When the original Guitar Hero game was released, it wasn't really expected to take off like it did. But a few years later, we've seen multiple entries in the series and a sort of rebirth of the rhythm game here in the US. All sorts of games have been released in the Far East -- keyboard games, singing games, guitar games, drum games and more. Not many of them saw release in the US, though -- they may have been too "Japanese" or just not expected to take off here. Well, the original creators of Rock Band are now bringing out a game that wraps up a guitar, microphone and drum set in a single, four player package.
Welcome to Rock Band. Releasing on November 20th, an insane amount of hype has been built up around the game. Not only do you get to play the guitar like in Guitar Hero, but you've got drums and vocals too. Many fans of the Guitar Hero series have been waiting for this game, and have held off on buying the newest release in the series pending the Rock Band release. Well, now they can give the game a shot -- Best Buy stores across the country have set up demo stations. I've spent a good bit of time with the one at my local Best Buy and, for those of you that are not fortunate enough to have a nearby Best Buy to check the game out at, I've got a report for you.
First, I'll start off with the guitar. One of the biggest changes that Guitar Hero fans will notice is that this guitar feels much more substantial than the others. It feels more like a real guitar and less like a toy, which is a very good thing. Also, the fret buttons aren't colored along the whole button, but only on the edges. The buttons are at the top of the guitar and also closer to the body of the guitar, to make some of the freestyle sections easier to play. Another big guitar change is the strum bar -- you're not going to be hearing a click every time you strum -- the bar feels a bit more natural. I really like this, since you can focus on listening to the music as opposed to hearing the constant clicks of the strum bar.
Next up, and my personal favorite, are the drums. See, you've got four colors of beats to follow when you're drumming. The pads to simulate the drums are a good size and well spaced out, and the stand is pretty sturdy. You don't have to kill the drums to get them to register a tap, either -- light ones work pretty well. You'll need to get used to light taps, too, since some of the harder songs require some quick movements. These sections also feature a freestyle section, where you can beat the drums however you want while racking up points. Just plain awesome.
As for vocals, I'll admit -- I didn't get to play that section. I'm a horrible, horrible singer. However, I did get a chance to watch a few others sing. This section works very similarly to a Karaoke style revolution game, detecting things like pitch and words while streaming the song and such along the top of the screen. It isn't too terribly hard to pick up on, though. A nice feature here, though? If you're not actually singing at the time, you can play the microphone like a cowbell. Yes, a cowbell. Very fun.
All of these areas interact pretty well when you're playing too -- you aren't very likely to get mixed up between the two guitarists, a drummer and a singer. And really, this is where the most fun comes from in the game. Get three of your friends together, knock back a few beers and play some fun songs. There's a wide selection available in the demo, with each instrument having different songs. You can play them solo or together, which is pretty nice.
With the game coming out November 20th, there may not be time left for you to go out and actually reserve the full version. If you're at all interested, I'd highly suggest contacting your local game store, be it Best Buy, GameStop or what have you. I can almost guarantee from my limited playtime that this game is going to be an absolute hit on release -- I'd almost argue that it will easily be on the level with the Guitar Hero series. Hopefully, the downloadable content can extend the enjoyment factor of this game even more. If this demo is any indication of the amount of fun that will be had with the Band Tour mode among the multiple others included in the game that aren't in the demo, I'm very eager to get started on playing this with many, many friends.
