Rock Band Review

The enemy makes friends.

Version tested: PlayStation 3

Are you ready to rock? Again? With more peripherals? Of course you are. But is it as good as it obviously should be?

Rock Band is the most ambitious music game ever. You can sing, you can play guitar and you can drum, but most importantly you can get some friends round and do all three at once - with a fourth role for a bass player if you decide to buy a second guitar peripheral.

The initial reaction is that each discipline could stand up as its own game. Guitar-playing is a natural evolution of Guitar Hero: you still hold the fret button specified and strum as it passes through a bar at the bottom of the screen, and you can build up star power (sorry, "Overdrive") by playing certain sequences of highlighted notes flawlessly and then holding the neck aloft. But now you can also drop your left hand to a quintet of smaller frets closer to the body of the guitar to dance your fingers through complicated solos, and occasionally songs end with an unscripted finale that encourages you to cram in as much thrashing as possible before ending on a particular chord.

Vocals, meanwhile, replicate the SingStar approach. As lyrics scroll past, an undulating line illustrates the pitch and rhythm and a small arrow indicates whether you're above or below it as you croon into the bundled microphone. Unlike SingStar, though, you're sometimes asked to tap the microphone head at specified intervals as though it were a tambourine, and you're able to activate a points-multiplier by shouting during periods of inactivity.

Inevitably the drums are the biggest novelty. Most people who splurge the USD 170 on Rock Band (the UK price is still to be determined) will have experienced Guitar Hero, and if not SingStar then probably Karaoke Revolution, but games like DrumMania are still Japanese-only oddities for console owners and fleeting pleasures for people who still brave the arcades. Rock Band supplies a four-pad drum-set with a kick-pedal, and offers a Guitar Hero-esque control system: as icons move down a familiar fret-bar, you smash the corresponding drum in time, reaching for the kick-pedal when faced with a yellow line under all four frets.

'Rock Band' Screenshot 1

The screen loads up with icons and information, but it's never all that difficult to follow.

Played alone, there's a solo mode for each instrument, where you unlock songs in groups of five, and in a nice touch Harmonix has arranged the tracks in a different order for each discipline, reflecting the differing scales of difficulty. Played co-operatively with one, two or three other people, however, the screen fills comfortably with displays and the performance is more satisfying for its multiple facets. You feed off each other's energy during verses and choruses, strutting and grinning as spells of inactivity provide an opportunity to observe your band-mates caning plastic.

The track listing is unsurprisingly epic and crowd-pleasing. You might expect that from music industry super-giant MTV, which now owns developer Harmonix, but if your comparison is Guitar Hero then the reason is simpler than a change of pay-scales: these are songs designed to appeal whatever the instrument, rather than guitar specialties. There are 45 licensed tracks in the box, along with 13 bonus songs of less repute, and you're unlikely to encounter a friend who doesn't smile at more than a few. Radiohead, Bowie, Nirvana, the Chilli Peppers, Foo Fighters, Metallica, The Pixies, Weezer, Beastie Boys, Bon Jovi - most are huge names, and even the contemporary choices are pretty well judged, including the likes of OK Go and The Killers.

As usual, there's a scale of difficulty that should open the game up to anyone. Plastic-guitarists with experience can go straight to Hard or Expert and rip through power-chords and complicated solos, and the SingStar-esque reliance on pitch and rhythm rather than specific octaves opens that side of the game up considerably too. New-coming drummers may need more time to adjust, but there are sensible concessions there too: the kick-pedal is important to learn quickly, but the game initially plays to the beginner's natural impulse to combine a foot movement with a drumming motion, leaving room for improvement.

If your intention is to form a group with your friends and play together regularly, then Rock Band is simply brilliant. Band World Tour, where Harmonix has spent most of its time, allows you to assemble in your living room and tour a virtual world, creating custom rock personas, playing in dozens of venues and building up fan-base, cash and rewards. It uses specific challenges, double-or-nothing sets and unpredictable playlists to keep things interesting.

