Rock Band vs. real band (a non-video game critic mainstream review)

[AVC808]

Rock Band v. Real Band
http://www.slate.com/id/2177432?GT1=10636

saw this link on MSN after logging out of my hotmail account.

[SheepStampede]

O.K. review of the game from a musician turned writer.
Definately downplays it's authenticity as a rockin experience.
http://www.slate.com/id/2177432?GT1=10636

[Eastwood]

I read it this morning. I think it is prtty positive coming from someone with little gaming experience.

[Storybook77]

People just need to realize that it's still just a game and it's not going to make you a rockstar. No one plays a flight sim and expects to be a fighter pilot or play Madden and expects to be an NFL coach or player. Games are meant to help "simulate" experiences that most people would never be able to experience otherwise.

[HPLabonte]

im gonna agree with a lot of things here. RB is probably the most fun ive had playing a video game, but really, I love preforming in front of an audience more than anything, i've been on TV, and nothing beats that high. But RB is a lot of fun because my band, atm is scattered throughout the northeast, and i can play RB with a bunch of non-musicians and have a lot of fun, but i cant wait 'till December, when we'll start practicing, be on tv, and play out again. Though, i am looking forward to beating the Endless Setlist =)

http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/7845/n5952149751053941896fo4.jpg

Nothing beats this feeling.

[tf5_bassist]

As I've been saying since before day one (back to playing GH), it's the closest that I'll ever get to being able to share the amazing experience of rocking out for a crowd with those whom I care for who can't play a musical instrument, or aren't capable of playing in a band.

I've played shows for over 2000 people, I've played shows for less than 10. Regardless, playing for a live crowd, playing real music, original music that the band poured it's collective blood, sweat, and tears into, is the ultimate feeling of excitement and accomplishment, and nothing from a game or any sort of "sim" will ever even come close... But for those who can't/don't/won't for some reason or another, this helps share that joy. I'll never share a real stage with my brother-in-law, whom I consider one of my very closest friends, but day in and day out, we have a great time playing GH/RB. It all works out in the end.

[Conner Malvecino]

As of right now, I consider it the best party game ever...but on top of that an excellent tutorial, I've always wanted to dissect some of Matt Cameron's and Lars Ulrichs drumming, and with Practice Mode, Harmonix has done all the legwork in making a perfect tutorial for yours truly. It's given my wife competative spirit in her singing(seeing some of those very bad How Not to Rock YouTubes) and a boot camp for my little ones on the essence of being in a band. WELL WORTH $169+tax(I don't live in Oregon) Plus I'm hearing some really great tunes, that in itself is worth $45. But I'm just blabbing, but for me and my family, it's more than just a videogame. And it's only been a week!

[WiredRacing]

Yeahhhh... I think the point is probably missed. This, I think, is the kind of person that would wear a shirt saying something like "Real Guitar Hero" or "I listen to bands that don't even exist yet".

It's a video game, it's a blast to play, it costs less than a decent guitar... bah. At the minimum the writer should have at least considered it sparks interest in real playing that didn't exist before as well as sparking interest in otherwise obscure music to younger ears.

If I wanted to play in a real band.. I'd be playing in a real band. Interestingly enough though if I put the hours I have into this game up until now into guitar, I probably could play something.. just one thing mind you... and it would take about a month to put that kind of time into a real guitar because my fingers would be bleeding after an hour. But sure.. yeah I'd be on my way... if, you know, that's actually something I'd want to do.

It think it's easy to find 3 other people (or 30) who have an equal amount of fun time with this game and would be willing to put 4-6 hours in a session playing it... try doing that with real people anda real band.. oh.. you all don't lknow how to play anything but you're going to switch vocalists to guitar, guitar to drums, drummer to bass, and bass to vocals? Riiiiiight.

This is a great way to appreciate music, it's deeper than just LISTENING to it. This is an improvment in music appreciation and isn't supposed to be a replacement for actually playing. I mean... with just about everyone, if not everyone, in Harmonix in a band.. you really think they would want to create something that would take the place of playing in a band? Besides, Alex's already said they want to move towards something that results in some form of content creation... All the HMX games have been logical progressions from one another...

