13.9.2008

WARNING: You cannot play the Wii version of Rock Band with the Guitar Hero III guitar. Only the Rock Band guitar (Wii edition), and drums for that matter (Wii edition), are compatible (both of which you will have to acquire separately - or together, along with a mic and USB hub, in the Instrument Set if you can afford it!).And now for the review (or just pros/cons!)...*****NEGATIVES*****- It's a cut-down version. Unlike the 360 and PS3 iterations of Rock Band there's no character creation, no world tour mode (the career mode), no online multiplayer, and no downloadable content (although there are additional 20-song disc-based Track Packs instead - albeit only 1 so far).- It's expensive...and to not get at least 1 guitar, the drums, and a mic is basically limiting the (absolutely brilliant) experience as a multi-player.- 'Guitar Hero: World Tour' is coming out in November, will have better drums (with raised symbols - woo!), will let you use your GH:III guitar, support online multi-player as well as downloadable content, and *hopefully* won't cost as much (although some retailers are already taking pre-orders for the Instrument Set + the game for £149.99).- If you're only likely to play it with a guitar and don't buy anything else it's just going to seem like a slightly different looking Guitar Hero (well, because it is! More so than the 360/PS3 versions as well, since there is no world tour single player mode).*****POSITIVES*****- Despite the omissions the single player is still great with just the guitar.- The drums are awesome and offer a fresh twist to the experience (at least until Guitar Hero World Tour appears!). Be prepared to get some noise-reducing drum pads though - the noise can detract from the gameplay if you don't (or can't) have the sound high.- Singing is alright too! It's thankfully a lot more forgiving and a heck of a lot less embarrassing to murder songs on this than something like SingStar or run-of-the-mill karaoke. Even if you're tone-death and can't sing for toffee it's easy to enjoy.- The song selection is superior to Guitar Hero III, and arguably more contemporary.- Multi-player has the potential to be the most fun you have ever had with a videogame and friends/family. This is not an outrageous claim either! With a full 4-player band setup (or 3 player, minus 1 guitar) and the right mix of people this can be absolutely brilliant fun - it really is one of the best party/social games available. Even when faced with complete newcomers to the genre (like your parents!) this can easily entertain just about everyone who has ever liked rock music and is open-minded enough to try!*****SUMMARY*****If you also have a 360 and/or PS3 and want Rock Band with all the bells and whistles (and by that I mean features not peripherals) then obviously you are better off getting that respective version. The Wii iteration is more limited but still immensely fun as both a single and multi-player.As with all versions of Rock Band though, the enjoyment this game is going to offer you is largely relative to how much you're willing to shell out on it. Get just a guitar and you're essentially not even getting half of the game, and although there are differences it's more of the same if you're already well versed in Guitar Hero - so you're basically spending £85-ish (game + guitar) for a new roster of songs (for this, taking into consideration the price, I'd rate it 4-star for fun / 3-stars overall). Get just the drums and you're all but guaranteed to have a blast but you have to ask yourself if the £95-ish (game + drums) is worth it (this time, 4-stars for fun / 4-stars overall). Naturally if you're unlikely to be able to play multi-player with others in person you're a bit stuck to do anything else but the aforementioned options. In this case if you're strapped for cash you may as well wait for 'Guitar Hero: World Tour'.If, however, you have a set of like-minded friends or family and can afford to go the whole hog and get at least 1 guitar, the drums, and a mic (the instrument set) - setting you back £130-ish - then the investment, while undoubtedly steep, can feel totally worth it as the co-op experience is utterly superb. This is where the game becomes 5-stars for fun / 5-stars overall! Suffice to say, if you love Guitar Hero, and have friends/family who are receptive to it (if they don't already love it too!), then this is the only way to go.The required spend is practically as much as the Wii itself but bare in mind that even when 'Guitar Hero: World Tour' hits in November the Rock Band Wii standard instrument set and game is likely to fetch an average of at least £80+ pre-owned so if you decide to sell up and move on you will be able to recoup most of the money. It should also be noted that the Rock Band peripherals will be compatible with 'Guitar Hero: World Tour', although unfortunately you won't get the full experience out of using them (i.e. the new features of the new peripherals).I guess the best advice is that if you can share the cost between a few people who are likely to be interested in this game then do it! If it's friends, you could meet up and play together and share the instruments in turn for single player if you each have a copy of the game. Not ideal, but it's a lot better than one or more of you needlessly buying the whole lot each!

