3.31.2008

painful howling!!

rock band review

ROCK BAND! This game is so much fun, even for those of us with pitch problems. The drums are the highlight for me personally. Everyone knows it's quite therapeutic smashing things with a stick without any social stigma... not that social stigma has every stopped me =) I just have to say thank god we have apparently deaf downstairs neighbors. That footpedal is my downfall tho... FRUSTRATION! ::Phoenix Wright pose:: The 360 Fender Stratocaster guitar is big and heavy, takes a little getting used to since the strum bar doesn't click, but I'm sure it just takes practice. The solo keys are fun to play with though... you don't have to strum during the complicated solo sequences, just hit the notes right!!

My only qualm about the game is the typical pitch-oriented karaoke system. It has the same setup as the Singstar Series, you know, the little nodes that you have to pitch your voice to. However, most rock songs, which make up hrmm ALL the songs on the game are really not about perfect pitch. Singing rock songs, you want to be able to belt and wail it out! But the pitch system requires you to sing the full note with a consistent pitch, making most people sound like a 6-yr old girl singing Twinkle Twinkle to the tune of Black Hole Sun....

The game itself seems to be FULL o'Content. The campaign carries you through lots of rewards like tour buses and roadies, and the characters appearances seem endlessly customizable with LOTS of hair styles, outfits, accessories etc. However, you also have to unlock songs in Solo/Band World Tour before getting access to the full song list, so you can't just pick up the game, invite a bunch of friends and play all your favorite songs until you've played the campaign a while.

In any case, I still only currently have the game disc (complete with GIGANTIC spiral scratch straight from the factory, resulting in frequent disc interruptions ugh) and no peripherals, we've just been borrowing them from friends. Although you can use the standard xbox 360 mic, I still need to get hold of the drum and guitar. I'll prolly just buy the whole shebang when I'm gainfully employed again. Keep an eye out for deals for me!

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