[Eastwood]

Thread already posted.

Edit: See below

(Does NFL Fox Sunday Impression) Back to the studio with TB.

[tbradshaw]

Thread already posted.

I merged the threads together. (Eastwood's post made sense when they were separate.)

[sushi111]

People just need to realize that it's still just a game and it's not going to make you a rockstar. No one plays a flight sim and expects to be a fighter pilot or play Madden and expects to be an NFL coach or player. Games are meant to help "simulate" experiences that most people would never be able to experience otherwise.

Nobody has to read anything besides this post

[FallenAce]

I merged the threads together. (Eastwood's post made sense when they were separate.)
Thank the goddess Althena... I was sure Eastwood had lost his mind for a minute.

[Eastwood]

Thank the goddess Althena... I was sure Eastwood had lost his mind for a minute.

For about 5 seconds, I felt really embarassed. :o

[DJiiiii]

People just need to realize that it's still just a game and it's not going to make you a rockstar. No one plays a flight sim and expects to be a fighter pilot or play Madden and expects to be an NFL coach or player. Games are meant to help "simulate" experiences that most people would never be able to experience otherwise.


Nobody has to read anything besides this post

I agree 100%. I've shut up many many friends, neighbors, family members with similar arguments.

When I play enjoy Forza2, I don't consider that I'm good enough to drive an F1 Audi at 185mph on the Nürburgring.

When I play COD4, I don't get confused and think I'd be a great solider in Iraq.

And when I play Halo3, I don't get excited about going into space with a Needler!

It's ENTERTAINMENT. People need to chill.

[DJiiiii]

Funny thing is, most people shut up after playing :D

[SoberScott]

im gonna agree with a lot of things here. RB is probably the most fun ive had playing a video game, but really, I love preforming in front of an audience more than anything, i've been on TV, and nothing beats that high. But RB is a lot of fun because my band, atm is scattered throughout the northeast, and i can play RB with a bunch of non-musicians and have a lot of fun, but i cant wait 'till December, when we'll start practicing, be on tv, and play out again. Though, i am looking forward to beating the Endless Setlist =)

http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/7845/n5952149751053941896fo4.jpg

Nothing beats this feeling.

Did you mean. ATR if so when do you go back on tour?

[DansNutz]

Dude that wrote that article sucks at life

[Symphonite]

Dude that wrote that article sucks at life

First, it's not a dude. She's the lead guitarist of Sleater-Kinney, a respectable and decently well-known late 90's-early 2000's rock band.( http://www.sleater-kinney.com/downloads.html for some of their songs...). Of course a musician who isn't a gamer is going to compare a music game to playing music. She makes legitimate arguments and doesn't really bash the game.

I have also played in bands with several thousand people in attendance. As others have stated, while Rock Band is meant to give non-musicians an approximation of the sensation real rock bands get, it's not even close to the real thing. Rock Band is incredibly fun and allows me to enjoy good music with my non-musician friends in addition to just being all-out enjoyable. At the end of the day it's still a game, but that's all it's really meant to be.

[nitroman28]

People just need to realize that it's still just a game and it's not going to make you a rockstar. No one plays a flight sim and expects to be a fighter pilot or play Madden and expects to be an NFL coach or player. Games are meant to help "simulate" experiences that most people would never be able to experience otherwise.

I played M$ Flight simulator for about 6 months, Then went and bought me a 600.00 Remote control Plane and could fly it with no problem, Now landings that was a different story.

As for learning the Drums, Why can a drummer set down with this game and play it without much trouble? If you learn to play this game on expert you will be a lot closer to playing the real drums. Hardest part of drums is to teach your foot to be independent from your arms. And this game is going to teach you that if you hang with it(Most will stop trying before that happens). People will say Real drums have more drums then this game. Well no sh#*. But the 4 main ones are the Snare/High hat/bass drum/ Crash cymbal. You can play a lot of songs with those 4. And the game gives all that so thats 4 drums you learn. I have a friend that plays in a punk band and all he has in his kit is snare/ HH/ 1 tom/2 cymbals/bass drum. And he kicks A$$. But I have a friend that has no telling how many pieces in his kit, but most of them are for fills and solos

I think these toy drums will take you a lot closer to playing the drums, then if you just bought a drum set and tried on your own.

