imapepperto
01-17-2008, 10:23 AM
I got Rock Band for Christmas from my very loving girlfriend. This present I looked forward to more than any other. I loved Guitar Hero II and liked Guitar Hero III and was, at first, skeptical about Rock Band; then I tried it. It was absolutely amazing. The game was the most fun I'd had on a console with friend's, period. The old Guitar Hero paled in comparison. The drums reminded me of a time when I actually in a band, the guitar had all the flair of GHII and the beautiful responsiveness of a quiet fret. The first time we played Creep from Radiohead I even got chills up and down my spine as we hit the chorus. Simply put, it was like being in a Rock Band.
After a few hours, I noticed some of the notes in rapid succession on guitar we're registering on time. Having been a frequenter of these boards and Kotaku I realized that my strum bar was probably faulty. And sure enough, every third note or so, the down strum registered either two hits or none at all. I dutifully went to support.ea.com/rockband as the little paper and yellow sticker had instructed me to do. I filed what was probably the easiest return process ever. I shrugged when I got to the option of normal or express replacement. I'm a college student and really couldn't afford a $125 hold on my account right before the semester started. I knew I didn't get charged the amount, but it was still essentially frozen.
It was acceptable because it is cutting edge technology, so some kinks are to be expected. And, I still had my drums. We made do and learned to strum up very fast on guitar and played the drums as normal until my casket came. Then my score steadily decreased on drums. Instead of progressing as I became more comfortable, I actually was getting worse. Then I missed an entire section of blue notes. I did some tutorials and realized that the blue drum pad simply wasn't registering any notes. At all. If I tapped it with my palm it might respond, but not at all sticking. I dutifully filled out another RMA just four days after filling out my Guitar RMA. The kicker was I'd only had Rock Band 5 days. At this point I was completely dead in the water. No drums, no guitar.
I was frustrated. I loved this game, but I couldn't play it. The status on my shipment of RMA for my guitar sat in the same state for a week. I called technical support to find out how long it was going to be. He said he couldn't be sure. It could be three more days, but it could take as long as five weeks. Five weeks? Really? I asked when I would know how long it was going to take and he said there's no way to really know except wait at least 10 days after placing an RMA. He reiterated EA's awesome express replacement and I informed him that I couldn't afford a $125 let alone a $250 hold for two broken peripherals. This was ludicrous.
I did as many sane people would do at this point; I ignored the man. If you buy a hammer at a local hardware store and the third time you hammer a nail, the head flies off, you're not going to call Stanley and order a replacement and wait a few weeks so they could send you a new one; you go back to the Hardware store. I ignored the posted sticker and flyer and returned my set and exchanged it for a new one. After all, the stores won't miss one set as they return it. I, on the other hand, was dead in the water for atleast another week before I even got a casket; who knows how long it would have been after I sent it off before I got the replacement.
I set my new copy up and played gloriously. The model was a newer one, and it showed. The sticks were quieter, the keys for the guitar clicked, and the drum pedal had more bounce. I was set. I had friends over and we played it. One friend loved it and went out the next night and bought a Xbox 360 and Rock Band. I chugged along where I'd been stuck without a blue pad and completed the solo career, eventually beating every song on the set, 58 total.
I sat down last night and played for a while with some friends. I noticed something strange. It'd been less than a week with my new copy, and I was starting to sweat. I hoped I was being psychosomatic and assuming every anomaly would end my playing. The drum pedal felt, for lack of a better word, wavey. As I finished …And Justice For All on Hard, I picked up my pedal and notice fine cracks in the plastic on the food petal in between the spring and bottom of the petal. One test push and it snapped.
I don't know exactly what to say. In every way, Rock Band ushers in a new era of rhythm based games. It's near perfection. But three major peripherals have broke now in three unrelated events. How is this acceptable? No, I'm not going to return this copy to the store. I wait for a normal replacement, losing a week to god knows how long for a replacement petal. In that time, is my guitar going to break again? How about my Microphone? The USB hub? Will the game simply catch on fire and burn down my apartment?
