Best Buy Demo Visit.

[McDeezy]

First I wanna say that the guitar felt cheap. Honestly it really felt like it was built with bad stuff. The neck was very flimsy and it twisted very easy. I'm really hoping that it was like that just because it was a demo unit. The strum bar is beautiful though. I absolutely loved that. Buttons on the neck work great.

The drums seemed like they didn't respond at times. A lot of the people around me said the same thing. I played about 6 songs. It got better towards the end but it seemed like you had to slam them. Maybe it was just bad hardware.

I beat Tom Sawyer on Expert. Was really really easy. I could do it with the bass pedal no problem. Also the solo that was mapped on expert was like it was on easy. Very dissappointed there. Although, maybe they changed the solo in the cover to compensate for that but I could barely hear out of the 1cm speakers.

From What I remember the songs were

Wanted Dead or Alive
Main Offender
Say It Ain't So
Black Hole Sun
Are you gonna be my girl
Suffragette City
Tom Sawyer
In Bloom
Should I stay or should I go
Wanted Dead or Alive
Wave of Mutilation
Dani California
Vasoline


Some Pics.

<img src="http://i9.tinypic.com/5xsnt6x.jpg" border="0">

<img src="http://i11.tinypic.com/4m2fbzd.jpg" border="0">
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This picture I look retarted because I was trying sooo hard not to laugh but do a cheesy cheesy smile.

<img src="http://i4.tinypic.com/4qpt9w5.jpg" border="0">

[skyehill]

Played it today too. The guitar is a huge letdown. I disagree with you about the strum bar. It's just mushy. Not clicking, just mush. Bleh.

I was also letdown by how easy the guitar portions were on expert.

[dragulaAC]

I agree with you on the flimsy neck, i noticed that myself immediately after inspecting it. Really the only thing about it that seemed 'cheap' to me. If people wanted to pay over $100 per item, I'm sure they'd have no problem making it sturdier, but I don't see that happening. Either we'll complain about something perfect being too expensive, or we'll complain about something cheap not being perfect. However, I basically just assume, ok I don't really plan on twisting the neck all that often, plus i take care of my belongings, so i don't have an issue with it being like that. Also, I personally wouldn't base the quality of something that is accessible to the masses, as the majority of people don't have respect for others' property. Never really know how they treat the instruments, or could have some really lil kids having a blast hanging on the drums or something, never know.

I still need to go back tonite and try out the drums WITH sticks. Monday, there weren't any drumsticks out and i was pissed, as were my knuckles/fingertips. So I'll be demanding them tonite. I'm assuming you're a drummer if you had no difficulty beating Tom Sawyer on expert.

[McDeezy]

I agree with you on the flimsy neck, i noticed that myself immediately after inspecting it. Really the only thing about it that seemed 'cheap' to me. If people wanted to pay over $100 per item, I'm sure they'd have no problem making it sturdier, but I don't see that happening. Either we'll complain about something perfect being too expensive, or we'll complain about something cheap not being perfect. However, I basically just assume, ok I don't really plan on twisting the neck all that often, plus i take care of my belongings, so i don't have an issue with it being like that. Also, I personally wouldn't base the quality of something that is accessible to the masses, as the majority of people don't have respect for others' property. Never really know how they treat the instruments, or could have some really lil kids having a blast hanging on the drums or something, never know.

I still need to go back tonite and try out the drums WITH sticks. Monday, there weren't any drumsticks out and i was pissed, as were my knuckles/fingertips. So I'll be demanding them tonite. I'm assuming you're a drummer if you had no difficulty beating Tom Sawyer on expert.

Yup I have been playing for along time.

[capitalfn9]

the neck twisted really easily? why the hell are you trying to twist the neck to begin with? you dont have to give the freakin thing a death grip so you can play it correctly. overall this game is almost too much fun, i thought i had been playing for like 45 mins at best buy and it was 3 hours. give me some GnR for DLC and it will be complete.

[McDeezy]

I was just feeling the guitar out and I noticed it. In terms of durability the GH3 guitar is fock solid compared to rockbands. The game is a blast absolutley amazing.

[admanimal]

As long as the guitar doesn't break under normal use, I don't see what the big deal is with it being light and "feeling" cheap. It looks awesome and plays fine...

[MartyMcFly]

I don't know. I played the guitar on the Rock Band tour and it was awesome. I think everyone's opinion that the guitar is too flimsy is just because people have probably tried to beat the hell out of it.

You, yourself just said you could twist the neck. You know why? Probably because some idiot did it even worse on purpose.

Wait till you purchase your own Strat to make these reviews. You can't trust a demo peripheral, of course it's gonna be beaten to hell.