[Conner Malvecino]

I think these toy drums will take you a lot closer to playing the drums, then if you just bought a drum set and tried on your own.
I am an experienced drummer in real life and after struggling through hard in many songs(mostly due to non-familiarity with the tunes). I can tell you one thing…if somebody takes the time and achieves 96% on all the tunes on expert: I GUARANTEE that they’ll be REALLY good on drums.

and yes, most drum kits are 5 piece sets and I’ve seen most experienced drummers pull it back to just being a 4 piece(the more you have the more you have to haul to the gig) If you take a look at the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s drummer in the real video, he’s playing only a four piece.

[GrayInvisible]

Wow a mediocre musician criticized rock band. Oh wow, I'm so angry.

Considering Hmx is made up of musicians with varying degrees of experience and skill, I think she's arguing out of ignorance.

[Frederf]

There was a thread around here that said "How do you respond to people that say 'Go play a real guitar!' ?". That was a real hoot, worth a read.

P.S. Playing MS Flight Sim definitely helped me on my way to getting an actual pilot's license. The Type 3 or whatever flight training software aids are about the same thing as MS FS. It wasn't a replacement for real training but an excellent knowledge base and familiarity background.

[RB41]

Why not just play in a real band? Not many have the time(couple years, at least, to become sufficient for each instument), money(thousands of dollars) or dedication(most of us have other lives, and can't be professional musicians)to join a real band.

If you can get a similar experience without the intention of becoming of become a real musician, while getting it done cheaper and faster, the real question becomes "why not just play the video game?"

[John Redcorn]

Can't believe we all have read this and all you can talk about is RB vs Real band. I think the real issue here is that the guitarist got 2 guitars (one for bass too) but we did not. Why do you think that is and why aren't more people upset about this like i am after spending close to One thousand dollars on all this stuff. (bought ps3 just so i could get rock band and ALL peripherls AT THE SAME TIME, just like thier reviewer). I will not be purchasing any DLC or any other guitars ever again or ea,hmx,activision or mtv product as long as i shall live. Will be putting my whole entertainment systems on ebay soon.


BigMountainFudgecake

[RB41]

Can't believe we all have read this and all you can talk about is RB vs Real band. I think the real issue here is that the guitarist got 2 guitars (one for bass too) but we did not. Why do you think that is and why aren't more people upset about this like i am after spending close to One thousand dollars on all this stuff. (bought ps3 just so i could get rock band and ALL peripherls AT THE SAME TIME, just like thier reviewer). I will not be purchasing any DLC or any other guitars ever again or ea,hmx,activision or mtv product as long as i shall live. Will be putting my whole entertainment systems on ebay soon.


BigMountainFudgecake

Eh? So what exactly is your issue here? You spent a thousand dollars for you equipment just to play RB, but now you're pissed that you only got one guitar out of that thousand? Now you're going to to sell your stuff becuase you don't want to cough up another 50-70 bucks. Sorry but the RB bundle description does state that you only get one guitar.

If you spent so much for the entire package you should of paid better attention to the product description. I only had to invest $200 since I've owned my 360 since last year. Although my investment was much less, I was well aware of what was included with the package. No complaints(other than the faulty guitar, which has been promptly replaced, hassle free, good job EA) or surprises here.

[Conner Malvecino]

I think the $170 pricepoint for RB was well well worth it(pending that one takes care of their instruments) I have real drums just one floor below me but I needed some kick in the pants to get me to practice intensely again. That in itself is worth 4 drum lessons from a drum coach. I think there's a lot of short sightedness going on with people who think it's only purpose is to replicate the feeling of being a rockstar... ...of course all of us here know better :)

...If anything it's keeping a lot of no-gooders(like me) off the streets ;)