeat.

Have you played with anyone online who lagged? My connection out in the burbs of London isn't exactly what we would call super sonic. Do you know how the lagging is being sorted?

#1 - Nixi - 12/06/2007 - 04:15

LAG LAG LAG

How are these games played with lag? Lag is only one of my concerns. has anybody had any difficulty with the complex menu system? I can;t figue out how to add people online..or who is band leader..or whos file you are using.

#2 - poopysocks - 12/06/2007 - 14:06

I've heard there are a lot of lag issues, especially on slower connections. Maybe this is something they will work out with updates? I dunno. I do agree that even trying to get started online is a pain in the rear.

#3 - dot. - 12/09/2007 - 16:07

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