Rock Band

[Pandaren]

Anybody else get Rock Band, came out last Tuesday for the PS3 and 360, one of the best games ever!!! Guitar Hero 3 ain't got nothing on Rock Band. Got 133 Stars in group tour. I'm Guitarist, and my two sisters have vocals an drums.


Anybody else's thoughts.


Wait, need a mod to move this to gaming section.

Edt: @V You actually use real drumsticks, and the....thing you step on, the big drum, forget what it's called though.

[Shas aia Toriia]

Yay drums!

Actually, I don't have Rock Band, but I do paly the drums, so. . . yeah.

[FdL]

Neat. But I play guitar and bass IRL, and I got a Casio LD80 digital drumset, so it's pretty much like the game. Except, erm, I can play any song I like (more or less, I still can't coordinate my kick drum with everything else :p)

[Green Bean]

This should probably be in the Gaming (Other Games) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=26) board.

[evisiron]

I was looking at the official site (http://www.rockband.com/). It looks pretty good, but the guitar seems about the same. Is there any point getting this if you already have guitar hero?

[Stick_Ninja]

Different songs and multi-play, as far as I understand it.:smallwink:

[evisiron]

Good point :smallbiggrin:

Can you use the GH controller with RB? Normally I would not ask, but I heard rumours...

[BizzaroStormy]

Yes, both games are made by Red octane and its been confirmed that the GH controllers can be used with rock band. The Xbox 360's headset can also be used as the microphone...if you dont mind looking like you're in a boy band :eek:

[Amotis]

I like part when you can sing/say/yell anything on vocal star power and still get points.

Somehow vocal dive bombs, massive cookiemonster cuss fests, chocolate rain, gregorian chants, and farts always find their way in there.

[Vaynor]

This game is very fun. Drums take some getting used to. I like the new rock out part, where you just hit anything for lots of points. Overall, great game.

[High-Chancellor]

I hereby dub Rock Band to be better than guitar hero.

I mean, not only do you have your guitar part... but you can also do purely vocal or drum. And it's even more awesome when you have a full band for multiplay.

\m/, Rock on! ,\m/

I do admit, I like a lot of the guitar hero songs better... but rock band is sure to come out with more good ones in the future.

All in all, a very solid game.


I need to find some way to do vocals and drums at the same time without going insane though.

[SDF]

It's our generations karaoke.

I'm still more concerned about getting better with the actual guitar though. Then I'll get famous and play some disjointed solo in an obscure time signature just to mess with the beat games.

[Pandaren]

This should probably be in the Gaming (Other Games) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=26) board.

Yes, edited in already in first post, but thanks.


wait, should put that in thead name....woops.

*********
Yes you can use GH controller, hehe...boy band......

[Sneak]

I may pick this up when it comes out for PS2.

I don't really know any of the songs on RB, but it know it has at least one song I like. Plus, there's more multiplayer fun, and just the fact that it's not solely guitar-based.

I think it's pretty expensive, though, if I remember correctly.

—

@^: Does the GH3 controller work with Rock Band? And does the Rock Band guitar controller work with GH3?

[Lord Shplane]

I'd probably get GH3 instead. Just 'cause that's how I roll.

[Sneak]

I'd probably get GH3 instead. Just 'cause that's how I roll.

How you rock and roll, you mean.

[Behold_the_Void]

God do I want this game.

[ArtifexFelicis]

Having played both, I HIGHLY prefer Rock Band. Mostly because of the character customization, they fact they don't look drugged out of their mind unless you want them to, as well as the song list. The songs themselves are varied and are from Beastie Boys to Fallout Boy, but there's a good number of them. The online I haven't tried yet, but seems good.

I suppose the main reason to get it over Guitar Hero is simple. The GH guitars work for it, so you can just buy the game standalone, and from there play it awesomely. Of course, the instruments, in my opinion, are better then the 360 ones that came with Guitar Hero. Only minor problems with Star Power with the Fender guitar for Rock Band.

Course, I am sad there is no Gibson, and from there no Firebird, in the game.

[evisiron]

It's our generations karaoke.

