Ultrace
10-07-2007, 12:30 PM
Well, Rock Band finally came to our fair city of Portland... Quite honestly, I almost wish it hadn't come now, because having played the game, the wait for it to be released and such seems... Really long.
I was lucky enough to be able to go on Saturday and Sunday, and got in plenty of playtime as a result, so I wanted to share that experience here. First of all, if the tour is coming to your area and you have any interest in the game, you owe it to yourself to check the tour out. It's quite possibly the coolest promotion for a game ever.
My first experience with the game was sitting down to try the drums on Black Hole Sun. Knowing that I can handle GH on Hard, I figured Medium was a good starting difficulty. Bad move. I wiped out and took my fellow bandmates with me. The problem is the kick-pedal. It works fine (although you will get sore calves), but it's not something that comes naturally -- unless you're already a drummer -- and it will throw you off. A few playthroughs on Easy and I got the hang of it.
I was then approached by a group of three people who needed a fourth for their video. My wife wasn't interested so I said I'd help out. Things were going well until about a third of the way through the first song of our practice session when the drummer, an admitted complete newbie to rhythm games, left the stage in frustration over her performance. The woman with her, our lead guitarist, left a few seconds later, and unfortunately, the singer and I on bass couldn't really keep the crowd pleased. We crashed and burned. As I explained to my wife after, my band broke up before we finished our first song.
Not long after, my wife and I were joined by two friends in the area, and the four of us not only played songs but also recorded a video--though mostly just to get the free swag. The video isn't up yet (it takes about 48 houts), so I've got no link, and I'll have to preview it before adding one anyway. :) Afterward, our band was "interviewed" by a woman with a camera who asked us questions about what we thought of the game and what we were looking forward to, as well as what music we followed in our local area and assorted fun things. I have no idea where the "interviews" end up, though. On the second day, I volunteered to assist another group of people needing a fourth person and that time we made it to the stage.
In total, I sung two songs (Dani California and Vasoline) and played guitar or drums on about 15-20 others, with a lot of duplication because there were some songs (Tom Sawyer, I'm looking at you) that none of us wanted to hear or sing. My thoughts on those:
- In Bloom: Nothing too hard, but overall fun for the entire band. ****
- Are You Gonna Be My Girl: One of the few songs that doesn't seem unnecessary harsh on female singers, but it didn't stand out to me. ***
- Wanted Dead or Alive: Boring for the bassist and not too hard for the lead guitar, but at least stylish. ****
- Epic: Did not play it that I recall, but lots of others did, and it looked fun.
- Tom Sawyer: Did not play, and very few others did. This one's right down there with Celebrity Skin on my looking-forward-to list.
- Vasoline: Apart from a lot of red-green-red-green repetition for the lead guitar, this is a total blast. *****
- Paranoid: Did not play. Looking forward to it, but we were about two songs away from trying it when we left the second day.
- Wave of Mutilation: Did not play--low interest song.
- Black Hole Sun: Fun to play, but very difficult for the singer to be expressive at all and still score well. ****
- Suffragete City: Rock On. We shot our video to this, and everyone had a blast. Although the bass has repetition, it's easy to get into the energy. ****
- Main Offender: Did not play--very low interest.
- Detroit Rock City: Did not play--lots of others were though and looked like they were enjoying it.
- Dani California: I never played the lead guitar on this one and my wife says it didn't really work for her, but the drums and singing were awesome for me. *****
- Say it Ain't So: This one just didn't do it for me, but I can't figure out why. ***
- Should I Stay or Should I Go: Classic song, but the lead and bass just didn't feel dynamic enough. I can't speak for singing or drums, but the lyrics are a bit repetitive. ****
Observations/things learned based on playing:
- As noted by many people, the guitar and bass just aren't as hard as what you're going to find in GH3 but that's okay because this game has something the other absolutely does not: synergy. No, not the holographic AI from Jem, but the raw energy that comes from jamming as a four-player group and everyone coming into sync. Even with total strangers, this was an incredible experience and really what is going to set Rock Band apart.