10.3.2008

I had the opportunity to play this game when visiting my family and friends in the US in November. I will admit I was skeptical.. to me it sounded like a Guitar Hero rip-off/wanna-be... boy was I pleasantly surprised.Rock band is essentially the same concept as Guitar Hero but taken a step further. You not only have the guitar, but also vocals and drums. You can create a small "band" with friends or online. This makes it more interesting than Guitar Hero because you can play with up to 3 other people, which makes it a great "party" game.Some features I personally enjoyed (probably in part because I am female) was being able to create my own character,no more being forced to choose between Poser Judy Nails or Casey Lynch who needs a bit more clothing. You get to customize almost everything and can use your hard earned cash to not only purchase new instruments but clothing and accessories.The game includes one microphone, one guitar and one drum set plus sticks. You can play with 2 guitars at once however that will require purchasing another guitar OR using a wired guitar hero controller (yes! it works with Rock Band). The only issue with this is that it will require you to use a hub to connect these extra controllers. The hub is included but requires electricity and has a short wire so that can be a bit of a pain.The guitar controller for Rock Band while a bit more realistic in general appearance is harder than the controller for Guitar Hero. The fret buttons are less tactile and there are now 10 of them though you'll only have to mandatorily use 5 of them, the other 5 are for "free play" sections of songs. The strum bar is MUCH harder to strum and will take some effort. (No easy click strum bar like for the GH controller) It also allows you to set the sound of the guitar. "Star power activation"(though called something else in rock band) is still done the same as it was for guitar hero, by slightly tilting the guitar.The microphone while I did not personally use it myself seemed rather obvious. There are times when you must tap it against your hand (think cowbell) and "star power" is initiated by blowing into the microphone.The drums were probably the most fun I'll have to admit. Takes a bit more energy (naturally) to play than the other instruments and some getting used to but nothing too serious. Occasionally however a player may accidentally hit the xbox home button (located in the middle of the drum set) with the stick causing a minor annoyance when the dashboard menu pops up but otherwise no major complaint.Gameplay itself is in the same style as Guitar Hero. There are scrolling fret boards for all instruments except the microphone. When playing in a full session with 3 other players the vocals will scroll across the top of the screen with lyrics.The fret boards are less visually appealing than Guitar Hero. Instead of easy to see colored circles, you have instead smaller thinner colored rectangles, the drummer has a bold line that will horizontally cross the board when they need to push the bass pedal that is not very obvious. Players have "star power" but it works differently. Only guitars can store the star power and use it whenever they desire. The vocals and drums have to hit a streak of notes and will be given a self activated "star power".At the end of the song all players will receive a kind of reward for what they did best and the percentage of how much of a solo they performed perfectly well will be displayed.All in all Rock Band is a great game and I look forward to it's European Release.In regards to the recent talk of price.. Europeans will ALWAYS pay more for video games.Sadly this is a fact in regards to all games.. EU will ALWAYS pay more.Why? In my opinion simple laziness.. basically they just take the price of what they charge in the US and add a Euro or GBP sign to it and there's your price.. it's not unique at all to rock band.The biggest rip off was the PS3 in my opinion.. charging 600 USD and then selling it for 600 euros in Europe. And with the value of the dollar lately that's a HUGE rip off.Anyway if you look around you'll find almost all games, gaming subscriptions etc are this way.. It's really not fair and has no real reason in my opinion but that is just the way things are. Don't take it as a fault of the game itself.. Rock Band is still a great game.. it's a shame about the price but you can't say it is only that way with EA games or Rock Band.