'Rock Band' Screenshot 2

You can customise characters, as you'd expect. You can also unilaterally split the band up and delete entire careers when Kristan goes to the shop.

It also does a good job of getting you to play together. There are team Overdrives, Unity Phrases that involve everyone perfecting a sequence at once (except the vocalist, who can mop brows or spark up a Marlboro or something), and Overdrive can also be used to rescue team-mates. Sorry, band mates. You ride together, you die together. Especially since you can't continue to make progress after a certain point unless everyone (including the rubbish drummer) has graduated to a higher difficulty level. Practice is the order of the day, and practice together is best, since you often benefit from mapping out where best to use Overdrive.

As usual, the crowd goes wild in the background as you play (and even sings along nowadays when you're doing particularly well), and while Harmonix obviously couldn't re-use Guitar Hero's charming visual style, the alternative proposed here is classy and likeable. Characters have the same customisability, and background stage shows are more detailed - presented in slightly grainy fashion, with lots of neat visual flourishes like a body-mounted guitar view to frame finger movements. Venues and characters compare favourably to the developer's earlier work, and the loading screen slogans are no longer played for laughs, instead offering trivia. There are only so many Spinal Tap quotes you can use, after all.

It's worth pointing out, for all that, that you can't actually take Band World Tour online, meaning that you will need to shelve your band whenever your friends can't come over unless you're happy to play individual co-op songs over the Internet. Apparently there will be a patch for online Band World Tour, but that's not much use right now. So that's a bit irritating. What's more, you can't simply pick up the game and play any track as a group until you've unlocked them - either in Band World Tour or one of the solo modes - which limits the game's appeal as a casual party activity until you've done so. On the plus side, any cash you amass with solo work can be carried over to the Band World Tour mode.

But it's the individual peripherals and their implementations that throw the most spanners into Rock Band's hefty works. Most notably, each instrument requires its own USB slot, so PS3 players who bought the revised console with only two USB ports will need to invest in a USB hub to plug everything in, whereas Xbox 360 owners will not because one is supplied. The microphone gameplay suffers from the SingStar-esque "features" of allowing you to get away with singing anything (not such a bad thing, admittedly, since you'll want to substitute "very" for "f***ing" during Radiohead's Creep) and asking you to elongate words robotically when you'd naturally let them taper off.

The guitar, in this case, is based on the Fender Stratocaster (Guitar Hero controllers are modelled on Gibsons). The key differences are size (the neck is about 10 centimetres longer), an effects pickup switch (allowing you to switch between wah-wah, flange, chorus, echo or no effects, although this is little more than a gimmick) and the five additional fret buttons, but there are other things to note too. On PS3 the guitar is wireless with a USB dongle attached to the console, but on Xbox 360 it's wired; the battery compartment is screwed closed rather than a TV remote-style clip as with Guitar Hero III's Les Paul, and takes three AA batteries rather than two; and while you can add a second guitar to bring in a bass player, at the time of writing Harmonix has yet to issue a PS3 patch to enable compatibility with Guitar Hero's controller, claiming that Activision is blocking it (360 is fine), and the Fender is only sold as part of the bundle, not separately.

'Rock Band' Screenshot 3

Waaaaaaaaar chiiiiiiiildreeeeeeeeen! Impossible.

The fret buttons themselves are smooth rather than raised ala Guitar Hero, but they also feel stickier, and it's hard to move between them and those closer to the body for solos without missing a few notes in and around the solo section due to their relative lack of definition. Given how dense the solos often are with notes, fumbling that transition can be painful. Raised dots on each fret are meant to help you feel for them instinctively, but they're a bit small to rely on, whereas Guitar Hero's raised frets are inherently better at announcing themselves to your fingers without a sideways glance.

