Not Your Average Video Game

Author's Rating:

Pros: Interactive; perfect for groups; variety; excellent customer service

Cons: faulty equipment was disappointing when we first got it

The Bottom Line: 
Buy this game- you can play it with your family, your friends, even your grandparents!

Author's Review
My husband and I received Rock Band for the Xbox 360 as a Christmas present from my parents. I would have never imagined how much fun it would be for us, as well as the neighbors!

Game Overview
Rock Band is an interactive video game that comes with a video game guitar, a 4 pad drum simulation, and a microphone. The guitar has two sets of five fret keys coded by color. The first set is for adults and the second set is lower on the neck of the guitar for younger players. The drums are also color coded and come with a foot pedal. The basic concept of the game is to follow a series of color coded steps that appear on the screen. When played correctly, the instrument sound will be added to the song playing. The singer follows the words karaoke style, with a line going up and down to guide you in the tune. If not played correctly, the song does not sound quite right, your team loses points, and you may eventually be “kicked” off stage.

Players can practice, use a quick play option, play a solo tour or start a band tour. Over 30 songs of varying degrees of difficult are available with the game, and many more available through purchase at Xbox Live. Along with the difficulty of the song, you can choose your personal difficulty level- easy, medium, hard or expert. In tour play, you earn money, fans and star points based on how well you play. As you earn more fans, you are expected to play at a higher level of difficulty. As you earn stars, you unlock new songs and new venues. A fun aspect for the ladies (and some men too!) is the ability to create your character and buy new clothes and accessories as you go along. The more gigs your character plays, the more money you earn.

Highlights and Downfalls
This innovative idea for a video game is a giant step in the right direction for video games. Parents will be thrilled to encourage musical discovery and find hidden talents in their children and each other. You will find it to appeal to all generations. My dad will enjoy playing music from the 60s, such as Rolling Stones and The Who. We have played it with our friends in their 20s and 30s, their children, ranging from 10-15 years old, and even our own son, who is two, loves beating on the drums. The variety of songs, plus the availability of new songs is very appealing.

Our only problem with Rock Band so far has been the equipment failure. Within two days of having the game our guitar strum bar quit working. Less than a month later one of the drum pads quit working. However customer service and replacement has never been easier. EA Games was aware of the flaw in its product, and after a short registration on the support website, we had new equipment shipped to us. We received it within 2 days, and it came with return labels to send back the broken equipment. There was absolutely no hassle to the interaction and other businesses should take note of their excellent customer service.

Conclusion
Of all the video games I have played, Rock Band stands out as the most innovative, most interactive and most fun for all ages. Even the most introverted individuals will find their place in the spotlight while jamming out on guitar, and the attention-seekers will bask in the glow of “fame” while rocking the mic.