Post by Nethyr on Apr 25, 2008 11:49:45 GMT -4
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_Band_%28video_game%29
For those who don't know, this game is the next evolutionary step in the rhythm game genre beyond Guitar Hero. The basic premise is very similar to Guitar Hero, in that you have instrument-like controllers and are using them to match a series of notes (commands) on the screen, with the end effect being that feels almost as if you're playing the music. Rock Band takes it to the next level by increasing the band lineup to a guitar, b
, drums and singer.
With that objective explanation out of the way, I'll say that while I loved the Guitar Hero line (for as briefly as I played it), this game takes it to a whole new level. The synergy between the new instruments and larger group of players is somehow greater than the sum of it's parts. Playing alone is a great challenge. Playing with a friend is fun. Playing with more is a party.
The song selection is awesome ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_songs_in_Rock_Band ). The game itself only includes 45 songs, but the kicker is that there's a ton of downloadable songs online bringing the total up to 152 at current count and growing daily. Yes they (most of them) cost money to download, but the prices aren't insane at $1-2 per track generally.
Online play features include face-offs versus other players in a given instrument, and co-op online play with remote friends. I haven't done that yet, but I believe it would be possible to be sitting in my living room on the drums with a friend singing, with a bist in NJ and a guitarist in CT all playing live together.
The game includes a rock-star-esque microphone, but you can also use the normal Xbox headset if you need your hands free. This part is just like a big karaoke game. The words travel across the screen, the target pitch is displayed and the singer tries to match the timing / pitch as closely as possible. Random "Oh yeah"s and "Baby baby!"s are required to activate overdrive mode (Guitar Hero's "star power").
One interesting aspect of this game is the drums, which I've developed a deep love / hate relationship with. Apparently, while the guitar / b have no real similarity to real guitar use... the drums are more of a simulation than a game, and at the hardest difficulties you're really just about playing the actual song as its drummer would. Anyone with real drum experience will have a huge head start, and anyone without any is going to start gaining some fast. To activate its overdrive, the drummer must perform a freestyle fill ending with a cymbal crash. No really, it's freestyle. Make it up as you go. You will however get funny looks / moans from your bandmates if you can't come up with something with a beat.
Pros: Ridiculously fun, both solo and especially group play.
Cons: Expensive. Starting in the area of $150-160 it's not nearly cheap. It also doesn't include a second guitar (b) but the Guitar Hero controllers will work fine here. Also the drumsets sensitivity needs to be hand-tweaked to really be as enjoyable as possible, but it doesn't stop it from being fun.
For those who don't know, this game is the next evolutionary step in the rhythm game genre beyond Guitar Hero. The basic premise is very similar to Guitar Hero, in that you have instrument-like controllers and are using them to match a series of notes (commands) on the screen, with the end effect being that feels almost as if you're playing the music. Rock Band takes it to the next level by increasing the band lineup to a guitar, b
, drums and singer.With that objective explanation out of the way, I'll say that while I loved the Guitar Hero line (for as briefly as I played it), this game takes it to a whole new level. The synergy between the new instruments and larger group of players is somehow greater than the sum of it's parts. Playing alone is a great challenge. Playing with a friend is fun. Playing with more is a party.
The song selection is awesome ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_songs_in_Rock_Band ). The game itself only includes 45 songs, but the kicker is that there's a ton of downloadable songs online bringing the total up to 152 at current count and growing daily. Yes they (most of them) cost money to download, but the prices aren't insane at $1-2 per track generally.
Online play features include face-offs versus other players in a given instrument, and co-op online play with remote friends. I haven't done that yet, but I believe it would be possible to be sitting in my living room on the drums with a friend singing, with a b
ist in NJ and a guitarist in CT all playing live together.The game includes a rock-star-esque microphone, but you can also use the normal Xbox headset if you need your hands free. This part is just like a big karaoke game. The words travel across the screen, the target pitch is displayed and the singer tries to match the timing / pitch as closely as possible. Random "Oh yeah"s and "Baby baby!"s are required to activate overdrive mode (Guitar Hero's "star power").
One interesting aspect of this game is the drums, which I've developed a deep love / hate relationship with. Apparently, while the guitar / b
have no real similarity to real guitar use... the drums are more of a simulation than a game, and at the hardest difficulties you're really just about playing the actual song as its drummer would. Anyone with real drum experience will have a huge head start, and anyone without any is going to start gaining some fast. To activate its overdrive, the drummer must perform a freestyle fill ending with a cymbal crash. No really, it's freestyle. Make it up as you go. You will however get funny looks / moans from your bandmates if you can't come up with something with a beat.Pros: Ridiculously fun, both solo and especially group play.
Cons: Expensive. Starting in the area of $150-160 it's not nearly cheap. It also doesn't include a second guitar (b
) but the Guitar Hero controllers will work fine here. Also the drumsets sensitivity needs to be hand-tweaked to really be as enjoyable as possible, but it doesn't stop it from being fun.