I'm still more concerned about getting better with the actual guitar though. Then I'll get famous and play some disjointed solo in an obscure time signature just to mess with the beat games.

Or...

http://xkcd.com/70/

[Remember to hover for umm.. 'hover-tag']

[CockroachTeaParty]

My roommates and I have recently acquired this game, and it is stupid amounts of fun. I'm on vocals, my roomies are on drums and guitar, and we've a friend who comes over occasionally and plays bass.

I was skeptical about the whole singing into a mike thing, but it's surprisingly deep, and it can take me a while to master a song, especially one I don't know. It also gives my vocal chords a good work out. I can only play for so long before needing to give my voice a rest. I feel bad for groups that lack someone with decent singing ability. It would suck for tone deaf folks.

Also, the character customization is a no-brainer, and should have been in previous Guitar Hero games before.

All in all, it's lots of fun. It's only a matter of time before we get noise complaints from our neighbors, but oh well. Also, it's friggin' expensive. Glad I didn't pay a dime. I'm such a leech. :smallamused:

[ElfLad]

I have a hard time deciding which is most awesome between playing drum fills or tapping out solos on the guitar.

Vocal freeforms are pretty cool, but for the most part I'm too tone-deaf to venture past Easy.

Also, almost every song is good. I didn't like the Hole song, but even the Fall Out Boy song was surprisingly decent. Also, Boston, Iron Maiden, Deep Purple, The Who, Rolling Stones? Yes, PLEASE.


Also, I bought a 360 just so I could get the downloadable content for this game. If anything could make this game more awesome, pre-Black Album Metallica, CCR, Wolfmother, and My Sharona are right up there.

[Raistlin1040]

Haven't got it yet (Too expensive), but it's on my Christmas list. I did manage to play In Bloom 3 times (Vocals, Guitar, Drums) at my friend's house before his brother kicked us out. I like it a lot. Vocals and drums take some getting used too, but it's cool. Everyone who says its WAYYYYYY!!! better than Guitar Hero is getting a bit ahead of themselves though. Both have their virtues, and I'd probably play them both equally if I had got Rock Band back when I got Guitar Hero.

As it is, I've almost completed Expert Career, and almost 5-starred all of Hard (6 songs to go!) so I'll probably devote a lot of time to Rock Band when I get it. Although, I have to say, a game about being a successful band without the Beatles? I mean come on? I understand it for Guitar Hero, but for a game about being a band? Sketchy.

[evisiron]

Also, I bought a 360 just so I could get the downloadable content for this game. If anything could make this game more awesome, pre-Black Album Metallica, CCR, Wolfmother, and My Sharona are right up there.

Do you have to pay extra for the downloadable stuff?

And if that is the case... why have it out for release date? The dark days of 'less game on purchase- pay us more for the rest' are fast approaching...

[Supagoof]

Rock Band is uber-fun. Went and bought it because I was a GH junkie (yep, got em all) and also being a musician whose primary instruments was not guitars (piano, percussion, and tenor singer), I was deeply impressed with how well the drums and microphone work. I still have the problem of the drums sliding forward on the Rock Band set as I do with my own (which I use a rug to slow down, but anyway...). I'm surprised at how much of a beating the drums can take, having busted one stick on them already. :smallbiggrin: I did it on purpose (figured I could exchange the game as defective before the 30 day return was up with little headache), but still, very impressive. Only wish it was a bit quieter - softer drum pads might have helped reduce instrument noise over game music.

And yeah, there's nothing more fun then customizing your characters in your band to "match" you in life, and the introduction before a show just make my friends and I go crazy. This was the game that forced me to upgrade to 360 (previously had no current gen of gaming systems ps2 & xbox & gamecube). Well, not really forced but got me past the "don't spend too much money on video games" promise I made to my wife. And since she's not great at button pushing, her on vocals was a big sell. A lot of fun - and worth buying.