Perhaps the biggest difference though is the strum bar, which doesn't click when it's moved up and down as with the Guitar Hero controller - a change which requires adjustment on the part of the player. Guitar Heroes used to strumming up and down alternately will probably do alright, but those still relying on repeated downward strums may find themselves failing where they succeed in Guitar Hero, as the softer strum bar reaction can lead to your absently not allowing it to reset to the middle fully before strumming again. Other elements, like the whammy bar, are just as effective, and the ability to re-screw the strap attachment for left-handers rather than pinning the strap to the back of the neck as you do on the Les Paul is nice, but it seems odd to demand adjustments when it's the same developer. Perhaps patents were problematic.

Either way, Guitar Hero devotees will want to bear these things in mind. Another cause for their concern is the difficulty level, which is certainly lower than GH3's. Some will applaud that - we're certainly not bemoaning the accessibility - but given Harmonix's expertise, again, it seems odd not to scale higher as well as lower.

The drums are great, at least. You can adjust the height, reverse them for left-handers (and move the kick-pedal across the frame underneath depending on which foot you use), and while the combination of rubber pads and foam below doesn't give them much bounce, complaints are likely to be few, apart from the odd newbie whose foot will hurt until they find a comfortable position. The drumsticks themselves are splendid, too - quite light, but wooden and decidedly realistic.

'Rock Band' Screenshot 4

I do like a nice piece of cod.

But in-game the drum-set's implementation can be a bit lacklustre. Whereas guitars and vocals are pushed high in the mix, drums are not, which makes it difficult to pick your way past unexpected syncopation and other awkward passages. Fortunately the game comes with a practice mode for each instrument, but greater separation and tutelage might have been welcomed.

So, there are certainly criticisms relating to the structure and some peripheral quirks (not to mention reliability concerns, although Harmonix claims these have been solved in subsequent production runs), and the usual subjective arguments about track listings, but on the whole we're talking about growing pains. You can make the argument that a lack of single-player strength and diversity is galling - and I'd second the argument that a single-player Band World Tour mode would make sense, particularly as two- or three-player bands are filled out with AI band-mates anyway - but on the whole you wouldn't buy this unless you knew what it was about, right?

As it stands, the score below reflects the game as a brilliant multiplayer experience that delivers on its ambitious premise, but not without a few reservations both in software and hardware. Karaoke and guitar specialists certainly won't want to throw out their SingStars and Guitar Heroes, but with the peripheral set-up now established and regular infusions of downloadable content, the future's bright for Rock Band - and the present's pretty rocking too.

8 / 10

Read the Eurogamer.net scoring policy

Comments (70) Latest comment 4 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • mouse Verified Graphic designer, Eurogamer Network #1 4 years ago

    Something I feel I should add from my personal few hours worth of experience with the PS3 version of the game (and one other staffer here mentioned this as well) is a small amount of slowdown on occasion. Not really sure what triggers it, and it only lasts a few seconds, but as you can imagine with a game like this, it's incredibly unwelcome.
  • fatchris Verified Senior Developer, Eurogamer Network #2 4 years ago

    I've been playing Rock Band at the office this week and as a fan of Guitar Hero II and III, I was so excited that I'd been annoying Tom about bringing it in.
    The review sums up how I found it, but I have a few things to add:

    - A couple of us have noticed a few moments of slow-down during the game, which is noticeable when you're relying on the rhythm.

    - The lower fret buttons take some getting used to, but are really satisfying. However, the time it takes to switch from the higher fret can cost you greatly when the solo is fast, as even the smallest amount of time misses loads of notes.

    - There are a bunch of songs that most people won't know (or at least won't know well). This is fine for Guitar and Drums, but it's not for singing - you simply can't sing along to a song you don't know.

    - In Guitar Hero, I hold down the strum bar when a note is meant to be held - this doesn't work in Rock Band and often causes the note to cut out. It took me a while to work out what was going wrong.

    - The guitar is too easy and I can breeze through the early songs on Expert, first time.


    Amazing fun though :D
  • Der_tolle_Emil #3 4 years ago

    Sounds fun. I am especially interested in the drums.

    About the additional fret buttons on the guitar? Do you actually have to use them or are they just as the 'standard' buttons and their only purpose is to add a bit to the immersion? If you have to use them, how do they work with the GH2 or GH3 guitars which come without those additional buttons?

