ROCKBAND - 9/10
Ive been fortunate enough to have had ROCKBAND for around 5 months now (couldnt wait for the Australian release, so imported it through EBAY back in January for the PS3 cos its not region coded and the NTSC / PAL issue isnt a problem)and so here's my honest assessment:
The BAD (or at least - could be better):
1. The Fender GUITAR controller. It looks fantastic and feels great but . . . . damn it . . . its probably the worst controller for GH type games such as RB I've ever used. The buttons are great (the lower 'solo' buttons are a bit of a gimmick, but are amusing nonetheless) BUT the STRUM BAR is crap - no 'feel' about it and has a nasty tendency to stop working, or just as bad, 'double hit'.
I imported a second Fender RB guitar initially (heaps more fun, and better sound - truly - if you add a bassist while playing)and as at this writing (to my knowledge) there are two basic strum mechanisms for the Fender guitar :
- one is a reed type (similar to the old ignition breaker points in car distributors)where the strum bar itself squeezes the reeds together via a peg. This, I believe, is the original style and to date, this is remains my favourite of the two types as its more 'accurate'. Unfortuantely, the reed switches themselves, or the rubber spacers that keep them seperated, moves out of position every couple of hours of playing - easily fixed by removing the back of the guitar and repositioning / tightening everything BUT - warranty is now voided. I also added a couple of small rubber bands (like the ones used for braces on teeth)across the internals of the strum mechanism which has helped with feel ( a bit) and reduced 'double hits' but . . . its still VERY ordinary.
-the second is a magnetic field switch, where nothing acutally contacts as such. This is obviously a more robust switching method but the accuracy count has been lowered again with this 'mod' by EA - result is less returns to EA, but less fun for owners. We only ever use this guitar as the 'spare' for people that want to play on MEDIUM or play BASS (up to HARD is still reasonably OK) - forget using it on LEAD above MEDIUM . . .
2. DRUM KIT - Ive never had a problem with the bass pedal, but apparently its an issue as well - mainly due to breakage. Havta confess tho - you'd have to stomp the crap out of it to make it break BUT its easy to get a bit carried away sometimes . . . especially on HARD on the drums. Theres also been a few reports of intermittent response - particularly from the RED pad, but it seems this is usually due to a connection lead breaking (not too easy to fix yourself) and is probably more of a production issue than that of the controller. Other than that, the drums are GREAT.
The GOOD :
Quite simply, everything else about the game.
Song choice is obviuously very person-specific but out of the 58 game songs, probably only 5 - 6 of them I really dont like. Others are a very welcome addition like 'Enter Sandman'or even 'Peace of Mind' including some surprises in the 'bonus set songs like "I'm So Sick", to name just a few.
And then theres the DLC . . . WOW . . . if you can grit your teeth and go throught the hassle of loading cash into a dummy US-based wallet (see the RB thread - Wutang01 gives a great description of the process in a How-To-Do format)then you are in for a treat . . . and each week sees at least 3 - 4 new song releases.
The GH series promised this, but didnt really live up to it. Harmonix are remaining true to their word with RB tho. My own copy now has close to 140 songs.
The visual stages / set pieces and the background audio REALLY does give you a feeling of 'immersion' - its hard to describe accurately, but you do get more of a feeling of being part of a band performance than the playing-a-plastic-guitar-at-my-TV experience that tends to describe the GH series.
Even little touches that enhance that feeling such as an audience chant in the background if youre doing well through a song. Or add a bass player (on a second guitar) and select bass-enhance in the OPTIONS menu and you realise that (subtley, but distinctly) the bass player actually drives the beat of the song (the game emphasises the bass line in the audio . . .)
As a single player game / experience, its fantastic. And, in fact, is kinda like 4 games in one where you can setup different profiles for each instrument and play through the game on VOCALS, LEAD, BASS or DRUMS - each with its own challenges.
The karaoke style vocal prompts work particularly well, with novices quickly picking up the timing queues and pitch indicators - in many ways simpler, and more effective, than Singstar.
Then there the Multiplayer aspect - I'm not exaggerating when I tell you that, even now, there is not a weekend goes by that I dont have up to a dozen friends / neighbours at the door wanting to play ROCKBAND - seriously.
Even one guy that all but has banned video games for his kids, but went so far as to get his own, after-market Nyko FRONTMAN guitar for when he comes over (yes, yes, I see the inequity there but thats not the point I'm making here . . )
The line-up of willing band 'members' each weekend ranges from 7 y/o's to middle age ol' farts, and everything in between. When the kids and teens join in - its a very serious pursuit of excellence to gain game 'fans' and tour paraphenalia.
When the adults / ol' farts join in, add a bottle of Bundy and there's an absolute hoot of a time to be had by all(some lead singers, apparently, require 'rum lubrication' of their vocal chords before attempting to sing . . . 
)
In summary - the software and presentation / concept of the game deserves an 11/10 - it really is THAT GOOD. The peripherals have some issues, but after-market controllers are now becoming available - the Nyko FRONTMAN guitar, for instance, is an excellent after-market guitar controller - very precise.
The 'litmus test' for me is simply this : if I lost the game today for some reason, having spent around $700 - $800 (in total) on importing the US version and buying a FRONTMAN guitar + spare bass guitar and other 'bling' goodies - I'd be on EBAY tomorrow ordering it all over again.
Halos 1 & 2, as well as Gears of War on the XBOX360 (to name a few)were landmark games for that console, but would you spend a 100 bucks on them again 6 months after you'd bought them originally?
For us, here in Australia, its starting to seem that an XBOX360 version is still a long way off, if at all. So really, this is where the versatility of the PS3 comes into its own, and provides Australian PS3 owners with a golden opportunity.
I sincerely doubt that you would find anyone who has imported RB would tell you it isnt worth the money and effort.
Do yourself a favour - get ROCKBAND
Steve.
Submitted by Sstick98
31/05/2008
8
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