- The Strat controller is light, but it didn't affect my ability to play (those who find it moves around too much as they reach for the orange fret may indeed need to add weights); what did interfere with gameplay was the placement of the start button. It's beneath the stum bar and perilously close to the whammy. One of the ways I like to play is to strum down with my thumb while hooking my fingers to the underside of the guitar and more than a few times, I tapped the start button and froze the game, throwing everyone off in the process.
- The effects switch on the guitar is very useful and only takes effect when you have star power turned on or (I think) during solos. Flipping the switch during a song actually shows all the effects and which one you have selected. The effect isn't overpowering, but it definitely adds a certain something, especially when the effect (wah wah, echo, flange and reverb, if I recall) matches the song style.
- The drum set is lightweight, remarkably so. I'd peg it at less than five pounds. It has a similar problem with button placement though, as several buttons (including the XBox button) are located right between two pads on the left and right, which caused a few snafus when a drummer got out of control.
- Drumming is hard until you get used to it. Really hard, sometimes even on easy. Unlike with the guitar, even on easy, you will still use all four of the upper drum "pads" and the kick-pedal, you just use less of them.
- The microphone is very responsive to even minor frequency changes. Whether headsets will work as well, who knows, but it had a reassuring weight to it and sounds great. Be cautious when using it as a tambourine or cowbell, though, because the wire mesh surrounding the mic proper is not soft on whatever you strike it against. Like, you know, my hand.
- As mentioned earlier, it looks like male-sung songs will put female singers at a disadvantage unless they can really tap that lower range. Perhaps the game will have an adjustment you can turn on for female avatars to raise the pitch or something, but one of our friends has training as a singer and still wiped out on Suffragete City on hard.
- Speaking of women, attendance by the fairer sex was very high. At any given time, it seemed that 25-40% of the people playing were women.
- Wiping out in the game happens when one band member is eliminated and the others can't bring them back in time with star power (the performance bar on the left side of the screen turns red and starts moving toward the bottom.) Reviving a bandmate seems to happen automatically when two players have enough star power, so if you have someone struggling, don't blow your star power just to show off or your band may not make it. Every time a player wipes out, they get an "X" in one of three boxes. When they're eliminated a third time, they can't be brought back. I don't if they still get the countdown bar at this point. If so, then it's sudden death--better hope you're close to the end of the song.
- In addition to each individual band member, there is a total "band" meter which grades how well you are doing, and changes from green to yellow to orange to red as needed. Jam sessions at the end of the song seem to happen when this bar is full or way up there. It can be done if a player wiped out, but some serious playing has to be done to bring the band up after that happens. The only song I specifically remember getting a jam session on was Vasoline.
- After a song is completed, different descriptions may be applied to each player depending on what they achieved during the song. Here are the ones I observed and what I believe cause them:
Best Performer: Highest score contributed
Longest Streak: Self-explanatory
Serious Skills: Guitar player who nailed the solos
Savior: Player contributed the most star power to bringing back others
Authentic Strummer: Bassist who only strummed up while playing (we had to because several of the guitars wouldn't strum down properly)
Highest Energy: Player moved around the most while playing
- Want that real charged stadium atmosphere? If your band is really kicking it, the band meter will sparkle and the crowd will sing the song along with you. This may not sound like much, but trust me that it's cool when it happens.
- All of the games were running on the XBox 360, who appears to be a cosponsor of the tour according to the bumber stickers. As far as the performance of the game itself, it was great and smooth during gameplay, although the graphics appeared a little more grainy than I expected, like some sort of filter was over them to provide atmosphere. It had a lot of load time (3-4 seconds between each screen prior to playing and a lengthy bit to actually load the song itself.) It also crashed several times on the screen where everyone pushes a button to join multiplayer and we had to reset it. Although there's probably little time for the loading issue, hopefully the crashing will be fixed by release.
