Maybe the world is just tired of rhythm genre and for a moment I too just checked out and didn't care to keep up with any rhythm games ever since the 1st RockBand. For me however, its been several years now since I have played a rhythm game and I hear you can actually use a real guitar instead of cluttering up the room with more plastic crap. But with a strong lineup of games coming out this season, I really need something of a quick look and reviews to convince me its not going to be another "the devs were ambitious, but ultimately failed" attempt at a game.
So please GB crew, quick look this game, and if any body that has already taken the plunge and gotten Rocksmith already, tell us whats up.
Rocksmith
Game » consists of 6 releases. Released Oct 18, 2011
Rocksmith is a guitar-based music game designed around playing a real electric guitar.
Rocksmith is out now, but still really skeptical about buying
Mine comes in on the 20th. Amazon has been slacking lately with these no release date delivery situations :/
I heard it does what its meant to do very well. But not much of a game. Kotaku's "Should you buy feature" got me a little concerned. Then I read the article.. sort of, and came to the realization the writers are dumb.
I tried it at PAX - it's extremely responsive. It recognized every fret and string. It's exactly the sort of tool a beginner or intermediate guitarist might want, if they're looking to improve their actual playing skill.Thank you. This is exactly the sort of thing I was looking for in whether I should get this game or not.
-Comment from Kotaku's comment section. Not the article itself.
Its seems it functions pretty well and is a great tool for helping aspiring guitarists hone their skills. But be weary its not much of a game? Iunno, when I read the Kotaku headline I thought it was a bust and I too was worried cause I pre-ordered it yesterday.
I've spent about 2-3 hours with it. I have 15 yrs guitar playing experience but would consider myself pretty mediocre.
I am really enjoying it so far. I was worried about the latency, which is my biggest problem with it. On slow songs it is not a big deal, but once I played Slither it really became annoying. I was connected to a plasma tv via hdmi. I swapped over to analog out for audio using the component cables and it was night and day difference. Much better and latency no different then when I run my guitar through my computer using main stage or live.
I did not see how to set difficulty at the start so it began really slow. The first thirty minutes was way too easy, but it did start adjusting the difficulty quickly. After two hours it is pushing me to sight read on the first try.
Chords are pretty easy to get but solos and complicated riffs will have to be practiced. I see it being pretty difficult to play higher difficulties and nail 100% first time through a song. This is definitely a guitar practice aid and amp/effects simulator and not a true game. So far I am having a blast rocking out with it and would not hesitate to recommend to anyone that has low to mid level ability, or a true beginner that has a good deal of patience. Hope that helps, message me with any specific questions.
If you want to use hdmi I recommend getting one of the adapters online that will still let you use analog audio out, as the component plug that comes with the xbox slim is too fat to have plugged in with the hdmi.
The store menu has spots for songs and gear, so I'm sure they will sell tones and pedals in addition to inevitable song dlc.
I'm happy with the purchase. I've never been ashamed of my plastic instrument collection in the closet, but it sure feels good to use my real gear plugged in. There are some interface quirks and the forced repetition in the story mode might get old. I'll report back if my opinion changes as I play more.
@StaticFalconar: I spent an hour with it last night. In short, it works (so far).
Consider it instructional software more than a game. Play it if you want to learn how to play those songs on guitar. There are game-elements i.e. unlocking amps and effects pedals to use in the game's virtual amp, but obviously you would only care about that if you want to use the game as an amp to play through.
Latency was my biggest worry. My 360 was hooked up to my TV via HDMI and then from the TV to my sound system. This was unplayable. I switched to use my component cables and connect the audio directly to my stereo and then it was perfect. So be aware that you may need to switch to analog audio to make this game work. (Nothing the devs could do about this... it's just the nature of the technology.)
I only played 3 songs and 4 exercises, but it tracks your position on the guitar very well. There's no need to worry if the software will pick up what you're playing (so far) - it just works.
This is how I see this game. If you have an electric guitar and want to learn some more songs or even learn how to play better, you should buy this game. For me, I'm intrigued to know if this game will actually sharpen my mediocre skills. If you don't feel like throwing down $80 on the game, wait until people post YouTube videos of the songs they 100% and just play along with them and you will get a song down after a while.
@HairyMike87 said:
This is how I see this game. If you have an electric guitar and want to learn some more songs or even learn how to play better, you should buy this game. For me, I'm intrigued to know if this game will actually sharpen my mediocre skills. If you don't feel like throwing down $80 on the game, wait until people post YouTube videos of the songs they 100% and just play along with them and you will get a song down after a while.
I think this game can only go so far as teaching you basic techniques and the nodes required to play the songs. Things like switching between notes and chords, building finger independence and hand-eye coordination, etc.