You also said you beat Tom Sawyer on Expert with ease. But there was no pedal right? Trust me, the pedal changes everything.

[AVC808]

I don't know. I played the guitar on the Rock Band tour and it was awesome. I think everyone's opinion that the guitar is too flimsy is just because people have probably tried to beat the hell out of it.

You, yourself just said you could twist the neck. You know why? Probably because some idiot did it even worse on purpose.

Wait till you purchase your own Strat to make these reviews. You can't trust a demo peripheral, of course it's gonna be beaten to hell.

You also said you beat Tom Sawyer on Expert with ease. But there was no pedal right? Trust me, the pedal changes everything.

i agree with a lot of what you said. the thing about the pedal though, that doesnt really apply to experienced drummers, which is what he says he is. i know i will be struggling though. everytime ive messed around on the drums i couldnt get it down.
i still find it difficult to play guitar and sing at the same time.

on another note, i really dont think this warranted it's own thread. you should have put it in the best buy demo impressions thread. i call AW :p

[sporkBrigade]

Played it today too. The guitar is a huge letdown. I disagree with you about the strum bar. It's just mushy. Not clicking, just mush. Bleh.

I was also letdown by how easy the guitar portions were on expert.

I think the strum bar is going to come down to preference. I've hated the clicky guitar hero strum bar from day one. As soon as I started hearing people ***** about "Mushy" strum bars, I was convinced Jesus had heard my prayers and had personally joined the Harmonix team to design the new guitars just for little ol' me. Good old JC, he's always got my back.

As for twisty necks, I actually wonder if this is a size issue. The GH3 guiars are sturdier, but aren't they also smaller/shorter? Seems to me the longer you try to make that neck while still using plastic, the wobblier it's going to get. Either way, that is dissapointing to hear, and I'll bet the final guitars will be the same. Way too close to release date for anything drastic to change.

[xenopherus]

WOO!! I'm excited to hear the expert settings are so easy. Personally, I hate that much of a challenge. Playing a song I really dislike over and over just to beat it (on GH 1&2 expert setting) gets infuriating at times. I like the feeling that I'm not just playing a game, but actually kicking @$$ playing the guitar, but the harder it gets the more I feel like I'm playing the game for what it is: matching up tons of rapidly falling buttons at the right time. A lot of GH songs are more enjoyable to play at medium settings in my opinion. I don't like being overwhelmed and I'm hoping the simpler "expert" difficulty setting for RB stays how it is when it ships.

[Bakkster]

As for twisty necks, I actually wonder if this is a size issue. The GH3 guiars are sturdier, but aren't they also smaller/shorter? Seems to me the longer you try to make that neck while still using plastic, the wobblier it's going to get. Either way, that is dissapointing to hear, and I'll bet the final guitars will be the same. Way too close to release date for anything drastic to change.

GH guitars: thick, short neck
RB guitar: long, thin neck

Basic statics tells you the RB guitar is going to be weaker. I never felt I would break it, though.


WOO!! I'm excited to hear the expert settings are so easy. Personally, I hate that much of a challenge. Playing a song I really dislike over and over just to beat it (on GH 1&2 expert setting) gets infuriating at times. I like the feeling that I'm not just playing a game, but actually kicking @$$ playing the guitar, but the harder it gets the more I feel like I'm playing the game for what it is: matching up tons of rapidly falling buttons at the right time. A lot of GH songs are more enjoyable to play at medium settings in my opinion. I don't like being overwhelmed and I'm hoping the simpler "expert" difficulty setting for RB stays how it is when it ships.

I wouldn't say expert is easy. Tom Sawyer on drums is still mostly 16th notes on the hi-hat and the snare on 2 and 4. Standard drum pattern (mostly). If you can make it through the fills without failing, you should pass it.

I think what you're referring to is that the songs aren't hard for the sake of being hard. They didn't record a 2 minute-long drum solo that's entirely 32nd notes. They just kept the song as is, which I agree is awesome.

[masterx1918]

1-the guitar is made of plastic, so of course it's gonna feel cheap.

2-I can guarentee that you won't be able to beat Tom Sawyer on expert with the bass pedal. The bass pedal is probably the hardest part of the drums. Imagine having to play the guitar with multiple different strum bars. Yeah it's that hard.

[McDeezy]

1-the guitar is made of plastic, so of course it's gonna feel cheap.

2-I can guarentee that you won't be able to beat Tom Sawyer on expert with the bass pedal. The bass pedal is probably the hardest part of the drums. Imagine having to play the guitar with multiple different strum bars. Yeah it's that hard.

