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great games, great peripherals

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: March 18, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Ive been playing rockband for the ps3 for almost a month now and feel I should write a review. Ill break it down into two categories:

the game: Very good, and very fun. Unlike guitar hero 3 the game doesn't throw in extra notes, which makes things too easy sometimes, but less frustrating (failing keyboard parts in guitar hero would bug me). Singing is great (the mic gives good feedback) and drumming works very well. In fact, the new peripherals seem like they belong in this game more than the guitar - They actually improve your skill at their respective instruments. I play guitar and drums (and sing in the same sense that everyone does) and have always discouraged friends from believing guitar hero could seriously improve your playing. The mic, however, gives you very precise feedback on pitch and how well you maintain it, which is most of singing. Ive always been a guitarist that dabbles in drums, but after less than a month of playing my timings become so much better I might consider calling myself a drummer in a few months. It's important to note that you still need proper technique well singing or drumming, but the game play for these is much closer (but not perfectly the same) to the real experience.
The songs are mostly good. I don't know enough people to know if the songs I don't like are generally bad choices, but theres a lot of songs I like a lot in there. Theres also a LOT of downloadable songs, and harmonix seem to be very good about keeping up on that. this game, right now, lack heavy songs (hardcore and metal), which makes sense because you usually need a double bass pedal and pitch become less important when screaming, but still I hope they make some sort of 'bonus' game that has an extra bass pedal and a disc full of metal songs (from cryptopsy to dragonforce, ect). The team play is very fun and involved, and practice mode is a hundred times better on this than rockband - you can select the speed in 10% intervals and you don't need to constantly tell the game to replay the sections. I haven't played multiplayer so I cant comment, but it is available on the special edition thank god. The one complaint I have (other than lack of metal songs) is the customizability. Its extremely customizable (me and my girlfriend made band mates that actually look a great deal like us) but it actually makes me wish is were more so. I wish you could select specific facial features (cheeks/lips/eyes/chin) instead of set faces, and the same for hair. Id like that to be in Rockband 2 so my character can REALLY look like me, for added enjoyment. I suppose another complaint I could bring up is when you play the stage is very dark and you don't really gt shots of the crowd - I thought guitar hero did a better job of making you feel like your playing for people - although I don't know if Id actually want to trade the camera system they have for one thats way brighter than clubs actually are just to see the same audience member duplicated 100 times.
The fun only got 4 stars for me because of the intrinsic problems of getting sick with a limited setlist, and having to go into practice to go over difficult parts, which can be frustrating but necessary for career more. All in all I still look forward to playing this game, and think it really gives my ps3 collection well roundedness.

Peripherals: These seem VERY well built considering. I heard awful things, but when I got them I was impressed - my conclusion is they worked on them and got them better for the special edition version. I haven't had a problem with them yet. The guitar is better than the guitar hero version - its shaped closer to a read guitar, has extra features to the guitar hero one (including the option of selecting effects for solos with is sweet). The cons are picking on the guitar has become harder - the picking mechanism doesn't 'click' when you push it up or down, resulting in accidental hitting/not hitting of notes. Ive seen enough videos on youtube to know this is something to just get used to, and the frets 'click' a whole lot better than the guitar hero guitar, but getting used to it can be tough. Less troublesome is that the drums will miss a hit or double a hit every now and then depending on how hard you hit them. This requires you to be very stern and steady when playing, which can be a little unsettling for me since I live in an apartment and dont want to slap th bass pedal and annoy the people downstairs.
As a super duper added bonus tho, you can use the drums on the computer as a super cheap electric drumset. It lacks a lot of functionality (fewer pads, no volume sensativity, ect) but for practice/fun/simple demoing of stuff its a sweeet added bonus. And, the mic works EXCELLENTLY as a home recording device. Since its USB there is no lag if you don't have an audio card, and it works better than radioshack mics that Ive used. These are really just bonuses, but if your going to use them for that your buying more than just a game. Note that you do get hiss on the mic, this isnt professional equipment, but if your just recording something to remember it or to demo I feel it works well.

Just . Buy . It .

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: December 28, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Holy smoke. Just buy this game, right now. If you and/or your kids like Guitar Hero, this will Blow. You. Away. Rock Band was created by the two geniuses who created Guitar Hero I and II. My 16 year old can't stop. He especially loves the drums. My 12 year old plays the guitar along with him. My husband and I even sang. Yeah - I said my two sons were PLAYING. TOGETHER. It's totally awesome and worth every penny. (We have had no problem with the guitar controller.)

Great game, poor controllers

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: December 05, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Rock band is a great improvement over Guitar Hero games. It is fun to play however the controllers do not quite meet the expectations and can take away from your overall fun factor.

My drum set had a faulty pad right out of the box and had to wait 2 weeks to get the replacement. The online replacement procedure was very simple and quick yet was too good to be true as seen in the result. Guitar controller looks and feels great, hope it does not die on me soon. No problems with the mic so far. As can be seen on the EA's support forum posts, a good number of people are having problems with their controllers which makes me think that the controllers suffer from lack of quality control.

Another thing to mention is that the drum pads are extremely noisy when you tap on them with the wooden sticks. If you don't have the volume up on your TV set, it is a good chance that you will only hear your tapping on the drums rather than the music or the notes you are playing. Some people are even sticking foam and felt sheets on their drum pads to reduce the tapping noise.

lots of fun

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: February 08, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Ok, I don't have a band, just me and just practicing really...and the game is still a ton of fun. Most will be comfortable with the guitar immediately, but the drums are tons of fun and take a while to get used to. You try them on easy, and think, no problem. Yeah, try the hard setting! The kickdrum makes a huge difference too, because it's like walking and chewing guy...well, you know...but even harder. The vocals are kind of the weak part the way they work, but it's still fun. This game really rocks and the songs are awesome. If you have any interest in this genre at all, you will love this game.