One drawback - the RB guitar doesn't work backwards with GH2. I haven't tried it with GH3 yet, as I don't have GH3 for 360, but I'll let you know when I am able too. It's much nicers having a larger guitar to play on, and the controls are much smoother to operate. Less "clicks" of the guitars = more music while you rock out. Now the battle for which series has the better songs will commence, and since Rock Band has a lot more to offer, I have a feeling GH will slowly fade from existance. Really, RB is GH + (insert all the extras) so how does GH intend to keep pace? it will just be a matter of time before RB adds in the extra battle features GH3 did in head to head.....

All in all, fantastic game.

edit: Bummer, the Rock Band guitar doesn't work with any Guitar Hero game! Tested it with GH3 last night.

[Joran]

Yes, both games are made by Red octane and its been confirmed that the GH controllers can be used with rock band. The Xbox 360's headset can also be used as the microphone...if you dont mind looking like you're in a boy band

Not quite: Red Octane used to be the publisher and Harmonix used to be the developer for Guitar Hero. Red Octane was bought out by Activision and Harmonix got bought out by MTV; Red Octane came out with Guitar Hero 3 and Harmonix came out with Rock Band. They are now competing companies and are somewhat annoyed with each other.

The Xbox 360 Guitar Hero 3 controller works with Rock Band, but the PS3 Guitar Hero 3 controller does not work with Rock Band... It gets confusing and annoying what works with what.

That said, Rock Band is basically Guitar Hero + Karoake Revolution + Drums all in one. Character creation is pretty deep and the instruments are all extremely fun to play; drums particularly shine because of the solid drum peripheral and the fact that it isn't a copy off of a previous Harmonix game.

Love the game and will want to play it more. The price of $160 is a bit steep though...

[Archpaladin Zousha]

My opinion is that if you've got enough time to waste playing something like Rock Band or Guitar Hero, then you can spend that time learning to play a real instrument, which is more productive (you might even make some money off it too). Of course this is mostly my brother's opinion. He's the more musical of us, what with his electric guitar, acoustic guitar, mandolin, tin whistle, french horn, piano, accordion, bagpipes, etc.

[Joran]

My opinion is that if you've got enough time to waste playing something like Rock Band or Guitar Hero, then you can spend that time learning to play a real instrument, which is more productive (you might even make some money off it too).

Except that it takes much more practice and work to learn to play an instrument than to simulate it. This is something I can easily pick up and play for a good 3-4 hours with my friends back on vacation.

If I tried to start a garage band with my friends, 3-4 hours isn't going to get much done.

If you are spending 20 some hours per week on it, then by all means, you can probably get good at an instrument. If you're playing 3-4 hours a week, no chance in heck, unless you're already gifted in music; 10 years of futility in music lessons taught me this.

[evisiron]

My opinion is that if you've got enough time to waste playing something like Rock Band or Guitar Hero, then you can spend that time learning to play a real instrument, which is more productive (you might even make some money off it too). Of course this is mostly my brother's opinion. He's the more musical of us, what with his electric guitar, acoustic guitar, mandolin, tin whistle, french horn, piano, accordion, bagpipes, etc.

To your brother (mostly): http://www.ctrlaltdel-online.com/comic.php?d=20070509

Anyway, does anyone know how much you have to pay for the online available songs?

Also, can you play Vs in Rock Band?

[Archpaladin Zousha]

To your brother (mostly): http://www.ctrlaltdel-online.com/comic.php?d=20070509

Thing is, he used to play games (Zelda, Fable, Age of Empires III and such), but now he says he doesn't have time for games, since practicing takes up all of his time. And he actually enjoys practicing. Leave him in the living room for five minutes and he'll be on the piano bench with Bach or Beethoven in front of him, or downstairs on his guitar playing "Whiskey in the Jar". Plus, I doubt he'll start playing games anytime soon, since he plans to study music therapy when he leaves for college next year.

[Shades of Gray]

You are all so lucky. The game hasn't come out yet in Canada. And I'm leaving for Vacation the day berfore it comes out:smallfrown:

[evisiron]

Thing is, he used to play games (Zelda, Fable, Age of Empires III and such), but now he says he doesn't have time for games, since practicing takes up all of his time. And he actually enjoys practicing. Leave him in the living room for five minutes and he'll be on the piano bench with Bach or Beethoven in front of him, or downstairs on his guitar playing "Whiskey in the Jar". Plus, I doubt he'll start playing games anytime soon, since he plans to study music therapy when he leaves for college next year.