I don't think this game can teach you to play well. When I'm playing on my own, I'm pretty articulate, but I was getting pretty sloppy playing easy stuff in the game because I have the additional step of parsing the visual language of the game trying to play songs I don't know plus compensating for the (minimal) lag. It took my focus away from my technique.
The only way I see myself playing these songs well is to memorize them by playing the game, practicing them outside the game (or in the in-game amp), and then playing them from memory as the game is running. Following the note charts directly makes me sloppy.
I picked this up on Tuesday and have been fairly happy with it so far. For context I've been playing guitar for about 10 years now and I'm fairly decent at it (I can't shred crazy solos or anything, but I can hold my own in a band). I've kind of gotten lazy with playing in the last few years so I'm hoping that this will force me to start playing a bit more.
The game actually works surprisingly well. The interface takes a little bit of getting used to; understanding what frets you need to hit is fairly straightforward since they appear left to right on the screen and are numbered like the neck of a guitar. Getting the hang of the strings is a little bit tricky though, since they operate based on color. I figured out pretty quick which ones were the EAD, but when you get to the higher pitched strings I tend to get mixed up (which one is purple!?). The UI takes some getting used to. I'd say it isn't the best system, but to be fair I can't really like of any other way to represent this information so overall it does a pretty good job.
I also found the default setting for how the strings are visualized confusing (with the high E on the bottom and the low E on top). When chords came up on screen they looked backwards to what I was used to seeing in tabs. I switched it to "Classic Mode" (I think that's what it's called), which flips it and it's a lot easier to understand now.
The leveling mechanic is both good and bad I find. I think for an absolute beginner it does a good job of starting things really slow, and recognizing when you're ready for a bit more (adding more notes, and turning single-string picking into a power chord). As someone who has played guitar a fair bit it was a bit frustrating at first because I felt it moved a little bit too slow for me. I think I had to play Satisfaction two or three times before it gave me the full version of the main riff.
It can also be frustrating to be "downgraded" in skill while playing a song. I've never been amazing at rhythm games, so it's pretty common for me to completely bone up a part the first time I see it. Sometimes when this happens the game goes "well he can't handle this, let's drop it down and take some notes out". It's pretty frustrating to see a bunch of notes in front of you just disappear right in front of you and have to grind through the song to get them back. I also often find it difficult to play some parts with notes missing especially if I'm familiar with the song, though this is a complaint I have with all rhythm games.
All that aside, the leveling mechanic is also a lot of fun a the same time. If a song starts out at the right difficulty (maybe dumbed down a little bit, but more than picking one note every four bars) it's fun to progressively master each part and have the game throw more at you on the fly. I'm not sure if the game has a general understanding of your skill and starts new songs a little harder than it did at the beginning, or if I'm just getting into harder songs, but I found the experience got a lot better as I went on.
There are a few things about the game that are kind of a bummer. The menus are slower than I'd like. I have some audio-delay using composite cables though I got used to it pretty quick and doesn't seem to be game breaking. The UI doesn't do a great job of showing how accurate you are or if you're keeping time or hitting the right notes.
Overall I'm happy with it. I think if you already own a guitar and need an excuse to play it's worth the investment, given that it's only $20 more than a regular XBOX game. For beginners, while I can't say for certain since I don't have that perspective any more, I think this game is a really good way to force yourself to play guitar and have fun doing it. I know learning the old-school way can be a bit tough and frankly boring at times, and that's when a lot of people give up. I think this game should keep you playing just because it's so fun.
Being gifted an elec. guitar a couple years ago for christmas and literally not using it (i had no interest at the time and preferred games to waste my time on) this game sounds perfect to learn on. I hope that its interface eventually allows a complete beginner like me to understand and use guitar tabs effectively. Biggest bummer though is its not out this year in europe and only way is to import PS3 version for around £80 on ebay (127 dollars excluding delivery)
Im probably going to have to import this from the US since the UK one is on hold due to some weird licensing issues, has anyone compared this to using Rockband 3 with the high end guitar? I spent so much on Rockbands store now that seems a waste to abandon it and start again on another game. I would really like to learn how to play my real guitar though so if buying this game is what it takes ill happily do it.
Yeah, Kotaku, and most Gawker sites, just seem to get worse every day. Today they did something similar with the Deus Ex DLC. The writer of the article said do not buy based on the price and the first couple of hours. He hadn't finished it and it wasn't because he hated it. Apparently he couldn't find time to finish the 4-6 hour content in the 4 days that it'd been out. I assume Gawker is like a lot of these big networks of sites where the writers are paid shit to pump out content and quality is never a thing that anyone worries about.Mine comes in on the 20th. Amazon has been slacking lately with these no release date delivery situations :/
I heard it does what its meant to do very well. But not much of a game. Kotaku's "Should you buy feature" got me a little concerned. Then I read the article.. sort of, and came to the realization the writers are dumb.
