Rock Band - Impressions...

Gurantsu · Post by **Gurantsu** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 3:53 pm

With friends it becomes a whole new game. Not only is it a great way to use teamwork, it's also a hoot when someone gets ragged on when they blow their part! Even people who don't want to play anything can just grab the mic and join in. When eveyone gets through a song on a level testing their skills, the game really shines.

And a neat little feature I really like is how the crowd will sing along with the band if you are doing well. Really creates a great atmosphere.

By the way, has anyone messed with the decal designer? It's as addicting as the car painter in Forza. So far I've created Mickey Mouse and Grateful Dead t-shirts.

webdanzer · Post by **webdanzer** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 12:40 pm

Man, I'm on drums now at a high medium/low hard level of difficulty, and it is just godlike. I can't wipe the smile off my face as I play, and I know I still have plenty of room to grow.

I hardly EVER buy downloads from the Marketplace, but this game will be gaping my wallet.

Naples39 · Post by **Naples39** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 1:11 pm

webdanzer wrote:Man, I'm on drums now at a high medium/low hard level of difficulty, and it is just godlike. I can't wipe the smile off my face as I play, and I know I still have plenty of room to grow.

I hardly EVER buy downloads from the Marketplace, but this game will be gaping my wallet.

I'm at a similar point in my playing. I am very good at nearly all songs on medium difficulty, but hard is still very tough for me. There are sections of a lot songs on hard where I am just totally befuddled. I think it's the increased number of bass kicks, and in particular all the double bass kicks when you only hit the drum once. I'll keep at it though because I really want to be able to bang these out at hard--it will be closer to actually performing the song than the highly contrived guitar controller could ever provide.

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 4:16 pm

I just got this last night...

The drums seem to require a level of coordination/drumming abilty so I let my gf play them

The guitar is fun...I never played GH so I assume that this is a simular experience.

Im afraid the strum bar is already broken though as today its not recognizing downward movement everytime...Too damn bad I was almost getting it and I was dfeinately getting into it.

Naples39 · Post by **Naples39** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 5:05 pm

XXXIV wrote:I just got this last night...

The drums seem to require a level of coordination/drumming abilty so I let my gf play them

The guitar is fun...I never played GH so I assume that this is a simular experience.

Im afraid the strum bar is already broken though as today its not recognizing downward movement everytime...Too damn bad I was almost getting it and I was dfeinately getting into it.

My guitar is going back too. My strum bar has gone from flaky to simply not working on down strokes. At least I can still use my GH2 and 3 guitars.

webdanzer · Post by **webdanzer** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 10:20 pm

Anyone else somehow getting locked out of the online leaderboards during play?

I couple of times now I was signed in, playing sets of songs in my solo career and when I was done and went to check scores, found out I had since been logged out somehow, and the scores didn't register.

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 5:57 pm

Naples39 wrote:
XXXIV wrote:I just got this last night...

The drums seem to require a level of coordination/drumming abilty so I let my gf play them

The guitar is fun...I never played GH so I assume that this is a simular experience.

Im afraid the strum bar is already broken though as today its not recognizing downward movement everytime...Too damn bad I was almost getting it and I was dfeinately getting into it.
My guitar is going back too. My strum bar has gone from flaky to simply not working on down strokes. At least I can still use my GH2 and 3 guitars.

Anyone using the Xpress return?...How long is the normal replacement time?

On the guitar. Do you have to un assemble it or does the box they ship you fit the assembled controller?

Nozzleman_216 · Post by **Nozzleman_216** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 9:04 pm

I didn't do the express return, but my turn around was a little over a week (less than 2)

My new guitar's strum bar is SWEET. Its the the magnetic one ( i opened it up and looked) and works VERY WELL. On the down side, I have one clicky fret (orange) that can be annoying. The star power works but doesn't work well when I play sitting down. I guess because I already have it tilted some or something.

So there's some bright light for the others waiting or about to send away, the new one I got back with the 3rd generation strummer is wonderful!

Too bad I am now waiting for drums to come back to me, yellow pad quit working all together

Danimal · Post by **Danimal** » Fri Dec 21, 2007 1:16 pm

The community features are finally live over on the web site. You can now have a band page with a blog and all sorts of other cool things.

Nozzleman_216 · Post by **Nozzleman_216** » Fri Dec 21, 2007 2:27 pm

I can't do anything on the new site. Its VERY slow and uses up all of my cpu resources. My laptop sounds like my 360 when I am on that site now. Hope they work the bugs out soon.

Jimmydeicide · Post by **Jimmydeicide** » Tue Dec 25, 2007 9:31 pm

Well we got our rock band going this xmas day and on our first gig it seems the roadies didnt ship the equipment to the gig securely as the guitars strum bar only plays upward after several very frustrating songs later and the usb hub seems messed up aswell as it loses connection with an instrument if you so much as breath on it.

I agree about the drums seeming off a little although the lad can nail them so i know its just me and a matter of getting used to it.

All in all its a blast , shame about the crappy peripherals tho you get what you pay for i guess.

Well i here the crowd shouting for an encore so its and justice for all, later.

Brando70 · Post by **Brando70** » Thu Dec 27, 2007 2:34 pm

Got this for Christmas and finally got back home to play it. I am going to be having a lot of fun. Luckily the peripherals worked.