    And any info on getting the drums stand alone? I already have two guitars from GH2 and GH3 and I don't need yet another one and I'm not keen on that mic either.
  • mouse Verified Graphic designer, Eurogamer Network #4 4 years ago

    On the solo fret buttons: no, you don't have to use them. They're just a fun extra. You can still do the solos with the normal frets / strum bar combo.
    Edited by 1 at 13/12/07 @ 11:46
  • DDevil #5 4 years ago

    I think the only thing that that'll stop me buying this is the price. If it's anywhere near £170 it's a no sale. £100 would be pushing it to be honest!
  • Killerbee #6 4 years ago

    I can see this being great in student houses or for anyone who can regularly rely on getting lots of friends over to play, but for gamers who mostly play on their own, I'd go for Guitar Hero.

    I'd also be concerned about where on earth I'd store the peripherals...
  • mouse Verified Graphic designer, Eurogamer Network #7 4 years ago

    Better forget it then DDevil. No chance it'll be less than £150.
  • symbiote #8 4 years ago

    Join a real band, nerds
  • monkie_king #9 4 years ago

    funny about the levels being off for the drums. guess they need to support headsets for individual in-ear-monitor mixes, or maybe a way to gesture at the mixing desk between songs.

    also, i'm a bit disappointed that the upper frets just replicate the lower ones -- when i first saw the Rock Band guitar i thought we were in for some Eddie van Halen-style tapping antics.
    Edited by 1 at 13/12/07 @ 12:09
  • ProdigyBE_OPM #10 4 years ago

  • billythekid #11 4 years ago

    I believe that when you use the extra fret buttons you don't need to strum.
  • fatchris Verified Senior Developer, Eurogamer Network #12 4 years ago

    monkie_king: They don't exactly replicate the upper frets. On the lower you don't need to strum, so it changes quite a lot. It's cool!

    I also thought about having individual headphones because even on the guitar, it's difficult to hear when someone is singing next to you.
  • Yaster #13 4 years ago

    "Join a real band, nerds"

    This is exactly what I thought when I first heard about RB. It's ok playing a Karaoke game which scores you on how well you sing and Guitar Hero is mildly acceptable but a game which places you and 3 of your mates in a band set up where you're all playing pretend instruments in unison just does not appeal to me.

    But if you're mad psyched for this then all the more power to you but just remember, every second you and your mates spend playing this is wasted when you could be playing in a real band practicing your own songs every night chasing attention from record companies. You'll still have enough time to play your generic FPS in your spare time.
  • HairyArse #14 4 years ago

    Mouse - it's funny you should mention the slowdown because it's also apparent in GH3 which was surprising as I certainly didn't ever notice it in 1 or 2.

    Is Rock Band fun to play single player? From the reviews and previews I've read, my biggest concern is that it's ace if you have friends round all prepared to join in, but if you're most likely to be playing by yourself it's not as satisfying as Guitar Hero.

    Finally, I'm really excited about Rock Band but have a feeling that I'm gonna struggle to get people to actually sing. Any suggestions other than get everyone pissed?
  • Hog-lumps #15 4 years ago

    Is there a tracklisting for this anywhere?

    edit. scrap that, I found it here; [link url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_songs_in_Rock_Band
    ]
    http://en .wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_son...[/link]

    There's some good tunes on there!
    Edited by 1 at 13/12/07 @ 12:31
  • flaming.elk #16 4 years ago

    @Yaster

    Why is the time wasted? Sure I could spend my Friday night sat on my own doing scale training, or I could join my non-instrument playing house mates and play Rock Band. I guess I could make them all learn an instrument and then wait for 3 years. Shame you can't turn a real guitar down to medium.
  • Wendelius #17 4 years ago

    "Apparently there will be a patch for online Band World Tour, but that's not much use right now."

    I believe that "patch" will be called Rock Band 2. Didn't the devs say a while ago that that was too big to simply patch in?

    Hope I'm wrong.