22.4.2008

No, I haven't played this yet. But neither have 99% of other people reviewing this game here, so why shouldn't I express my opinion too?Yeah, the price is steep, but if you were expecting something close to the US price, you were bound for disappointment anyway. And yeah, even if you were expecting a price hike, this is still a bit over the top. But decide for yourself if you're willing to pay this price (I certainly am.)The game itself will have just under 60 tracks on the disc, 8 or 9 of which are 'exclusive' to European versions. That's a decent number of tracks, but I remember buying GH2 Solus on PS2 for '25 when it came out, that that game has, what, 70 songs on it?But Rock Band is so much more than Guitar Hero, what with the inclusion of drums and vocals, the never-ending Band World Tour, and linear, GH-style single-player modes for all parts except bass (which I understand only has quickplay for solo play.) So although there are fewer songs on the disc, there's so much more gameplay. That about justifies the price for me.Many professional reviews state that, as far as guitar goes, Rock Band is considerably easier than Guitar Hero 3. See for yourself though - check out some of the many expert videos on YouTube and decide if the charts are challenging yourself. And remember, this is Harmonix making the game, not Neversoft, so if you prefer the charts of GH1 and 2, chances are Rock Band will seem like a welcome return home after the fun but slightly too stressful holiday that was GH3.Don't judge the game just by the guitar, though - there are drums, too! Some say that playing drums on expert is just like playing real drums; others say they're nothing alike. But one thing's for sure - they look incredibly fun and incredibly hard! As for singing... Well, you either like to sing or you don't.Lastly, there's downloadable content. Weekly. And often cheaply. Songs will average at just over '1 per track, with small discounts if you buy songs in a pack as opposed to individually. Is that value for money? Well, better value than Guitar Hero DLC.There's so much choice, too! You'll never get bored with Rock Band's track list because there'll always be some awesome new songs availiable for download. Whole albums are just starting to be released now, too. Boston's self-titled debut album is almost there in its entirety (just Let Me Take You Home Tonight is missing, at the moment...) and Screaming for Vengance by Judas Priest will be available in time for the UK release. If neither of those tickle your fancy though, you can be assured Harmonix will give one of your favourite albums or artists the Rock Band treatment eventually.Personally, I'm gonna give GTAIV a miss so I can save for this, cos it's gonna be worth the money. Even if you can't afford the Band in a Box, just buy the game and pretend it's another Guitar Hero (if you already own a guitar) then by the drums at a later date.I acknowledge the fact that I'll be a total mug paying '40 for the game, '100 for instruments then another '40 for downloadable songs, but I'll be a mug who owns Rock Band, and that's the best kind of mug a man could ever hope to be.