Not having time to play games is irrelevant. The point I was making was that people play games to have fun. If he has fun practising on a real instrument, no worries. He does not need the game, because he is having fun.

What I am working against is the idea that the games are a waste compared to playing a real instrument. Playing a real instrument is not fun for many people. I would rather hope on guitar hero for a while (which I learnt in about 20 minutes) instead of devoting my time to the chore of plucking strings, memorising chords and getting nought but annoying twingy sounds for my effort. Yeah, eventually I might get good, but all I want in this little bit of free time is some fun!

[Vespe Ratavo]

I want it so bad. I think I'm going to get Xbox Live Gold again for the sole purpose of playing it online, and one of those $50 Microsoft Point cards to download new songs.

That being said, I would kill to get some Beatles songs on there. Or at the very least, some ZZ Top and AC/DC.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

Not having time to play games is irrelevant. The point I was making was that people play games to have fun. If he has fun practising on a real instrument, no worries. He does not need the game, because he is having fun.

What I am working against is the idea that the games are a waste compared to playing a real instrument. Playing a real instrument is not fun for many people. I would rather hope on guitar hero for a while (which I learnt in about 20 minutes) instead of devoting my time to the chore of plucking strings, memorising chords and getting nought but annoying twingy sounds for my effort. Yeah, eventually I might get good, but all I want in this little bit of free time is some fun!

Good point. I mean, I devoted about twelve years of my life to the violin, and that basically went out the window after a few weeks at college. I mean, I can't even play a game like Guitar Hero or Rock Band. I lack the reflexes.:smallfrown:

[Neon Knight]

A question to those who own the game: Any songs by AC/DC, Def Leppard, Quiet Riot, or Twisted Sister?

[....]

I just wanna say, I've had more fun with this game than any other game released in the last five or six years.

'Fun' being the key word. Lots of games have great 'experiences' or whatever, but getting together with three of my friends, a few beers, and a night off rocking out to songs on here is AWESOME. We get into it, stand up, shout and cheer and nod when we do well. In between the songs on our set the singer will shout stuff to the crowd (usually offensive stuff if we're in a non-english speaking country)

Sure, its all fake, but its FUN as hell. Well worth the cash.

Oh, and everyone in the band thinks I'm an awesome player...but thats just because I play bass.

[Closet_Skeleton]

My opinion is that if you've got enough time to waste playing something like Rock Band or Guitar Hero, then you can spend that time learning to play a real instrument, which is more productive (you might even make some money off it too). Of course this is mostly my brother's opinion. He's the more musical of us, what with his electric guitar, acoustic guitar, mandolin, tin whistle, french horn, piano, accordion, bagpipes, etc.

Great, I've just had an epiphany, all that time I wasted shooting people in videogames would have been better spent if I'd been shooting real people.

That was a joke

[Joran]

Anyway, does anyone know how much you have to pay for the online available songs?

New songs came out for Rock Band; a David Bowie pack. 3 songs for $5.50, or each one for $2.


Any songs by AC/DC, Def Leppard, Quiet Riot, or Twisted Sister?

Nope. A full song list can be found here:

http://www.joystiq.com/2007/10/29/rock-band-drops-full-set-list-minus-bonus-tracks/

[....]

My opinion is that if you've got enough time to waste playing something like Rock Band or Guitar Hero, then you can spend that time learning to play a real instrument, which is more productive (you might even make some money off it too). Of course this is mostly my brother's opinion. He's the more musical of us, what with his electric guitar, acoustic guitar, mandolin, tin whistle, french horn, piano, accordion, bagpipes, etc.

I hate when people say this crap.

This is true of any friggen videogame ever. Those 150 hours you spent on KH2 could have been spent working out, or practicing instruments, or working a second job, or volunteering or any other of a billion things.