I was lucky enough to be able to go on Saturday and Sunday, and got in plenty of playtime as a result, so I wanted to share that experience here. First of all, if the tour is coming to your area and you have any interest in the game, you owe it to yourself to check the tour out. It's quite possibly the coolest promotion for a game ever.
My first experience with the game was sitting down to try the drums on Black Hole Sun. Knowing that I can handle GH on Hard, I figured Medium was a good starting difficulty. Bad move. I wiped out and took my fellow bandmates with me. The problem is the kick-pedal. It works fine (although you will get sore calves), but it's not something that comes naturally -- unless you're already a drummer -- and it will throw you off. A few playthroughs on Easy and I got the hang of it.
I was then approached by a group of three people who needed a fourth for their video. My wife wasn't interested so I said I'd help out. Things were going well until about a third of the way through the first song of our practice session when the drummer, an admitted complete newbie to rhythm games, left the stage in frustration over her performance. The woman with her, our lead guitarist, left a few seconds later, and unfortunately, the singer and I on bass couldn't really keep the crowd pleased. We crashed and burned. As I explained to my wife after, my band broke up before we finished our first song.
Not long after, my wife and I were joined by two friends in the area, and the four of us not only played songs but also recorded a video--though mostly just to get the free swag. The video isn't up yet (it takes about 48 houts), so I've got no link, and I'll have to preview it before adding one anyway. :) Afterward, our band was "interviewed" by a woman with a camera who asked us questions about what we thought of the game and what we were looking forward to, as well as what music we followed in our local area and assorted fun things. I have no idea where the "interviews" end up, though. On the second day, I volunteered to assist another group of people needing a fourth person and that time we made it to the stage.
In total, I sung two songs (Dani California and Vasoline) and played guitar or drums on about 15-20 others, with a lot of duplication because there were some songs (Tom Sawyer, I'm looking at you) that none of us wanted to hear or sing. My thoughts on those:
- In Bloom: Nothing too hard, but overall fun for the entire band. ****
- Are You Gonna Be My Girl: One of the few songs that doesn't seem unnecessary harsh on female singers, but it didn't stand out to me. ***
- Wanted Dead or Alive: Boring for the bassist and not too hard for the lead guitar, but at least stylish. ****
- Epic: Did not play it that I recall, but lots of others did, and it looked fun.
- Tom Sawyer: Did not play, and very few others did. This one's right down there with Celebrity Skin on my looking-forward-to list.
- Vasoline: Apart from a lot of red-green-red-green repetition for the lead guitar, this is a total blast. *****
- Paranoid: Did not play. Looking forward to it, but we were about two songs away from trying it when we left the second day.
- Wave of Mutilation: Did not play--low interest song.
- Black Hole Sun: Fun to play, but very difficult for the singer to be expressive at all and still score well. ****
- Suffragete City: Rock On. We shot our video to this, and everyone had a blast. Although the bass has repetition, it's easy to get into the energy. ****
- Main Offender: Did not play--very low interest.
- Detroit Rock City: Did not play--lots of others were though and looked like they were enjoying it.
- Dani California: I never played the lead guitar on this one and my wife says it didn't really work for her, but the drums and singing were awesome for me. *****
- Say it Ain't So: This one just didn't do it for me, but I can't figure out why. ***
- Should I Stay or Should I Go: Classic song, but the lead and bass just didn't feel dynamic enough. I can't speak for singing or drums, but the lyrics are a bit repetitive. ****
Observations/things learned based on playing:
- As noted by many people, the guitar and bass just aren't as hard as what you're going to find in GH3 but that's okay because this game has something the other absolutely does not: synergy. No, not the holographic AI from Jem, but the raw energy that comes from jamming as a four-player group and everyone coming into sync. Even with total strangers, this was an incredible experience and really what is going to set Rock Band apart.