24.6.2008

I know there has been a lot of criticism about the price of this game. Yes it does cost a lot to buy but then new games usually do. But I weigh the price against how good the game is and what you actually get for your money. I bought this game together with rock band in a box and together they weren't too bad in price. I only saw the game advertised in a magazine a day before I bought it as had not heard of it before. I thought I would get it for my other half as a pseudo father day present from our pets. For anyone who hasn't played guitar hero, which it is exactly like, here is an over view of the game.Basically with the guitar part you can use either set of fret buttons ( I like the fact it has two sets,one for smaller hands and one regular set. I have small hands and have found it difficult in guitar hero to play very well in the medium and higher levels) I would recommend going through the tutorials if you are new to it. If you are not I wouldn't bother as you don't get an achievement for completeing them. To play you watch the screen and you see a kneck of a guitar appear and gradually coloured notes will travel along this kneck. When it reaches the bar you play the corresponding fret key on the guitar controller. For the easy level you just use 3 keys and for the higher levels you have to use more. I am still getting used to the extra notes. For playing the drums it is pretty much the same. The only difference being is that you just have four drums to play and the drums each have a colour which corresponds to the note on the screen. Plus you do get a long thin orange note which represents the kick drum. You get a peddle which attachs to the rest of the drum kit. With the vocals you use the mic and a regular xbox controller. If you want to sing and play an instrument you can use a normal xbox headset. The words to the song move across the screen and you have to sing at the proper pitch when the words hit the bar at the side of the screen. Also when the guitarist goes off on one in a solo you have the option of a tamborine which you can play by just banging your hand against the mic when the little black notes move across the screen. You don't have to do this and it won't affect your score. As neither of us can sing to save our lives this is the only part of the game we have had problems with.All in all I would give this the thumbs up and would especially recommend this to people who have played the guitar hero games. It expands on those games and in my opinion is more fun, especially as you can play with more friends and get a band going. It has great tunes to play and sing along to. A good mixture of the classics and some new stuff.Personally I would ignore the stuff about the price and just buy it, you won't regret it. Just be warned that it can be addictive, me and partner have stayed up all night a few times on the band world tour!

6.2.2008

I have to say that I was sceptical about this game: I do actually play guitar and I figured that this wouldn't be my cup of tea at all. However, one of my mates borrowed it off a relative who bought it in the States and we all trooped round for a crack.Initially, I felt a bit self conscious with the singing and I found the guitar very unnatural and I imagine most guitarists will feel the same to start with. The drums too are a bit odd as I used to play those too and the normal style of play is to hit the high hat with the right hand and the snare with the left, the right hand being above and crossing over the left. In Rock Band the layout means you have to play the snare with your right and high hat with the left.

26.3.2008

Me and my flatmates recently got a chance to give Rock Band a test drive by our local indie games shop who were drumming up pre-orders for the imminent (we hope) UK release.We weren't actually briefed on the controls beyond "There's the guitar, the drums, use the joypad to control the person with the mic" and so we jumped in from there with myself on the guitar (as the most proficient Hero of the flat)Ben on vocals and Chris on drums. It was an initial disaster with both Ben and Chris failing relatively quickly and myself trying hard to maintain the status quo on a guitar that feels nothing like the Guitar Hero microswitch design.So we switched out, with myself on the drums for a while,

2.6.2008

Yes that's right. I'm saying Rock Band is great value for money, even with all the peripheral costs.I would say that in the past 10 days, Rock Band has given myself and my wife 40 - 50 hours of entertainment. Even at full market value thats around £3.50 per hour. In another 10 days, we would have paid around £1.75 per hour of entertainment.Compare that to:Rock Concert : £40 for 60 - 120 minutesFootball Match : £40 - £90 for 90 minutesCinema Ticket : £7.50 for roughly 120 minutesNow yes we pay more than the US for RB, but we also pay more for petrol, houses, cars, iTunes, MS Points, McDonalds meals and just about anything else you care to mention.Right that's that over with.

20.7.2008

Since I'm reviewing the game itself, I would say that the price of the peripherals is terrible, but if you should choose to boycott it, the developers may cancel further shipping.I rate the game a 5 star in terms of fun. The guitar segments of the game have a guitar-hero feel, with improved bass gameplay to suit the backups in your new virtual band. Single player is therefore essentially Guitar Hero, minus the encores and purchased bonus songs (you must complete a bonus setlist to unlock these).Fans of any songs in the game will definately enjoy vocals, even though working through the single player vocals can be tiring,

11.11.2010

Alright, so people have been complaining about the price, £180, which is admittedly hard to swallow but what you're getting for the price is not just the game (or I would certainly hope it isnt just the game)You get:-A Fender Stratocaster plastic guitar-Drums-A Mic-The GameNow, you're probably thinking "so why should I shell out £180 if I'm only getting three peripherals", well, I'll tell you why. This game is AMAZING as both a single player and party game, it includes a vast array of songs, and also features downloadable songs which you can use to expand the music library, the instruments are about as well made as you can get, with the exception of the guitar, which feels a bit cheap.