I've never heard anyone who played GH or RB claim they were a real musician. I do hear a lot of 'real musicians' complaining about these games, though. I highly suspect its because people would rather play GH or especially RB at a party, rather than do the old-fashioned, sit around and wach girls sigh over the dude who can play Glycerine on the aucoustic.

It takes a certain degree of talent to play a real guitar or drums. Even with the talent it still takes lots of practice to sounds like anyting worth listening to. In the time it would take me to even approach the level of real actual professional instrument players, I could unlock every song, on Hard, in RB.

And even the argument that playing RB is a waste of time compared to playing a guitar is weak. How many people make a REAL living off of guitars? I mean seriously, nine times out of ten then guy plucking his strings in his room alone is wasting just as much time as me and my friends rocking out with toy instruments infront of a TV screen... except we're having a lot more fun.

/rant

[Closet_Skeleton]

except we're having a lot more fun.

Who says?

Oh yeah, just you.

Games like these are a lot less satisfying and not neccesaraly as fun. But you're putting less time into it so that's to be expected.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

I hate when people say this crap.

This is true of any friggen videogame ever. Those 150 hours you spent on KH2 could have been spent working out, or practicing instruments, or working a second job, or volunteering or any other of a billion things.

I've never heard anyone who played GH or RB claim they were a real musician. I do hear a lot of 'real musicians' complaining about these games, though. I highly suspect its because people would rather play GH or especially RB at a party, rather than do the old-fashioned, sit around and wach girls sigh over the dude who can play Glycerine on the aucoustic.

It takes a certain degree of talent to play a real guitar or drums. Even with the talent it still takes lots of practice to sounds like anyting worth listening to. In the time it would take me to even approach the level of real actual professional instrument players, I could unlock every song, on Hard, in RB.

And even the argument that playing RB is a waste of time compared to playing a guitar is weak. How many people make a REAL living off of guitars? I mean seriously, nine times out of ten then guy plucking his strings in his room alone is wasting just as much time as me and my friends rocking out with toy instruments infront of a TV screen... except we're having a lot more fun.

/rant

Like I said, this is more my brother's opinion than mine. He personally considers my CRPG habit a waste of time as well. He used to be as avid a gamer as I, but as college approaches he's spent more and more time practicing, especially now that he's starting a band. Besides, the real reason I don't like Guitar Hero is because I lack the skill to play such a game successfully. I'm actually jealous of you people!:smallsigh:

[evisiron]

Like I said, this is more my brother's opinion than mine. He personally considers my CRPG habit a waste of time as well. He used to be as avid a gamer as I, but as college approaches he's spent more and more time practicing, especially now that he's starting a band. Besides, the real reason I don't like Guitar Hero is because I lack the skill to play such a game successfully. I'm actually jealous of you people!:smallsigh:

Then grab Rock band for the drums or vocals :smallbiggrin:

[Archpaladin Zousha]

Then grab Rock band for the drums or vocals :smallbiggrin:

Good point. My other brother's a better percussionist than me (I've got two), but vocals don't sound so bad. I don't know if I'd be able to hit some of the high notes, bein' a baritone and all.:smallwink:

[....]

Who says?

Oh yeah, just you.

Games like these are a lot less satisfying and not neccesaraly as fun. But you're putting less time into it so that's to be expected.

Are you really going to try and argue about whats fun?

Is there anything that is less objective than fun?

[ElfLad]

New songs came out for Rock Band; a David Bowie pack. 3 songs for $5.50, or each one for $2.

And they are so much fun on vocals, particularly Moonage Daydream. :smallbiggrin:

I'm also really excited for the Sabbath pack coming out on Tuesday.

[Raistlin1040]

I've seen a few things on Youtube, but they are only creation. Which means I still have a question. How in depth is the character creation and then stuff you can buy in terms of clothing and accessories?

[Dragor]

Ach, Rock Band looks awesome beyond my wildest dreams. Problem is, it's coming out in 2008 in the UK. So no Rock Band christmas present for me, I'll have to settle with Guitar Hero III. Ah well. :smallfrown:

And also, it's not been confirmed for the Wii yet, damn. They've said they want to, but that usually means "The money-grabbers are putting a gun to our heads and telling us to smile and nod".