When I started my 25 games challenge, I had this set list of games that I intended to play, with the big denoter being all of them were on PC. However, through insane generosity and dumb luck, I've gotten my hands on an Xbox One. This opens up the gates to a ton of stuff, but the main reason was to check out a game I've had eyes on for the better part of a decade: Rock band. And... i'm both disappointed and pleasantly surprised.
Playing this 9 year old game for the first time definitely felt odd, and the fact that it's a relic of a long bygone era really shows. Half the features, like the rivals mode and online multiplayer, are completely inaccessible seeing that u need connection to a server that seems to not be running anymore. All the songs are rock-n-roll guitar squealers that completely fly over my head as I did not recognize anything that isn't popular from guitar hero 3 or centuries by fall out boy. The gameplay itself is pretty fun, though, being your standard 5-fret stuff. The controller feels pretty alright, though the only issue that isn't brought on by it's age is the strum bar having these mushy rubber pads that make it hard to tell when you've actually hit the note. Plus the timing window is infamously way tighter than on guitar hero, and while i lack much of a reference frame, i definitely agree that it could chill just a little bit. difficulties are pretty good, catering to a pretty big audience, but I wish the difficulties besides expert didn't feel like just a dramatically watered down version of the original song. Maybe once I get good enough for expert I can double check this.
Surprisingly, though, my favaroute part is actually the story mode; rockudrama. It's a mode where you and your bandmates get a biopic written about them. The gameplay itself consists of you playing certain "sets" that are just songs you either vote for from a list or just pick yourself which feels a bit lazy. There is the fame points system that lets you wager how many stars you get for more points, and a few challenges and extra bits thrown in, but on the whole it feels very much like a side mode. What saves it for me however is the cutscenes in between, showing the actual rockudrama itself. and like... the writing is surprisingly really good? The dry humor is spot on, parodying these types of documentaries and taking ur imaginary bands ridiculous endeavors completely seriously. From playing your first show at an abandoned fun house with a singular attendee, to doing a show for a charity that ends up being about donating endangered whale meat to prisoners. The writing is charming in a way I would've never expected. I think my favaroute part is the interviews, where they brought on a combination of classic rock trope characters (Jealous would've-been member, obsessed fan, ect) and the members of actual real life rock bands, talking about my group of 3 blue-haired xbox avatars and a mushroom creature as seriously as possible. For what's ultimately a mode most people won't see, they clearly put a lot of love into making it. I just think they could've gone a bit more the route of gutair hero campaigns, actual set songs and a more fleshed out story and whatnot.
I think the one thing that i genuinely really dislike, and what's likely gonna stop me from playing it too long, is the lack of support and the microtransactions. This game technically has about 3000 songs, sure. But most of them are locked in the store and can be bought for just under $3 each. I don't like in-game purchases like this at the best of times, but those best of times are in a free game that only charges cosmetic items, or even a big DLC bundle of some kind. This is a full-price game that you already have to by a guitar, drums, and a microphone for, and each song is sold seperately. and without it, the selection you do have is frankly piss-poor for what you're paying. Plenty of games have DLC, but this is way too much and a complete pain in the ass.
Ah well, this game is clearly a relic of its time, and i'll enjoy what I have anyway. When i get bored, there's always YARG and clone hero so i can play more songs without spending my life savings.
Playing this 9 year old game for the first time definitely felt odd, and the fact that it's a relic of a long bygone era really shows. Half the features, like the rivals mode and online multiplayer, are completely inaccessible seeing that u need connection to a server that seems to not be running anymore. All the songs are rock-n-roll guitar squealers that completely fly over my head as I did not recognize anything that isn't popular from guitar hero 3 or centuries by fall out boy. The gameplay itself is pretty fun, though, being your standard 5-fret stuff. The controller feels pretty alright, though the only issue that isn't brought on by it's age is the strum bar having these mushy rubber pads that make it hard to tell when you've actually hit the note. Plus the timing window is infamously way tighter than on guitar hero, and while i lack much of a reference frame, i definitely agree that it could chill just a little bit. difficulties are pretty good, catering to a pretty big audience, but I wish the difficulties besides expert didn't feel like just a dramatically watered down version of the original song. Maybe once I get good enough for expert I can double check this.
Surprisingly, though, my favaroute part is actually the story mode; rockudrama. It's a mode where you and your bandmates get a biopic written about them. The gameplay itself consists of you playing certain "sets" that are just songs you either vote for from a list or just pick yourself which feels a bit lazy. There is the fame points system that lets you wager how many stars you get for more points, and a few challenges and extra bits thrown in, but on the whole it feels very much like a side mode. What saves it for me however is the cutscenes in between, showing the actual rockudrama itself. and like... the writing is surprisingly really good? The dry humor is spot on, parodying these types of documentaries and taking ur imaginary bands ridiculous endeavors completely seriously. From playing your first show at an abandoned fun house with a singular attendee, to doing a show for a charity that ends up being about donating endangered whale meat to prisoners. The writing is charming in a way I would've never expected. I think my favaroute part is the interviews, where they brought on a combination of classic rock trope characters (Jealous would've-been member, obsessed fan, ect) and the members of actual real life rock bands, talking about my group of 3 blue-haired xbox avatars and a mushroom creature as seriously as possible. For what's ultimately a mode most people won't see, they clearly put a lot of love into making it. I just think they could've gone a bit more the route of gutair hero campaigns, actual set songs and a more fleshed out story and whatnot.
I think the one thing that i genuinely really dislike, and what's likely gonna stop me from playing it too long, is the lack of support and the microtransactions. This game technically has about 3000 songs, sure. But most of them are locked in the store and can be bought for just under $3 each. I don't like in-game purchases like this at the best of times, but those best of times are in a free game that only charges cosmetic items, or even a big DLC bundle of some kind. This is a full-price game that you already have to by a guitar, drums, and a microphone for, and each song is sold seperately. and without it, the selection you do have is frankly piss-poor for what you're paying. Plenty of games have DLC, but this is way too much and a complete pain in the ass.
Ah well, this game is clearly a relic of its time, and i'll enjoy what I have anyway. When i get bored, there's always YARG and clone hero so i can play more songs without spending my life savings.