24.5.2008

There are already plenty of comments about pricing so I want to quickly get it out of the way that I agree that it's a rip off.Personally I think if you want this game you should consider what instruments you may already have, e.g. I already have a Guitar Hero 3 Les Paul controller, and a Live headset which allows you to do vocals (just plug into a seperate controller). The drums would be nice but I already have 2 out of 4 instruments and will only playing on my own anyway so I'm happy with that. I may buy the drums someday if they go down in price. Therefore I only bought the game disc.Even playing on my own as lead guitarist I found this game brilliant,

13.1.2009

I have been playing Guitar Hero for some time now, so when I saw Rock Band I thought it would be fun. I currently use the Kramer guitar I got with Guitar Hero 3, and it works a treat on Rock Band.Most of the songs on here are very well known, which is a relief if you're really not a big rocker, like myself. I really enjoyed playing Nirvana's In Bloom, The Killers anthem When You Were Young and The Beastie Boys' Sabotage, which is still one of my favourite crossover tracks.The gameplay is a bit simple in easy mode though, and with my dexterity I find medium a bit tricky (finding it hard to reach for the blue and orange keys) - so I managed to complete Rock Band in around an hour in easy mode,

26.5.2008

I you include price I would give this game around 2 stars, as it is far too steep at RRP, though if you can get it for £35.00 and the instruments edition for £100.00, then buy a Les Paul Guitar Hero guitar for £45.00, giving you the complete Guitar, Bass, Mic and Drums kit with the game, like me for £180, its not that bad, around £40 - £50 too much for my liking, maybe scraping a low 4 stars.Gameplay wise, i cant fault this game, an easy 5 stars, and because of DLC to come in the future, you may never tire of this expensive piece of kit. First night I got this, my mates and I were rocking all night, not stopping the Band World Tour once.The game looks good too, unlike Guitar Hero's try hard visuals,

25.8.2008

This game is simply amazing. In my view much better than Guitar Hero. Why?The amount of content available for download is outstanding, they release at least 3 new songs every week and throw in an album every now and then. Plus the tracks are cheaper than Guitar Hero tracks (and you're getting 4x you're moneys worth due to the amount of instruments).The gameplay is better, everything you wish Guitar Hero did back in the day Rock Band does and so much more; for instance the goofy circular dome things that represent notes in Guitar Hero are replace with sleaker and more precise bar.Compatibility. Every guitar for GH will work on Rockband but not vice versa (GH refused to do this so Activision are to blame).

23.5.2008

First of all, I totally agree with the reviews on here - the overall price tag for the instruments and the game itself is ridiculous, and will probably lose EA a lot of orders. I would personally not get the whole kit + game for the current price.However, I am lucky enough to own both a 'Guitar Hero' guitar-controller, plus a 'Singstar' USB microhphone. Therefore, I was able to just buy the drum kit for 70 quid, plus the game, which alltogether came to about £110. Although this is still expensive, I'm glad I was able to not buy the whole instrument set. Also, whenever I need an extra guitar for bass or rhythm, i can simply ask one of my mates to bring over their own Guitar Hero controller.After only playing the game on the drum kit for a few hours today,

31.3.2008

First off when the package finally arrived it cost me the better part of £140 ... half of that was shipping so unless you're busting a gut for someone's birthday present I'd definately wait for the UK release.Bit of advice when you first get the box. The guitar needs some force to clip the head onto the neck ... this is normal apparently. The drum kit itself is excellent quality and comes complete with real wooden drumsticks. They set up nicely and sitting on a simple desk chair will suffice to play it. The microphhone is also good quality so overall in terms of periphherals I was really impressed.Once the game was loaded it was simple to select the tutorials and I was able to make my way through the tutorials fairly easily,

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