All things Rock Band

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ratsoalbion
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All things Rock Band

Post by ratsoalbion »

Please post your opinions and experiences of the Rock Band series here ahead of issue 233 of the Cane and Rinse podcast.
triumphofhearts

Re: Rock Band series

Post by triumphofhearts »

Oh my goodness, where to even start.

Guitar Hero blew my head off. GH2 felt like a natural refinement of what was already basically a perfect game. Rock Band was beyond anything I could've comprehended as a home title at that stage. I coveted it for months, and eventually found someone selling up at a reasonably cheap price via eBay. I made my brother drive me on a 150 mile round trip to Romford to pick it up, then got the drums setup immediately when we got back to the house at 2am. It was my life for the next 4 or 5 years.

I'd always played music, and always loved rhythm action, but Rock Band compelled to actually learn an instrument. After earning gold stars in almost all of RB1, 2 and 3's base libraries (as well as hundreds of pieces of DLC) I finally decided to give real drums a go and haven't looked back since. All the basics were there, and over time my playing style moved away from the guided claustrophobia of RB towards something that was recognisably my own. I've since played in, recorded and released records as the drummer in several bands - Harmonix quite literally changed my life for the better. People always scoff when I say 'video games taught me drums', but there it is. Without the seed of Guitar Hero, I wouldn't be playing drums today as the learning curve, space requirements and financial investment to learn in a more formal sense just wasn't practical for me.

There are issues with each of the Harmonix developed titles in the series, for example RB1's career was restrictive by the standards of its release and didn't allow you to go through a career solo (I beat it on expert by singing and drumming at the same time though!), and RB3 may have tried a bit TOO hard with its pro peripherals, but overall they remain peerless. Even the best Neversoft Guitar Hero titles were left in the dust by Rock Band, with the original, RB3, Beatles and Blitz all high watermarks for a constantly evolving rhythm series. The less said about Konagi's Rock Revolution the better (still beat it though!).

High points: beating the endless setlist in RB1 drumming and singing at the same time on expert; gold starring Nine Inch Nail's 'The Perfect Drug' after 500,000 attempts; playing through the whole of the Abbey Road DLC in The Beatles Rock Band and genuinely thinking 'this is the best licensed release that will ever exist'; hosting RB party after party after party at uni; and seeing Rock Band 4 announced and almost shedding a tear that Harmonix's baby was allowed a resurrection on modern platforms WITH pre-existing DLC support.

Sorry this is unstructured waffle, but my love for this series runs too deep to arrange my thoughts any more coherently.
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Electric Crocosaurus
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Re: Rock Band series

Post by Electric Crocosaurus »

I've been a keyboard player for most of my life, and still help out friends when they need music lessons covered from time to time. Therefore, I've seen first hand the so-called ‘Rock Band effect’; kids who have taken up a proper instrument following their enjoyment of the plastic versions. For a medium that has had a long association with education, the Rock Band (and Guitar Hero) series has probably done the most to promote children’s education since the BBC micro.

As for the game itself, the first Rock Band had some teething problems as Harmonix got to grips with developing hardware for the first time. The guitars did not automatically calibrate, so the amount of lag in the game depended on your ability to use the manual setup. The drums were a work in progress, with hits often missed by the sensors, a problem rectified by the infinitely better set released alongside Rock Band 2.

Mechanically the game built upon Harmonix’ previous experience on the Guitar Heroes, so was near flawless. The drum HUD was intuitive, and vocals were covered in a way familiar to Singstar users. The biggest negative was the visuals, with an art style that I wasn't keen on for the first game, and never grew on me as the series progressed (the exception being the far more stylised Beatles Rock Band). To be fair, the increasingly cartoonish rock ‘n roll visuals of Guitar Hero 3 onwards also grated; IMO Brütal Legend did a far better job of creating a cohesive style that was an affectionate homage to the genre.

Although it remains pretty abstract, Rock Band does attempt to mimic some guitar technique in the layout of its notation and approach to hammer-ons and pull-offs (no sniggering at the back). Little touches like this have always made the series feel more muso friendly; the Pro Evo to Guitar Hero’s FIFA. I could never get on with Rock Band's keyboard notation however; a lifetime of reading standard notation meant that the scrolling black and white keys that Harmonix adopted were a step too far for me.
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delb2k
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Re: Rock Band series

Post by delb2k »

Rock Band is probably the series I have invested more money into than any other. Over multiple formats, multiple releases and a DLC list that extends into thousands of songs alongside a time investment that stretches into hundreds of hours this game has been a huge part of my Playstation 3 life. From the moment I did not want to wait the 6 month delay for the european version, leading to ordering and taking delivery of an American band in a box set, this has been the series that captured my imagination most.

