When Harmonix decided that they were going to leave the Guitar Hero franchise behind so that they could develop Rock Band for Electronic Arts Partners and MTV Games, people wondered how the two franchises would ultimately compare to one another. Being the proud owner of both Guitar Hero III and Rock Band, I can certainly say that there are merits to both games, but if you want a truly orgasm-inducing multiplayer experience, you really have no choice but to opt for Rock Band. It really is that much fun.
Dethroning Guitar Hero?
It’s hard to say whether Rock Band will be able to dethrone Guitar Hero as the reigning champion of the rock-out rhythm game genre, but because there is much heavier multiplayer focus in Rock Band, you can see how the latest Harmonix offering is more suitable for parties. Having the ability to play things other than a guitar — a drum set and a microphone — also add to the variety of the game. All in all, four players can enjoy Rock Band simultaneously and that really is the best way to play this game.
One major thing that may hold some people back from investing in Rock Band is the hefty $170 retail price. That said, when you consider that Guitar Hero costs $100, you’re only paying an extra $70 for a microphone and a drum set. Believe me, Rock Band is worth the price of admission. I personally found the style and graphics to be more appealing than that of Guitar Hero III, but there are areas where GH is superior. I’ll get into these when I talk more specifically about the guitar portion of the game.
One area where I feel Rock Band wins, however, is in the song list.
Song Selection
Don’t get me wrong. Guitar Hero III has a pretty great list of songs too, but I found that the selection in Rock Band to be superior, because it features fewer obscure tracks and more mainstream ones that more of the general public would already know. Because there is a singing portion to the game, they also stuck with English songs only. Contrast this to Guitar Hero where some of the bonus tracks include Hier Kommt Alex by Die Toten Hosen. I’m thinking that most Americans and Canadians would be very good at singing in German.
Here are a few highlights from the main setlist:
- Black Hole Sun – Soundgarden
- Dani California – Red Hot Chili Peppers
- Detroit Rock City – Kiss
- Enter Sandman – Metallica
- Epic – Faith No More
- The Hand That Feeds – Nine Inch Nails
- Maps – Yeah Yeah Yeahs
- Vasoline – Stone Temple Pilots
When in Quickplay mode — both solo and multiplayer — it’s nice how you can organize the songs based on difficulty (from warmup to “blistering”), genre (pop, metal, etc.), decade, and alphabetical order. This makes it really easy to find exactly the song you want to play. Oh and did I mention that one of the songs on the list is Timmy and the Lords of the Underworld (South Park). That alone is worth the price of admission. Timm-ay….
All in all, there are 45 songs in the main setlist, as well as 13 bonus songs, and a theoretically unlimited supply of downloadable songs, which can be acquired through the PlayStation Network or Xbox Live. Releases to date include songs by The Police, Oasis, and Queens of the Stone Age.
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The Guitar
The mechanism behind the Rock Band guitar is much the same as that of Guitar Hero. There are five main fret buttons and then a strum bar, getting you to play chords in time with the music on the screen. Two additions found in Rock Band that aren’t available on Guitar Hero are the extra set of fret buttons closer to the body of the guitar and an effects switch that gets you to change between different styles of guitar play. Realistically, both of these features got limited play from me and added no value.
This is largely a matter of personal preference, but the strum bar on the Rock Band guitar doesn’t have the same “click-clack” as the one for Guitar Hero. Instead, it feels “softer” and made for quite a different experience for me. I personally prefer the clack of the Guitar Hero peripheral, because it helps me to keep in time with the music.
They’ve replaced Star Power with “Overdrive”, which works in much the same way. Many songs also include a “solo” portion for the guitar and you get a bonus based on the percentage of notes hit during this time. Some songs will also have an “ending bonus” where you can freestyle to your heart’s content, provided that you hit the critical last few chords at the very end of the song. I should also note that all the notes on the screen (circles in Guitar Hero) are horizontal bars. Again, a personal preference thing.
The Microphone
Harmonix is also the name behind the Karaoke Revolution series of singing songs, so the mechanic used for the Rock Band’s microphone is much the same. Lyrics stream across the bottom of the mic portion and your goal is to match both the pitch and length of each syllable. This doesn’t allow for very much interpretation and freestyling, but it really is the only way that a singing-based rhythm game can be played.
In addition to singing, there are sometimes sections where you tap on the microphone… sort of like when a singer taps on a tambourine or claps in rhythm with the song. I’m a pretty bad singer, so some of my best performances were during monotone songs (Creep by Radiohead) or those that involved rap (Sabotage by Beastie Boys), the latter of which involves no pitch whatsoever.
Then again, there have been several reports that the microphone doesn’t register properly for whatever reason and that’s why EA has included a pink sheet with every unit shipped, reminding buyers that they have 60 day warranty on hardware. Any USB microphone will work, including the official Xbox 360 headset, though.
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The Drums
The drum set presents one of the greatest quandaries of Rock Band. On the one hand, I’d say that it’s probably the most involving and enjoyable section of the multiplayer rhythm game. On the other hand, it’s also one of the most repetitive, frustrating, and challenging instruments to be played. The drums have the steepest learning curve and that’s because it most closely mimics what a real drum set would be like. This is in sharp contrast to the fret button system found on the guitar and bass.
Unlike DrumMania (Bemani), the drum set for Rock Band is only comprised of four pads — a snare, two tom-toms, and a crash cymbal — as well as a kick pedal for the bass. With DrumMania, you get five pads. A small difference, to be sure, but one that must be noted.
I found that that the most challenging aspect to playing the drums was trying to balance my attention between the four color-coded pads and the kick pedal. It’s hard using both your hands and your feet at the same time, especially if they happen to be slightly off-time from one another. Whereas I can handle some songs on “hard” using the mic and the guitar, I’m nowhere close (yet) to mastering the drums on this level.
Conclusion
Make no mistake, Rock Band is the real deal and if you’re a fan of rhythm/music games, you can’t go wrong with this purchase. The multiplayer “band” career mode is certainly much more enjoyable and less linear than the solo career, the latter of which is closer to Guitar Hero in styling, but you’ll have fun playing both. The “feel” of the virtual performances also seems better than Guitar Hero, because they provide for more interesting “camera” angles and so forth.
When you have two guitars, one drum set, and one microphone all going at the same time, the screen can get really crowded, so I highly suggest that you play this on a larger HDTV. The challenge of the guitar portion isn’t as high as Guitar Hero III, because Rock Band is supposed to lower the barrier to entry and introduce more people to this wonderful genre of video games.
So much fun. Now, if you’ll excuse me, “Enter Sandman” awaits me. For more high res shots of all this fun in one box, check out the Rock Band Photo Gallery.
Pros
- Excellent song list
- Arguably the best party game to date. Multiplayer is a blast.
- Fantastic implementation of peripherals
- Cool extras like the crowd singing along
- Timmy and the Lords of the Underworld
Cons
- Wired peripherals can be cumbersome
- Learning curve on drums can be steep
- Single-player career not as entertaining
- Issues with both guitar and drums reliability
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