- The Strat controller is light, but it didn't affect my ability to play (those who find it moves around too much as they reach for the orange fret may indeed need to add weights); what did interfere with gameplay was the placement of the start button. It's beneath the stum bar and perilously close to the whammy. One of the ways I like to play is to strum down with my thumb while hooking my fingers to the underside of the guitar and more than a few times, I tapped the start button and froze the game, throwing everyone off in the process.
- The effects switch on the guitar is very useful and only takes effect when you have star power turned on or (I think) during solos. Flipping the switch during a song actually shows all the effects and which one you have selected. The effect isn't overpowering, but it definitely adds a certain something, especially when the effect (wah wah, echo, flange and reverb, if I recall) matches the song style.
- The drum set is lightweight, remarkably so. I'd peg it at less than five pounds. It has a similar problem with button placement though, as several buttons (including the XBox button) are located right between two pads on the left and right, which caused a few snafus when a drummer got out of control.
- Drumming is hard until you get used to it. Really hard, sometimes even on easy. Unlike with the guitar, even on easy, you will still use all four of the upper drum "pads" and the kick-pedal, you just use less of them.
- The microphone is very responsive to even minor frequency changes. Whether headsets will work as well, who knows, but it had a reassuring weight to it and sounds great. Be cautious when using it as a tambourine or cowbell, though, because the wire mesh surrounding the mic proper is not soft on whatever you strike it against. Like, you know, my hand.
- As mentioned earlier, it looks like male-sung songs will put female singers at a disadvantage unless they can really tap that lower range. Perhaps the game will have an adjustment you can turn on for female avatars to raise the pitch or something, but one of our friends has training as a singer and still wiped out on Suffragete City on hard.
- Speaking of women, attendance by the fairer sex was very high. At any given time, it seemed that 25-40% of the people playing were women.
- Wiping out in the game happens when one band member is eliminated and the others can't bring them back in time with star power (the performance bar on the left side of the screen turns red and starts moving toward the bottom.) Reviving a bandmate seems to happen automatically when two players have enough star power, so if you have someone struggling, don't blow your star power just to show off or your band may not make it. Every time a player wipes out, they get an "X" in one of three boxes. When they're eliminated a third time, they can't be brought back. I don't if they still get the countdown bar at this point. If so, then it's sudden death--better hope you're close to the end of the song.
- In addition to each individual band member, there is a total "band" meter which grades how well you are doing, and changes from green to yellow to orange to red as needed. Jam sessions at the end of the song seem to happen when this bar is full or way up there. It can be done if a player wiped out, but some serious playing has to be done to bring the band up after that happens. The only song I specifically remember getting a jam session on was Vasoline.
- After a song is completed, different descriptions may be applied to each player depending on what they achieved during the song. Here are the ones I observed and what I believe cause them:
Best Performer: Highest score contributed
Longest Streak: Self-explanatory
Serious Skills: Guitar player who nailed the solos
Savior: Player contributed the most star power to bringing back others
Authentic Strummer: Bassist who only strummed up while playing (we had to because several of the guitars wouldn't strum down properly)
Highest Energy: Player moved around the most while playing
- Want that real charged stadium atmosphere? If your band is really kicking it, the band meter will sparkle and the crowd will sing the song along with you. This may not sound like much, but trust me that it's cool when it happens.
- All of the games were running on the XBox 360, who appears to be a cosponsor of the tour according to the bumber stickers. As far as the performance of the game itself, it was great and smooth during gameplay, although the graphics appeared a little more grainy than I expected, like some sort of filter was over them to provide atmosphere. It had a lot of load time (3-4 seconds between each screen prior to playing and a lengthy bit to actually load the song itself.) It also crashed several times on the screen where everyone pushes a button to join multiplayer and we had to reset it. Although there's probably little time for the loading issue, hopefully the crashing will be fixed by release.
