A Gamers Christmas Wishlist for 2008

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Top 5 Problems with Rock Band

Ok, I know I’m really late to the party for this game. After putting it off for months I finally decided to pony up the $200 cash (after taxes of course) and I brought this baby home. Allow me to preface this article by saying that Rock Band is an awesome game. Playing with your friends must be experienced first-hand to truly appreciate the greatness of this game. While the solo campaign can have its moments, this game is designed to be played with a group.

Now, after having put in more hours than I care to admit, a few things about the game have emerged as more than just minor nuisances. In an effort to organize my thoughts I have compiled a list of the top 5 things that need to be fixed in the next iteration of Harmonix’s Rock Band.

Please note, that I am tackling Rock Band from the perspective I think most people who go and buy this game will be able to relate to. I’m talking about the gamers who want to be able to bring it home, set it up and rock out with their friends. This game is far more about having fun with friends than it is about “passing levels,” “beating the boss” or “winning the game.”

And now, the top 5 things that need to be improved for Rock Band’s inevitable next iteration:

5. The guitar is terrible.

Anyone that has played with the guitars from Guitar Hero 2 or 3 will immediately notice how cheap and flimsy the guitar is that comes packaged with Rock Band. It simply doesn’t feel right. Making matters worse, the guitar is not wireless. If the guitar that comes with Guitar Hero 3 can be wireless, why can’t this one? Since I have the 360 version, I’m going to assume that it was a problem with Microsoft, as the PS3 version has a wireless guitar. Topping it all off, my guitar broke within 1 week of buying the game. Put simply, that is unacceptable.

4. The microphone has no buttons or ability to navigate menus.

Throughout the game there are many, many times when the lead singer will have to push the A button to select “continue.” Seems simple right? Nope. You have to find a controller and do it that way. While this seems like a petty complaint, when you are rocking out with tons of people (who are usually intoxicated), this can be a major pain. Would it kill them to have a button on there somewhere? How about you do the tamborine tap and that works as a button push? I realize that they probably didn’t want the singer to accidentally push a button while the rock it out, but can’t the button simply be deactivated once you are in game to avoid that problem?

3. Too many songs are locked when you buy the game. When you buy this game you are shelling out $200 to buy an elaborate kareoke machine. I’m not sure how many people out there are buying this for some hardcore challenge but in order to unlock all the songs you need to go through one of the campaign modes to get them all. When you get this game home you want to be able to play all the songs that are are in the disc. Having to play the same songs over and over again with you friends just so you can unlock more songs and add some variety is a joke. I’ll never listen to “Say it Ain’t So” ever again thanks to this game.

2. Some of the songs break the game.

That’s right, some of the songs are so hard that you will simply fail if they show up. For example, if you buy the Metallica pack and one of those songs shows up in a random setlist on world tour, chances are your band will be in tough. This is especially painful when you are on song 7 of an 8 song set. Where’s the fun in that?

1. The multiplayer interface will drive you insane.

Ok, this game is all about playing instruments. I understand that. Problem is, 9 times out of 10 there will be non-gamers playing Rock Band with you. When it comes to the interface that’s a huge problem. I can’t even count the number of times someone will get their turn on drums and proceed to hammer out a drum solo to warm themselves up. Unfortunately, unbeknownst to them, the pads are actually buttons too and somehow you end up backed up all the way to the main menu. Or, when you are ready to rock somebody hits the red button on the guitar as they and you have to start setting it up all over again. It’s a real problem. Why can’t 1 player have full control to set the band up? It would only take a second. If you’ve played the game at a party before, no doubt you will have experienced this. Problem is, the more you play (and you’ll play a lot) the more times it will happen to you.

That’s it. Despite these problems, Rock Band is a simply fantastic game. It brings gamers and non-gamers together in a way that few games have ever been able to before. It is the evolution of Guitar Hero and has something for everyone. If you are on the fence about this game, don’t be. These gripes are all minor (save the guitar breaking perhaps) and the core game is the definition of fun.

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Rock Band 2’s twenty free DLC songs revealed – Those of you that buy a new copy of Rock Band 2 are entitled to get twenty songs through a free DLC pack, available on the PlayStation Store on November 4th. The songs are quite surprising, covering a wide range of music styles. … Rock Band 2 bonus DLC revealed, coming Nov. 4 – Harmonix has revealed (via IGN) the identity of the mysterious 20 downloadable tracks from Rock Band 2. There are no heavy-hitters to be found on the list; instead, we get a set of predominantly lesser-known artists such as The … Rock Band 2 free DLC is indie-tastic – The good news is Harmonix has officially announced the 20 free downloadable songs [via IGN] they promised gamers with the purchase of Rock Band 2 — make sure you’re registered first! The bad news is the rumored list of tracks was … Rock Band 2: Great news about SD cards, vague news about Guitar … – MTV’s Patrick Klepek allowed readers to submit questions for him to ask Harmonix about Rock Band 2, and luckily for us, people were curious about the details of the Wii version. Klepek got real, concrete answers about DLC — and less … Free Rock Band 2 downloads revealed – Harmonix has released the list of twenty free downloadable songs available to Rock Band 2 owners as an incentive not to buy the game used a nice free bonus. It looks a lot like any other free compilation we’ve encountered: a bunch of … Rock Band 2 Cheats, Codes, Cheat Codes – Sep 14, 2008 … Rock Band 2 is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, as the sequel to … Loading Fetching blurbs now… please stand by … Rock Band Cheats – Wii Rock Band Special Edition. Price: $129.99 List Price: $139.99. Wii Rock Band 2 Special Edition · Wii Rock Band 2 Special Edition. Price: $189.99 …