    Wendelius
  • MBar #18 4 years ago

    Wow, Yaster, I didn't realise it was so easy.

    Also: Shut up.
  • Yaster #19 4 years ago

    @MBar

    You can always dream

    Also: you seem to take a lot of offense from something someone on the internet says
    Edited by 1 at 13/12/07 @ 12:46
  • mouse Verified Graphic designer, Eurogamer Network #20 4 years ago

    I don't see a problem with people pouring their time into Guitar Hero or Rock Band; it isn't a substitute for being in a real band. It's nothing like being in a real band; it's very very different, and that's why it's not pointless. It's just an arcade game about high scores with novel controllers. These instruments don't equate to playing or mastering their real life counterparts - the latter is a shitload more difficult, time consuming and expensive, and in many respects being in an actual band is a lot less fun.
    Edited by 1 at 13/12/07 @ 12:45
  • Waldo #21 4 years ago

    But if you're mad psyched for this then all the more power to you but just remember, every second you and your mates spend playing this is wasted when you could be playing in a real band practicing your own songs every night chasing attention from record companies.

    Typical tiresome response; I guess it never occurred to you that not everyone has the time, inclination, talent, or available funds to start a "real" band.
  • Bumhug360 #22 4 years ago

    Bah useless if you have no mates, they should release a version with a dance mat instead of a drum kit and call it One Man Rock Band
  • NewYork #23 4 years ago

    3 less than I was expecting.
  • w00t #24 4 years ago

    "every second you and your mates spend playing this is wasted when you could be playing in a real band practicing your own songs every night chasing attention from record companies"

    This is exactly what I thought when I first heard about comments on Eurogamer. It's ok writing a rebuke to a favoured method of fun and insulting people is mildly acceptable but a commenting system where lots of people are typing in unison just does not appeal to me.

    But if you're mad psyched for this then all the more power to you but just remember, every second you and your mates spend typing this is wasted when you could be typing in a real word processor practicing your own stories every night chasing attention from publishing companies. You'll still have enough time to wwrite your shopping list in your spare time.
  • udat #25 4 years ago

    "3 less than I was expecting."

    Heh...

    If this game was out before xmas I would be all over it, but if it shows up afterwards I think I will wait for the sequel. Not sure why it's not available yet, I almost bought it when I was in the USA in Nov.
  • monkie_king #26 4 years ago

    Remember, every second you waste playing Tekken you could be out there in the street punching strangers in the face.
  • monkie_king #27 4 years ago

    it also assumes that everyone who might play Rock Band is even remotely interested in playing in a real band.

    i'm not sure why these music games always attract such comments. you don't see people slagging off Pro Evo because you could be running around on a muddy field in real life.

    (actually, i do know why: it's an attention seeking device based on the idea that playing musical instrument makes a person interesting and special).
    Edited by 1 at 13/12/07 @ 13:22
  • NickJD #28 4 years ago

    Singing to a video game is totally gay.
  • MBar #29 4 years ago

    Agreed with monkie_king. Apparently these people think we give a damn that they play "real" guitar.

    It's just another brand of elitism.
  • Vermillion3000 #30 4 years ago

    Nice review though.
    It's refreshing to hear anything about RB that's obviously positive but doesn't make it sound like the second coming of Jesus/Gandalf/Captain America. Well done Tom for keeping feet on ground and head away from own arse.
    Edited by 1 at 13/12/07 @ 13:44
  • Ceatlan #31 4 years ago

    Once you can buy a version of this for less money without the guitar or microphone I'll get it. I'm not interested in the singing at all and I'd rather use my GH guitar, so until I can get it with just the drums I'm not interested.
  • tufty #32 4 years ago

    I've had it for a couple of weeks and I'm really enjoying it. For single player, it is like Guitar Hero, Drum Hero and Singing Hero rolled into one, and if you are into drumming, it is worth it for that alone (at least at crazy USD prices!). The band tour is even better because of the "tour" and growth aspect.