But to describe playing Rock Band is almost impossible because it is all about hitting a zone like state, where the progression of the bars from the top of the screen to the prompts stops being something you conciusly think about and instead transforms into an expression of music you feel empowered by creating. Where the mechanics change from a ruleset to pure muscle memory, the fingers moving to the right tab without even having to mentally map it in your head. Songs change in an instant from something you concentrate on into something you simply feel, something you dance to in your front room and euphoric moments of pure joy as you nail a sequence of hammer ons and pull offs. There is no singular word to describe mastery of Rock Band, no straightforward explanation of that moment inside where thew distinction between game instrument and actual instrument changes in your head. While you know you will never play guitar through this game that does not stop you seeing yourself up there, on stage with others shredding away to the sounds of fans and band members and just feeling absolutely at one with the plastic instrument you are holding. In a nutshell Rock Band is best when you simply stop thinking and start feeling.

Yes there are many issues around the game, and the recent re-release, that can be pointed to as sub par but little has made me feel like Rock Band has, and I doubt nothing every really will.
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Re: Our next-but-one podcast recording (30.7.16): Rock Band series

Post by Sellardohr »

Just a quick one.

Around when Rock Band came out, it was a social glue. I went to a bunch of parties back then during which I otherwise wouldn't have interacted with anyone or had an ounce of fun. But if folks were playing Rock Band, I could step in and not feel so extremely out of place. I still didn't really TALK to anyone, you know, but I had some fun, and that spread around.

I'll eat my hat if I'm the only one who ever experienced that.
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Re: Our next-but-one podcast recording (30.7.16): Rock Band series

Post by Alex79 »

I never really played Rock Band much at the time - I loved Guitar Hero but didn't make the leap over to its rival at home. We did have it at work though for the kids to play, and playing the drums on that game was incredibly good fun. The only Rock Band game I actually bought to play at home was the AC-DC live one. It wasn't great and it kind of put me off the series, it just didn't feel as precise as Guitar Hero and (I'll concede this is ridiculous) I preferred the circle notes to the block ones in Rock Band.

Years later though, having already got a couple of the Guitar Hero guitars and games at home, my son and I started playing them together. We soon finished most the GH songs, so went looking for more games. By now they were all cheap as chips, and we picked up the Green Day and Beatles versions for literally a pound or two in GAME and still play them - amongst other various RB and GH games picked up for pennies each - to this day.

It's impossible to play them and not feel like a rock star. He usually stands on his top bunk as if on stage and dives all over the place. They're brilliant fun to play together. I don't really have much more to add than that!

THREE WORD REVIEW : Live! Tonight! Us!!
Bakers_12

Re: Our next-but-one podcast recording (30.7.16): Rock Band series

Post by Bakers_12 »

Rock Band was my first peripherals lead rhythm action game. Before I got this game I though the whole idea of pretending to play a instrument by pressing buttons on a big lump of plastic was very silly ( as I type this I realize that the same reasoning could be use for all games!). I only got interested in getting Rockband was after E3 when the first game was announced I was chatting to Mr Fox of Joypod a gathering and asked him what game he was most excited for from the convention ,Rockband was the answer. I looked into it. It looked more impressive than GH to me and seamed to have a more authentic feel to it, probably helped by the branded fenders and real drumsticks. From never getting a game like this before I ended up getting 1 2 3 and Beatles rockbands only missing Lego Rockband. I'm not going talk to much about the game play as I don't have much of a yard stick to compare it too but It always felt brilliant to rock along to.

The big thing about this games for me are the memories I have because of the game like Rockband Wednesdays looking at the new releases on the store, playing with my wife and our band the MLA's one of the few games that she will play, the crimbo Baker bash before my sister went to OZ singing the Killers, my wifes brother doing spot on Liam Gallagher impression, therapeutically playing with my mate who was living with us after a devoice, my wife getting 100% on vocals on the south park virsion of poker face.