DEFECTIVE! Do not purchase this product!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 12 / 33
Date: December 03, 2007
Author: Amazon User

The peripherals on this game are complete junk. Just read the rockband forums and you can see how many people are having problems with this game.

My guitar was defective out of the box, so I went through the warranty replacement process and received a second guitar that stopped working after about 40 minutes (one of the frets registers as permanently down)

I have seen MANY other reports of people having similar problems. This product was obviously rushed to market with many known defects and should be recalled.

Awesome Game, Horrible Guitar

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: December 10, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Let me start by saying I am in my mid-20's. This guitar has broken on me without any reason other than that it is a cheap piece of junk. I only played about 20 minutes on it before the frets stopped working completely. I did not drop it, I did not step on it, and it did not fall off anything. It worked fine out of the box. I played with the drums first and they were fine. I tested out the mic and it was fine so I moved to my favorite part, the guitar and started playing. It lasted through the tutorial and one entire song. I loaded the next song and it was done, it did not work again. I checked my connections, rebooted the PS3, changed that batteries, tried the other USB ports, everything I could think of and nothing. Hard broke. I am getting a replacement but there should have been better QA before ship date. To top it all off the guitar feels cheap and the strum bar does not feel as nice as the GH guitars. The guitar looks better though than its GH counterparts do. That means little though when it doesn't function well. I would rather have an ugly working one instead of a pretty looking one.

Outside of the guitar, the game is a blast to play. The drums feel solid and the mic works well. The music is better than GHIII, in my opinion, and the download content has been strong thus far. I would advise to wait on purchasing the complete pack and see if the guitars get better. In addition, the GHIII guitar WILL NOT work with Rock Band, currently. On the Xbox 360 it does (supposedly) but for the PS3 it is confirmed that it currently DOES NOT. That means there is not point buying just the Rock Band game right now. Separate instruments are supposed to be released in Jan/Feb 2008. We will have to wait and see.

This review is pretty negative but Rock Band is a great game, the guitar is just really bad. If you want to buy it and play drums or sing along go for it. You will not be disappointed. If you were wanting to field a 3 or 4 piece band you will be sad to see that the best you can do is 3 piece because you can not currently buy another guitar for the bass and you will be one of the (very) few lucky ones if you can even do that because the guitar is so flimsy.

Once they fix the guitar problem though this will truly be a great game.

Played both Rock Band & Guitar Hero III, RB ROCKS !!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: December 31, 2007
Author: Amazon User

After playing both games for the PS3 system, Rock Band & Guitar Hero III, I can say thay I like the Rock Band game and equipment much better. The guitar is a better built guitar with more features. The only thing I like about GH3 is the song selection. GH3 seemed to have the more classic rock songs where RB has the modern/punk/metal rock with a few tiles of classic rock. The RB guitar is a solid one with some cool features that the GH3 doesn't have. The GH3 guitar seemed flimsy and cheap, plus I had some issues with the wireless pick up. You had to have it positioned just right to work near flawless. No problems with the RB wireless pick up though, no matter what position it's in. You will be pleased with this system.

Best multiplayer musical game ever!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: April 04, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I own a guitar hero, but wen i received my rock band, im always playing with my friends, brothers, online, is great, really, i have the double of fun that playing guitar hero.
I can play with a lot of people that makes it more fun, i can create my own character, i can go on tour, etc.
I love this game, if you have friends or family your age, buy!!! this game, i recommend this game 100%
The drums are excellence!!!

New to music/rhythm genre games

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: December 06, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Let me start by saying I am new to the music/rhythym games. Ive never played Guitar Hero, Dance Dance Revolution, etc. So what made me spend this much on a game? The drums and the party aspect.

Multiplayer: When you have a few friends/family over pop this in and have fun for hours. Beginners can have the bass or sing while more experienced rock on the lead guitar and drums. Went 5 hours straight first day, another 5 hours the next day. Crazy fun!

Solo: This game is still fun for solo play. You make your own rocker and play through the songs and unlock the hidden ones. Also, you need to practice sometime and solo time is perfect. You can slow the songs down to learn easily. After about two weeks (I dont play any real instruments) I have pretty much mastered the game on medium difficulty on both guitar and drums and am now working on hard. You dont need to be a musician to get good. Anyone can do this.

Lasting appeal: Getting bored of the songs? Download more online at the playstation store!!! Every week there will be a few more songs to download and play in Rock Band. This game will last a LONG TIME! You are not gonna finish it and then want to sell it. Its here to stay.

The instruments themselves: Ive been going pretty hard from day one and have had no problems and think they are built well for a video game controller. Depending on your TV set you are going to have to calibrate your instruments. I tried the auto calibrate but it was still off. Go into manual calibrate and follow the simple steps, IT WILL IMPROVE YOUR PERFORMANCE!!!

Awesome game and worth every dollar spent.

Couldn't stop playing this game!....Until the guitar broke :(

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: December 16, 2007
Author: Amazon User

My family got this last week as an early Christmas present. My whole family has had a blast with it, 6 y.o., 9 y.o., and two 40'ish parents! The game is so much fun, never thought I would hear my kids singing 'Gimme Shelter", but they do and they love it. I'm still playing the easier versions on both the guitar and the drums, but it is a lot of fun to go out on tour and win new clothes, cash, and even a broken down old van. My only disappointment is that after a few days use , the guitar is acting up, and since we took it out of the box, the drum is testy. I understand the manufacturer is shipping replacements quickly and without question...but when you pay 170 dollars for a game, you shouldn't have to take it back to the store. As long as they do indeed ship new instruments, my 5 star review will stay intact!! Buy this game,you will have a blast!

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