    I am no GH expert, and I can see the difficulty in RB is easier, so you might want to move onto the drums and give the girlfriend/boyfriend/mate the guitar.

    Haven't done the singing much - you need to know the songs to do that, so I'm learning them on the other instruments first.

    Overall, a fun time, with presentation that is a quantum leap ahead of Guitar Hero.
  • 3william56 #33 4 years ago

    Is no-one going to put Radiohead's Anyone Can Play Guitar on one of these games, and crank up the difficulty for extra irony points?
  • Gartt #34 4 years ago

    lmao, Timmy and the Lords of the Underworld on the bonus tracks, thats almost as class as strongbaad in GH2
  • black2 #35 4 years ago

    "Singing to a video game is totally gay."

    Yes, but the good kind.
  • McBradders #36 4 years ago

    To be honest this poops on GH from a great height, but then even though, direct comparisons are a little silly. One is focused on the guitar, the other... isn't.
  • tonynibbles #37 4 years ago

    I'm enjoying it - though tbh it can be a bit boring.

    The feeling you get from wanking out those massively long rub-me-like-a-rubber-duck guitar solos from spandex-lycra-tight-hairspray-mental 80's rock gems simply can't be beaten by Rock Bands trying-to-be-oh-so-cool 'down with the kids' tracklisting.

    For me, the pinnacle of GH was the uber-cheese awesome riifs of Guitar Hero Rocks the 80's - where it multiplied the joy first found in #1 - that feeling of 'actually playing a guitar'.

    Rock Band - Its just a bit too serious at times.

    The fun of SingStar PS3 and its awesome community features wins over for me at the moment and I have not played Rock Band since last Friday...

    Edited by 2 at 13/12/07 @ 14:17
  • spidermanalf #38 4 years ago

    Where are pics of the kit?
  • axman303 #39 4 years ago

    If you can play this game without feeling a crushing sense of embarrassment, you have achieved a state of total humiliation without realizing it.
  • jimbob101 #40 4 years ago

    "What's more, you can't simply pick up the game and play any track as a group until you've unlocked them - either in Band World Tour or one of the solo modes - which limits the game's appeal as a casual party activity until you've done so."

    Stupid stupid developers! When will they bloody learn.
  • darc #41 4 years ago

    The comments re: real musicians' reaction to Guitar Hero etc are hysterical and pretty much on the money. :) So it's kind of embarrassing to ask this: are the drum charts sensible enough that a few (dozen) hours of play would serve as training for playing real drums? I don't mean enough to make a "proper" drummer out of someone, but enough that someone would get a hang of the kick, hat, snare routine, and maybe some effective fills, and be able to back up a real band with a set of pads and a sampler? Seems like a small step from one to the other really, and "real" drummers are, on average, hard to find.
  • mouse Verified Graphic designer, Eurogamer Network #42 4 years ago

    Well, experience with a real drum kit definitely makes Rock Band a lot easier, but I'm not so sure about it working the other way. The hand positions aren't the same, for a start, and it doesn't give you any training for working the hi-hat with your left foot. At best it'll help you get to grips with basic rock rhythms, but not actual drumming techniques.
  • Tricky #43 4 years ago

    @tonynibbles - you might not have played Rock Band since last Friday, but you've been using the instruments in one of your videos for Singstar ;-)
  • Skeptopotamus #44 4 years ago

    "The hand positions aren't the same, for a start, and it doesn't give you any training for working the hi-hat with your left foot. At best it'll help you get to grips with basic rock rhythms, but not actual drumming techniques."

    I can imagine lots of people playing Rock Band drums, thinking "cool, I can play real drums now!" then being totally flummoxed that the right tom doesn't sound like a hi-hat at all! Gadzooks!

    Depending on how rigid the note window is, it could improve someone's timing though.
  • Rodigee #45 4 years ago

    Why you should, or shouldn't, buy Rock Band:

    Yes, that's me singing.

