Rockband - First Impressions

K!LL!@N

Was in Best Buy tonight and they had the demo unit for Rockband set up.
So myself and the missus decided to have a go.

At first the guitar feels really nice.
The buttons take up the whole fret which is good.
There are also the higher up buttons which I guess was supposed to be used for solos/posing.
The strumming bar is a lot different than the Guitar Hero guitars.
It sticks out further and doesn't click.
It doesn't seem as sturdy as the GH guitars, the demo unit was already broken and would only respond when strummed upwards which had confused the couple playing before us.

The drum kit seemed pretty solid like a set of practice drum pads.
The pads are a good size, could maybe be a little bigger but I got used to the layout pretty quickly.
The drumsticks were just regular drumsticks with Rockband branding.
I believe there's a kick drum attachment but it wasn't on the demo unit.

Neither of us wanted to use the mic in a crowded store so nothing to report on that apart from it looking like a regular mic.

The game itself is obviously a lot like Guitar Hero.
The notes/beats scroll down the screen.
I'm not sure how the star power thing works.
There was something going on but I wasn't really sure how or why.
Towards the end of a track and sometimes during there's a freestyle section which serves no real purpose other than being fun.

The tracks on the demo were pretty good.
We played Black Hole Sun by Sound Garden and In Bloom by Nirvana.

I've been playing Guitar Hero 3 on Medium so I figured that it would be similarly difficult but it was a lot easier.
I 99%'d both songs first time on guitar and 93% on the one go of the drums.

Is it fun?
Yes.

As good as Guitar Hero?
In my opinion, no, not as far as the guitar parts go.

Will I be rushing out to get it?
No, I'm really happy playing GH3.

Killian

Burning Eclipse

I'm really looking forward to this game and I could be wrong in saying this, but I think for the hardcore guitar fan, Guitar Hero is always gonna be where it's at. Grammy Award-winning Cliffs of Dover in Rock Band... Fat chance!!

That aside I do hope to pick this up... Affording it, perhaps not so!!

danbhala

can't wait to get it the game is perfect for me and my three house mates.. we'll start our own band! while our real instruments stare at us with disgust! im a drummer and pretty good at guitar hero so I really cant wait to start nailing songs on expert on the drums!

projectmayhem

i'm getting rockband asap. GH3 is a lot of fun, and has some killer tracks, but the problem with it is that i've played it twice already... to death. rockband shakes things up enough to make it a worthwhile purchase, even for a GH afficionado.

brianon

Good jebus I don't think I've ever been as excited about a game as I am about Rock Band.

Why we have to wait until next year though ?

OP - you found the game easy ? What level was it on ? Medium ?

Burning Eclipse

brianon wrote: »

Good jebus I don't think I've ever been as excited about a game as I am about Rock Band.

Why we have to wait until next year though ?

OP - you found the game easy ? What level was it on ? Medium ?

I noticed on your FlickR that you were at the Vikes game!!! You in UL...? There was a Guitar Hero competition here last year!!

Back on topic. It'l be interesting to compare note charts between this and Guitar Hero III for the songs they have in common like the brilliant Reptilia!!!:)

K!LL!@N

brianon wrote: »

Good jebus I don't think I've ever been as excited about a game as I am about Rock Band.

Why we have to wait until next year though ?

OP - you found the game easy ? What level was it on ? Medium ?

Yeah, I found it pretty easy and I was playing it on Medium.
The guitar parts were really easy, as I mentioned, I got 99% on both tracks.
Would have been 100% but for the dodgy strum bar.

Maybe they've just been more sensible with their difficulty levels.
I'll try Hard next time I'm in the store.

Killian

Gingervitis

I would nearly get this game just for this!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvsbcEbFtiM

evad_lhorg

it actually has timmy and the lords of the underworld?!?!

Zapp Brannigan

It's a bonus track.

evad_lhorg

that's so cool!

ShawnRaven

TIM-MAAAAHY!
I'm so f*ckin' getting this now.

VR!

gizmo

It's a cover? The only reason the song is good is becuase of Timmy himself imo

Smellyirishman

gizmo wrote: »

It's a cover? The only reason the song is good is becuase of Timmy himself imo

You do the singing .

Not sure about the vocal track tbh.

Kristok

been thinking of getting gh3 but now putting off as i think this will have more life to it. Can you use the guitar with the older guitar hero games ? Any idea when its out.

evad_lhorg

you can use guitar hero guitars with this game. dont think itll work the other way though

Burning Eclipse

evad_lhorg wrote: »

you can use guitar hero guitars with this game. dont think itll work the other way though

Ign said in their review that everybody in the office used the guitar from guitar hero II on the 360, or from III, to play this as they were disappointed with the Fender. Which in turn disappoints me as I love Strats, much more than a Les Paul!! Dang it!!!!

Smellyirishman

Any european ETA? Or is it just America now, worry about Europe later? ( I know they get it Tuesday? and Canada get's it Dec 21 or so)

Burning Eclipse

Smellyirishman wrote: »

Any european ETA? Or is it just America now, worry about Europe later? ( I know they get it Tuesday? and Canada get's it Dec 21 or so)

Ya, our friends across the pond get it before christmas... Don't think we even have a release date yet!!! Can't wait for The Police DLC pack for this... You know, if the game ever gets released here!!!