Rock Band Comments by Tom Bramwell

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.

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!

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.

Rodigee that video was brilliant.

If you're gonna play Rock Band and can't sing, that's the only way to play it.

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.

"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!

Just checked Rodigee's video and... damn, the drumming looks dull!

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...

I'm quite excited for the singing bits, but only when I'm alone :s

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!

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?

No offence taken skillian; as I said, the video would either convince you to buy, or not buy rock band.

Sorry Ace, I heard RB is region-locked :(

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?)

The drumming does look dull, but it's really not. Honest!

"You can also unilaterally split the band up and delete entire careers when Kristan goes to the shop."
LOL !

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!

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.

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!)

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.

"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.

"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.