I can play tom sawyer on the drums in real life.

And my bestbuy had the pedal but no mic.

[barooboodoo]

eh mcdeezy which bestbuy is that? i haven't heard of any of the BB's with the pedal

[McDeezy]

Northeast Philadelphia on Roosevelt BLVD. Its all the way in the back next to GH3 on a TINY screen. The guy that works there was playing and I went up and I asked why is the pedal on it becuase I heard its not supposed to be on here and he said "Well we got it and I hooked it up" and we laughed. No chair though so it was pretty hard. Not sure if it was there for that day but I hope it stays there I'm going back tommorow.

[barooboodoo]

well it's on the other side of the country for me but at least i get to wait till it comes out for the full experience ya kno?

[McDeezy]

well it's on the other side of the country for me but at least i get to wait till it comes out for the full experience ya kno?

Oh yea definetly I understand.

[skyehill]

I think the strum bar is going to come down to preference. I've hated the clicky guitar hero strum bar from day one. As soon as I started hearing people ***** about "Mushy" strum bars, I was convinced Jesus had heard my prayers and had personally joined the Harmonix team to design the new guitars just for little ol' me. Good old JC, he's always got my back.

As for twisty necks, I actually wonder if this is a size issue. The GH3 guiars are sturdier, but aren't they also smaller/shorter? Seems to me the longer you try to make that neck while still using plastic, the wobblier it's going to get. Either way, that is dissapointing to hear, and I'll bet the final guitars will be the same. Way too close to release date for anything drastic to change.

The flimsiness isn't due to the fact that it's longer than GH3's guitar. It's that they chose to use thinner plastic. GH3's guitar feels rock solid. I wish I could say the same for the RB guitar. The game however is a blast to play in a group setting. When I was playing alone, it was rather boring though because the difficulty of the guitar parts just wasn't there. This is definitely more of a party game than GH.

[skyehill]

1-the guitar is made of plastic, so of course it's gonna feel cheap.

2-I can guarentee that you won't be able to beat Tom Sawyer on expert with the bass pedal. The bass pedal is probably the hardest part of the drums. Imagine having to play the guitar with multiple different strum bars. Yeah it's that hard.

GH3's guitar is made of plastic. It doesn't feel cheap.

[CENACHAINGANG54]

I was just feeling the guitar out and I noticed it. In terms of durability the GH3 guitar is fock solid compared to rockbands. The game is a blast absolutley amazing.

Although the GHIII Les Paul is very solid, it also has it's problems!!! Buttons not working, Game not sinking, hitting the yellow and the green and it lighting up the red. Harmonix should have never given this game up to Activision!! Although the game itself is good there are too many problems if you have not heard! So I am hoping that Rock Bands Website will be 100% functional on the release day. People still cannot link to the GHIII site which is www.guitarhero.com. If you can then your scores are all wrong and where you live is alsoo wrong! So befoe you go praising the solidness of thier guitar know the problems first. Because in all honesty I think all of us that has been having problems would go for a flemsy guitar if that meant being able to play the game with no problems!

[bounchfx]

when I played RB at the tour I thought the neck felt flimsy, and was unsure how I liked it.

after using it more, I freaking love it, and when I played it at best buy and felt the neck again, I swear the GH3/GH3 necks sway more, it's just that you never try to see their actual resistance, and from my most recent visit the RB controller was not only the most solid but the most comfortable. The only thing to really get used to is the button layout as they are closer together and bigger, so it's quite a difference.

[JohnnyFAS]

the neck twisted really easily? why the hell are you trying to twist the neck to begin with? you dont have to give the freakin thing a death grip so you can play it correctly. overall this game is almost too much fun, i thought i had been playing for like 45 mins at best buy and it was 3 hours. give me some GnR for DLC and it will be complete.

Yeah, this game bends time. I remember telling a guy who showed up after me that I'd been there for about 20 minutes. I later realized it was an hour. Not as long as your experience, but I definitely agree with you. Spoooooky...

[JohnnyFAS]

when I played RB at the tour I thought the neck felt flimsy, and was unsure how I liked it.

after using it more, I freaking love it, and when I played it at best buy and felt the neck again, I swear the GH3/GH3 necks sway more, it's just that you never try to see their actual resistance, and from my most recent visit the RB controller was not only the most solid but the most comfortable. The only thing to really get used to is the button layout as they are closer together and bigger, so it's quite a difference.

I definitely think it's easier to twist GH guitars. My SGs were like butter. With the same force applied to the Strat, I couldn't twist it at all. Obviously if I had used more force it would have, but I didn't even need that much for the SGs. The strat passed my test.