Band Together

So, the PS3/Rock Band purchasing saga was fun and all (or maybe you didn't think so), but what about the game itself?

It's only the most awesome freaking thing ever. Playing the game is just one of those experiences where the world compresses into tunnel vision in front of you, and next thing you know, hours and hours have gone by.

This feels like it must have been the game the people at Harmonix wanted to make all along, and were working toward it inch by inch with Frequency and Amplitude, and then Guitar Hero. There were so many brilliant new touches in this that seemed like the most natural evolution of Guitar Hero. It was basically the opposite of my reaction to Guitar Hero III, where I felt they'd slightly messed up dozens of tiny little things throughout the game. Here, they added countless details that added up to the perfect package.

First, the guitar stuff. When you earn Overdrive (this game's version of Star Power), deploying it doesn't turn the notes a different color, thus making the patterns easier to follow. You can also still earn more Overdrive even while you're using it, just raising your reserves and continuing the double point streak. They've added highlighted sections for guitar solos, where the game scores your accuracy within the solo, and gives you a bonus for a good percentage.

The new guitar control adds some cool new features. There's a second set of fret buttons up the neck that you can play solos on without strumming. (Difficult to switch to, really -- but cool looking.) There's now a working modulator switch on the front of the control, which actually switches your in-game sound when using Overdrive to have echo effects and distortions.

Then the drums. Awesome. You trigger Overdrive for the drums by actually improvising your own drum fills during select portions of the song, then slamming on the "crash cymbal" at the end of the fill to deploy it. Whatever you improvise in the drum fill, you actually hear live in the game. It's really easy to start believing you're actually playing the drums when you play the game... especially if you're able to hack it on higher difficulties.

The vocals seem pretty fun so far too, from what I've seen. I know very few of the songs well enough to even dream of attempting them on higher difficulties, where you really must be pitch perfect and rhythm accurate. But on easy, it's forgiving enough that it's possible to flub your way through even a song you've never really heard before. You can hear the actual vocals in the background (which can be turned off, once you feel secure in your singing), and a line on screen helps guide you toward the proper pitch.

Singers get Overdrive too. Like the drummer, you'll have sections come along where you just improvise anything you like. (Even an oh-so-rock "HELLO, [insert city name here]!") Bang, your Overdrive is deployed.

All of this gets exponentially cooler and more fun when you play multiplayer. You can use your Overdrive to pull back in fellow band members who failed out of the song. You can further increase the multipliers on your band's Overdrive if you deploy yours while one or more other band members have theirs on. You get bonus points for playing sections of the song accurately all at the same time. And some songs have those sorts of crazy, open free-styles at the end of the song where the singer just wails away, the drummer does his best impersonation of Animal, and the guitarist strums until the strings threaten to snap. Your score goes up and up and up, provided you all brings it back together and hit the down beat to close out the song at same time.

The multiplayer mode has you earning money and fans, managers and roadies, playing dives until you can afford a tour bus to get to other cities, playing actual sets of songs, one right after another after another. You can sell out for big buck concerts and sacrifice some fans, or play charity events for no cash but lots of fan cred. Incredibly well thought out and authentic.

None of which says anything about the graphics, which are also just great. You can completely customize the appearance of your in-game characters. Dozens of hair styles, face types, attitudes, and more are just the beginning, as you can spend money you earn playing gigs to buy new clothing, jewelry and other accessories, and of course, better instruments. The characters you create then actually appear on the load screens in various freeze frame settings while you're waiting for the songs to start.

During the songs, all sorts of fun touches come out to play. You do some songs in black lights with glowing drumsticks and shiny teeth. You see camera angles in black-and-white, shot by some bootlegger in your audience. The lead singer actually whips out a cowbell to play the opening of Mississippi Queen. And these are only the things I've been able to notice so far.

I only have a couple small complaints about the game, and they all have to do with that new guitar controller. I mentioned some new things that are really awesome. But there are also a few differences that can really mess you up if you've played on the standard Guitar Hero controller for two years like I have.

The strum bar (though now silent -- a plus!) is kind of spongy in feel, and when you're strumming up and down rapidly, not every "click" seems to register, causing you to miss notes. The buttons are flush against the neck of the control, which makes it nicer looking, but easier to potentially lose your place mentally -- especially because the raised markings telling you where the center (yellow) button is are far less obvious than before.

My only other complaint as far as the guitar control goes is that the game only comes with one, and because of the demands to produce the "full package game" for the holidays, you won't be able to buy one separately until next year. Many earlier Guitar Hero controls aren't compatible with it either. (On PS3... none.) Which means unless you have a friend who also bought it, no fourth player for you until the new year. No bass player in your band. (Or guitarist, depending on your preference.)

Other than that though, this is a top notch game on every level. If you're a Guitar Hero fan, try not to let the high price tag on Rock Band scare you away. It's worth every penny.