I understand that EA is gladly filling all orders, but the fact remains that there should not be a need for this. I'm not asking anything from EA or Harmonix because I love their game and people who try and take advantage of the system piss me off. I just want to sit down and play again. If every six hours of play time I lose a major component, I might as well just not play. And that's the real problem. After so much stress over a game, the question becomes is it worth it? I love it, but seriously guys. Why and how can I be sure this won't happen again, and again, and ultimately I sit around with $300 in bricks? Help me EA. Help me Harmonix
After a few hours, I noticed some of the notes in rapid succession on guitar we're registering on time. Having been a frequenter of these boards and Kotaku I realized that my strum bar was probably faulty. And sure enough, every third note or so, the down strum registered either two hits or none at all. I dutifully went to support.ea.com/rockband as the little paper and yellow sticker had instructed me to do. I filed what was probably the easiest return process ever. I shrugged when I got to the option of normal or express replacement. I'm a college student and really couldn't afford a $125 hold on my account right before the semester started. I knew I didn't get charged the amount, but it was still essentially frozen.
It was acceptable because it is cutting edge technology, so some kinks are to be expected. And, I still had my drums. We made do and learned to strum up very fast on guitar and played the drums as normal until my casket came. Then my score steadily decreased on drums. Instead of progressing as I became more comfortable, I actually was getting worse. Then I missed an entire section of blue notes. I did some tutorials and realized that the blue drum pad simply wasn't registering any notes. At all. If I tapped it with my palm it might respond, but not at all sticking. I dutifully filled out another RMA just four days after filling out my Guitar RMA. The kicker was I'd only had Rock Band 5 days. At this point I was completely dead in the water. No drums, no guitar.
I was frustrated. I loved this game, but I couldn't play it. The status on my shipment of RMA for my guitar sat in the same state for a week. I called technical support to find out how long it was going to be. He said he couldn't be sure. It could be three more days, but it could take as long as five weeks. Five weeks? Really? I asked when I would know how long it was going to take and he said there's no way to really know except wait at least 10 days after placing an RMA. He reiterated EA's awesome express replacement and I informed him that I couldn't afford a $125 let alone a $250 hold for two broken peripherals. This was ludicrous.
I did as many sane people would do at this point; I ignored the man. If you buy a hammer at a local hardware store and the third time you hammer a nail, the head flies off, you're not going to call Stanley and order a replacement and wait a few weeks so they could send you a new one; you go back to the Hardware store. I ignored the posted sticker and flyer and returned my set and exchanged it for a new one. After all, the stores won't miss one set as they return it. I, on the other hand, was dead in the water for atleast another week before I even got a casket; who knows how long it would have been after I sent it off before I got the replacement.
I set my new copy up and played gloriously. The model was a newer one, and it showed. The sticks were quieter, the keys for the guitar clicked, and the drum pedal had more bounce. I was set. I had friends over and we played it. One friend loved it and went out the next night and bought a Xbox 360 and Rock Band. I chugged along where I'd been stuck without a blue pad and completed the solo career, eventually beating every song on the set, 58 total.
I sat down last night and played for a while with some friends. I noticed something strange. It'd been less than a week with my new copy, and I was starting to sweat. I hoped I was being psychosomatic and assuming every anomaly would end my playing. The drum pedal felt, for lack of a better word, wavey. As I finished …And Justice For All on Hard, I picked up my pedal and notice fine cracks in the plastic on the food petal in between the spring and bottom of the petal. One test push and it snapped.
I don't know exactly what to say. In every way, Rock Band ushers in a new era of rhythm based games. It's near perfection. But three major peripherals have broke now in three unrelated events. How is this acceptable? No, I'm not going to return this copy to the store. I wait for a normal replacement, losing a week to god knows how long for a replacement petal. In that time, is my guitar going to break again? How about my Microphone? The USB hub? Will the game simply catch on fire and burn down my apartment?
I understand that EA is gladly filling all orders, but the fact remains that there should not be a need for this. I'm not asking anything from EA or Harmonix because I love their game and people who try and take advantage of the system piss me off. I just want to sit down and play again. If every six hours of play time I lose a major component, I might as well just not play. And that's the real problem. After so much stress over a game, the question becomes is it worth it? I love it, but seriously guys. Why and how can I be sure this won't happen again, and again, and ultimately I sit around with $300 in bricks? Help me EA. Help me Harmonix