I definitely like the feel of this guitar much better than the Guitar Hero guitars. I wish it worked with GH III (which I also got).

The missus has to go out of town for more than a week, so I will be rocking out without flirting with a divorce!

GameSeven · Post by **GameSeven** » Thu Dec 27, 2007 3:00 pm

Jimmydeicide wrote:...seems the roadies didnt ship the equipment to the gig securely as the guitars strum bar only plays upward

Ditto for me. Just applied for the 2nd day air replacement. Otherwise, completely stoked for the game. The game saw significant play on Christmas night at the family party...

macsomjrr · Post by **macsomjrr** » Thu Dec 27, 2007 4:27 pm

Got this for xmas and love it. All the "instruments" work just fine although I'm gonna try some of sound reducing mods for the drums as the constant whacking sound really takes away from the songs.

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Thu Dec 27, 2007 4:32 pm

GameSeven wrote:
Jimmydeicide wrote:...seems the roadies didnt ship the equipment to the gig securely as the guitars strum bar only plays upward
Ditto for me. Just applied for the 2nd day air replacement. Otherwise, completely stoked for the game. The game saw significant play on Christmas night at the family party...

Me 3.
The strum bar will only play upwards.
I went out and bought GHII for the guitar.

This game really shined on Xmas eve as everyone wanted to join the band.

Jimmydeicide · Post by **Jimmydeicide** » Thu Dec 27, 2007 4:41 pm

GameSeven wrote:
Jimmydeicide wrote:...seems the roadies didnt ship the equipment to the gig securely as the guitars strum bar only plays upward
Ditto for me. Just applied for the 2nd day air replacement. Otherwise, completely stoked for the game. The game saw significant play on Christmas night at the family party...

Did you guys apply for a replacement online? My transaction kept failing due to busy servers i presume everyone had a problem with the guitar xmas day its a pos. Shame.

GameSeven · Post by **GameSeven** » Thu Dec 27, 2007 5:02 pm

Jimmydeicide wrote:Did you guys apply for a replacement online? My transaction kept failing due to busy servers i presume everyone had a problem with the guitar xmas day its a pos. Shame.

Yes. I used the online service, which I must say was pretty damn smooth. They supply you with a tracking number by the end of the transaction as well as email it in the confirmation.

For those who aren't familiar with the process, if you choose 2nd day air, they require a hold on your credit card of $120. You have 28 days to return the defective hardware to complete the exchange and avoid the charge. In the meantime, they send the new guitar via 2 day air and you RMA the original in the same box postage prepaid.

MizzouRah · Post by **MizzouRah** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 12:39 am

Greatest console game I've ever had the privilege to play.

I've only had it for 4 days and have probably played it more than any game I've had.

Pure genius... pure crack.

Back to drumming I go!

Jimmydeicide · Post by **Jimmydeicide** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 3:29 am

MizzouRah wrote:Greatest console game I've ever had the privilege to play.

I've only had it for 4 days and have probably played it more than any game I've had.

Pure genius... pure crack.

Back to drumming I go!

Oh come on Tjung!!!!

MizzouRah · Post by **MizzouRah** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 3:41 pm

Jimmydeicide wrote:
MizzouRah wrote:Greatest console game I've ever had the privilege to play.

I've only had it for 4 days and have probably played it more than any game I've had.

Pure genius... pure crack.

Back to drumming I go!
Oh come on Tjung!!!!

lol

Brando70 · Post by **Brando70** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 5:55 pm

It is really, really awesome, especially if you can crank it through a good sound system. I am playing a Medium drum career and finding just the right amount of difficulty. The only thing I wish was that the drum fill sections would change the sound to match the track more closely. I like doing them, but the four pads all sound the same and don't always fit the song.

JRod · Post by **JRod** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 6:10 pm

If you have holiday dollars to spend, I saw about 3-5 Rock Bands Kits for the 360 at most of the game stores. It looks like they restocked after the holiday rush. I was surprised they were that easy to find.

Post by **ScoopBrady** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 6:41 pm

JRod wrote:If you have holiday dollars to spend, I saw about 3-5 Rock Bands Kits for the 360 at most of the game stores. It looks like they restocked after the holiday rush. I was surprised they were that easy to find.

You know, I had to return my nephews gift at Best Buy and I saw a 360 Rock Band bundle as well as 3 GH3 bundles for the 360 behind the return desk. I think the shortage of both of those items was a result of people trying to make money on Ebay expecting a shortage. I could be wrong but I'm pretty sure I'm in the ballpark.

MizzouRah · Post by **MizzouRah** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 8:09 pm

Brando70 wrote:It is really, really awesome, especially if you can crank it through a good sound system. I am playing a Medium drum career and finding just the right amount of difficulty. The only thing I wish was that the drum fill sections would change the sound to match the track more closely. I like doing them, but the four pads all sound the same and don't always fit the song.

That's the key - playing though a good sound system. I can shake the house if I want to.

macsomjrr · Post by **macsomjrr** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 8:13 pm

Is the loudness of the drum pads bugging anybody else? I'm working on quieting them down with some of the online mods but ideally I want them silent.

...maybe if I should use wet noodles instead of drum sticks?