    Fast forward to 2:20 if you're impatient.
  • Mike1980 #46 4 years ago

    I'm surprised The White Stripes aren't on the track list. I would have thought that the stuff you get with the game is perfect for their songs (ie. no bass).
  • mouse Verified Graphic designer, Eurogamer Network #47 4 years ago

    The drumming wouldn't be challenging enough :)
  • AliRay #48 4 years ago

    Back to the drumming: I heard that you don't play any of the cymbal sounds in any of the songs, is this true?

    If so:

    1) This will never get you ready to back a real band (every good fill NEEDS to end on a cymbal!)

    2) Will f*ck things up for anyone who actually can play the drums, esp. if they know the songs, where the cymbals come in, etc
  • Shabtai #49 4 years ago

    Can the RB guitar be used to play GH3 too? I know it works the other way around.
  • mouse Verified Graphic designer, Eurogamer Network #50 4 years ago

    Dunno where you got that idea from. You'll quite often be breaking off to hit the ride cymbal, and crack it one at the end of solos, too.
  • AliRay #51 4 years ago

    Good good. There was no way that I wasn't gonna be playing this game, but without cymbals it would be weird to say the least!
  • Gartt #52 4 years ago

    I dont get why so many people are hating on these guitar games, saying play a real instrument, do any of you actually play? Ive been playin guitar for going on 9 years now and still find immense enjoyment in playing GH and other rhythm games. And to be honest its easier playing alot of the songs on a real guitar than it is on expert on GH.
  • HairyArse #53 4 years ago

    Rodigee that video was brilliant.

    If you're gonna play Rock Band and can't sing, that's the only way to play it.
  • DM #54 4 years ago

    I'm looking forward to the release of this in the UK, as my daughter would be ideal for lead vocals, and I can back her on guitar. I will just buy the game and wait for the drums to be sold seperately.
  • Skeptopotamus #55 4 years ago

    "I dont get why so many people are hating on these guitar games, saying play a real instrument, do any of you actually play?"

    It's my assumption that the people who say "lol play a real instrument losers!" are the folks that don't play guitar but wish they could, so resorting to rhythm game snobbery fills that hole somehow!
  • Phreedh #56 4 years ago

    Just checked Rodigee's video and... damn, the drumming looks dull!
  • skillian #57 4 years ago

    Rodigee that video was brilliant.

    At least this confirms that, despite never playing one of these games, I definitely wouldn't like them. That video does not look brilliant at all (no offence Rodigee) - it looks like just about the last thing I would want to do with my evening.

    I can sleep safe knowing I'm not missing out...
  • NewYork #58 4 years ago

    I'm quite excited for the singing bits, but only when I'm alone :s
  • AOFanboi #59 4 years ago

    I've seen plenty of real guitarists sing the praises of the GH games, and they might even make people interested in trying the real (and quite different) thing.

    Perhaps the GH haters next should visit threads about Call of Duty 4 and tell the "nerds" to join the real army? Perhaps a Civ IV thread and tell the nerds to become real leaders of countries?

    Remember, every minute you spend posting on Eurogamer - or even playing guitar for real - is a minute you are not spending saving lives in Darfur. YOU ARE WASTING YOUR LIFE!!!1!
  • Ace_McCloud #60 4 years ago

    Holy moly! Shopto has this listexd as £150 in march! I was expecting something more like £100:S

    Can anyone advise on importing? Is it possible with a british 360?
  • Rodigee #61 4 years ago

    No offence taken skillian; as I said, the video would either convince you to buy, or not buy rock band.
  • AliRay #62 4 years ago

    Sorry Ace, I heard RB is region-locked :(
  • Fyzzu #63 4 years ago

    It's region-locked on both PS3 and 360, from what I know. *Might* be wrong on the PS3 one, but such is what I heard.