Amazing Times, but now it only comes out at Christmas, why manly when we moved the Drums and the spare guitar went in the attic the final nail was another move this time the one to the PS4. The trusty 360 went the way of the drums and I was not going to buy the whole kit again or rebuy tracks.
I Love Rockband but had to let it go
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Flabyo
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Re: Our next podcast recording (30.7.16): Rock Band series

Post by Flabyo »

Are you going to mention Rock Band Blitz? Was a pretty fun 'Frequency-lite' game that had two great things going for it:

1) It could use all your existing Rock Band DLC too.
2) The 30 or so tracks it came with *also* became playable in the normal Rock Band games.

I think RB2 is my favourite from a purely aesthetic sense, the character models were more cartoonish than later editions and that seemed to fit the game better. (The Lego one was a joy too, mainly for the ridiculous story it told)

Never did manage to find the keyboard add-on for my 360 at a price I was willing to pay for it. Maybe one day on eBay I'll see one and finally get those RB3 achievements.

While I think Harmonix have put out a bit of a dud with RB4, there's still time for them to build on it (albeit without Madcatz, who probably suffered the most from the poor sales). I think they *eventually* did a decent job of letting you re-use most of the tracks from the previous games. My RB4 library is huge, but I find I haven't played it half as much as I did 2 and 3.

Beatles Rock Band was a bold experiment, a true labour of love. You can see the appreciation for the source material oozing from every pore of that game, ended up far better than any of the other 'single artist' editions they did.

Rockband 2 and 3 were regular setups at Lionhead parties for a long time as well. There were some supremely talented singers and drummers there, they went on to form a Lionhead house band (with real instruments) and were really good.
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Re: Our next podcast recording (30.7.16): Rock Band series

Post by ratsoalbion »

We talked a bit about Blitz (and Unplugged) on the FreQuency/Amplitude show but they'll probably get another mention.
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Re: Our next podcast recording (30.7.16): Rock Band series

Post by Alex79 »

Unplugged was quite good but Blitz was way better. Wish they'd release a new one for Vita, it would be great.
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Re: Our next podcast recording (30.7.16): Rock Band series

Post by Tleprie »

Rock Band is, without a doubt, one of the most important video games in my life. The only game that comes to mind as being arguably more important is The Binding of Isaac, but that's a topic for another time.

My first experience with a rhythm game was Guitar Hero 2 on PS2 at a friend's house in 2007. Shortly after this my brother and I got it on Xbox 360. That holiday season Rock Band was on the way.
It was hard for us to justify purchasing a new music game after only just getting Guitar Hero. I can't remember the price for the band bundle, but I imagine it was at least $150, if not closer to 200 or even more.

We were perfectly happy with Guitar Hero, but were pleasantly surprised to unwrap Rock Band on Christmas. I remember wanting to get good at the drums, but as this was before my marching band days, I was terrible at working the foot pedal (not that I'm much better now). So instead my brother took to the drums, and I continued the progress that I had already made with the fake plastic guitar.

So, I said Rock Band is important to me. There are three reasons for that. The first is the influence it has had on my musical tastes. At this point in my life, at the age of 12, I had a fairly narrow musical palate, not straying far from what was familiar to me. Rock Band encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone and introduced me to the joys of seeking out and listening to new music.

The second way in which Rock Band holds importance in my life is one that many probably share, so I won't dwell on it, but it was a great way to spend time with friends. For me it is alongside Halo 3 and Timesplitters 2 for my favorite local multiplayer experiences.

Lastly, as I think back on the game, Rock Band was the first that I really tried getting good at, before Smash Bros Melee or Spelunky. Sure, I wanted to be better than everyone at Halo, but it wasn't a big deal. With Rock Band there was always room for improvement, and if you weren't the best at guitar you were put on bass. Someone else still better? You get the mic.

I have a lot of memories from various parts of my life spent with this game and its first sequel:
  • Building up fans and money to create absurd matching characters for our band, Diplomacy With Idiots
  • The many late nights spent completing the endless Setlists
  • Completing the Hall of Fame Setlist on drums to passive-aggressively drown out the noise of fighting parents
  • In more recent years, a few instances of losing my voice when I finally realized that singing is much more fun than the other instruments.
Rock Band came at the perfect time in my life, and I don't think I'd trade my experiences with it for anything.
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