    As said in the review, Rock Band's pricing has yet to be announced for Europe. The £150 is a placeholder guess, I suspect (but I'd be surprised if it's far off - going by currency conversion, it shouldn't be anything more than £100, but when was the last time developers paid any attention to that?)
  • mouse Verified Graphic designer, Eurogamer Network #64 4 years ago

    The drumming does look dull, but it's really not. Honest!
  • Liggur #65 4 years ago

    "You can also unilaterally split the band up and delete entire careers when Kristan goes to the shop."
    LOL !
  • asphaltcowboy #66 4 years ago

    Had a go on a friend's version of this yesterday at the company Christmas party and it was bloody brilliant! The guitars do take some getting used to, but the singing is good and the drumming is excellent, if difficult. Unfortunately, I don't have space in my apartment to buy a copy!
  • Myre #67 4 years ago

    It seems strange to me that suddenly with rhythm action games harder becomes equal to better.

    I've given Rock Band a thorough playing and have to say that this review is far too sober and negative. Reading it, I feel like Tom's just gone through a painful breakup and there is no room left for joy in his heart.

    The singing is at least as good as singstar and has all the functionality of the new PS3 one (and if Rock is your thing, then it has a better track listing too). I've not spent years practicing to developwild skills on the guitar so to me the difficulty of the game is pitched exactly right, tough enough to feel rewarding and with plenty of space for me to improve and crank up the difficulty. The drums too are excellent fun.

    However, all that is just the icing on the delicious cake of having two, three or four people all rocking out simultaneously. I just can't stop grinning madly while I'm playing this game.

    Also, the Band World Tour is the game. None of the rest of it is important, everything you need is right there in the Band World Tour.

    For those of you concerned that the game isn't 'hardcore' enough I understand the Metallica DLC provides a much stiffer drumming and guitar challenge than most of the songs on the disc.

    For those of you complaining that the game is no good without friends.... well it is called Rock BAND. If you don't have any friends this is as good a way to make some as I've seen.
  • Ryder35 #68 4 years ago

    I am sorry but to give GH3 a 9 and this an 8 is crazy!.GH3: no innovation, poorly ramped up difficulty, note charts that are hard just for the sake of it, even to the extent of adding ghost notes. RB true attempt to innovate the genre, stacks of DLC already, 3 solo tours, each as good as GH3 especially since there are no stupid boss battles, multiplayer with 4 people, accurate feeling note charts. The drums are simply the most awesome fun and if you do not have any friends (like me) do what I did and play band world tour by singing and playing guitar at the same time. This review simply comes across as the sort of thing written by someone who is in Activisions pockets to be honest. I have had the game since launch and have to say it is the best game I have ever played (and I started out on aZX Spectrum!)
  • MrMarbles #69 4 years ago

    I'd just like to know if Tom personally would've given the borderline-abysmal, distinctly unfun GHIII a 9.

    Y'know, just out of curiosity, like.
  • darc #70 4 years ago

    "Well, experience with a real drum kit definitely makes Rock Band a lot easier, but... the hand positions aren't the same, for a start, and it doesn't give you any training for working the hi-hat with your left foot. At best it'll help you get to grips with basic rock rhythms, but not actual drumming techniques."

    Gotcha. Sounds like it might still bridge the gap though, for someone to use trigger pads (eg. http://www .zzounds.com/item--ALECONTROLPAD) and a laptop. Which is how a non-drummer like myself gets the job done these days. Maybe I should rent GB for a weekend and see if can't transform my wife into a backup drummer. :D

    Re: "real" guitarists trashing Guitar Hero, Guitar Band, etc. I think they just can't resist the opportunity to note they ought to be better at the game because they're so amazing with the real deal. This is generally followed by all of the reasons why GH etc are not legitimate - no strings, inaccurate charts, no swing, etc. Two or three ego fixes for the price of one. And a totally BS way to analyze a game, of course.
  • William #71 4 years ago

    "It's region-locked on both PS3 and 360, from what I know. *Might* be wrong on the PS3 one, but such is what I heard."

    It's NOT region-locked on PS3 if you're using an HDTV (it might not give you PAL). I just returned home (Netherlands) from a trip to USA, and brought along a US PS3 Rock band. Game works fine on my Euro PS3, just as my US GH3 does.
    The only practical problem I have is that I cannot order add-on content for Rock band since I don't have a credit card with US address.