I tried it at PAX - it's extremely responsive. It recognized every fret and string. It's exactly the sort of tool a beginner or intermediate guitarist might want, if they're looking to improve their actual playing skill.Thank you. This is exactly the sort of thing I was looking for in whether I should get this game or not.-Comment from Kotaku's comment section. Not the article itself.Its seems it functions pretty well and is a great tool for helping aspiring guitarists hone their skills. But be weary its not much of a game? Iunno, when I read the Kotaku headline I thought it was a bust and I too was worried cause I pre-ordered it yesterday.
That said, I really hope we see a Quick Look of this soon. It'd be nice to get some video showing how it all works without any sort of marketing filter.
I bought this game on release date and have played it some 20+ hours so far. I would highly recommend it to anyone wanting to learn the basics of guitar and enjoys playing the music genre of games out there.
@Shuborno said:
Latency was my biggest worry. My 360 was hooked up to my TV via HDMI and then from the TV to my sound system. This was unplayable. I switched to use my component cables and connect the audio directly to my stereo and then it was perfect. So be aware that you may need to switch to analog audio to make this game work. (Nothing the devs could do about this... it's just the nature of the technology.)
I have the same setup for my Xbox. Is there a calibrate option so I won't have to reconfigure my connections?
@skrutop said:
@Shuborno said:
Latency was my biggest worry. My 360 was hooked up to my TV via HDMI and then from the TV to my sound system. This was unplayable. I switched to use my component cables and connect the audio directly to my stereo and then it was perfect. So be aware that you may need to switch to analog audio to make this game work. (Nothing the devs could do about this... it's just the nature of the technology.)
I have the same setup for my Xbox. Is there a calibrate option so I won't have to reconfigure my connections?
I briefly looked for (and didn't find) calibration options, but this is a fundamental thing that can't really be calibrated. The game comes with this poster: http://rocksmith.ubi.com/rocksmith/en-US/setup/index.aspx Notice how HDMI is never suggested as an option for your audio signal.
See, with Rock Band you can fake it because your instrument (plastic or real) is not actually making the sound. You are giving an input via a peripheral and the game is deciding whether or not that matches the chart. The game can wait to get your input and wait to give you feedback.
With Rocksmith, it's just your guitar. You are hearing yourself play. Your guitar signal needs to reach the console, undergo processing, and output to a sound system. The input/output will take time. (This same problem exists for USB-based recording solutions for computers - for recording you'd usually avoid USB for this reason.)
Honestly, I was bummed out when I first tried it and had so much lag, but I had the component cables handy and hooking things up that way worked fine.
My long-term solution is I went online and ordered some cheap cables and the dongle for the 360 that just has RCA audio outputs so I can still use HDMI for better video but use analog audio out directly to my receiver. If your setup is not flexible enough to hook up analog audio (even temporarily whenever you put the game in like I am) then unfortunately you probably shouldn't play this game. It would just be frustrating with that lag.
@skrutop said:
@Shuborno: Thanks for the info; I really appreciate it.
No problem.
Be aware of the dude who posted right before your comment that has a PS3 -> HDMI -> TV setup with no lag.
So your experience can very depending on your specific setup. I have an older HDTV and an older receiver so that might be why I was having issues - the equipment isn't really designed directly for this purpose!
I'm just saying it's fine for me. I've also played with audio going out via composite cables to headphones. Works great as well.
All I'm really saying is if your TV has a Game Mode, make sure it's set to it. That's in the manual.
In all reality, I believe it works with just the TV because of the whole Sony Product synergy deal.
@Catarrhal said:
My greatest concern with Rocksmith is the total lack of information regarding DLC plans, especially considering how lame the track list already is.
It wouldn't surprise me if there are no DLC plans as of yet. Ubisoft needs to wait and see how many copies of the game sell in order to determine if licensing additional tracks for sale as DLC will be financially viable. If I had to guess, I would say that there are possibly a handful of songs already completed as DLC and then that will be the end of it, and that's being pretty optimistic.
Actually, today Ubi announced they will have a DLC announcement soon. :P
Such a good game, I'm still shocked that it works as well as it does. It won't necessarily teach you the theory to make your own music, but it certainly will get you playing and practicing your instument. A lot.
Hell, It's worth 80 bucks for the amp mode alone.
Speaking of which, I put together this list of some of the amps and effects pedals in the game (there are over 70) and my guesses at the real gear that they're modeling. Just to give an idea. It's basically a guitar gearhead's dream.
Amps
Ichigo <-> Orange Rockerverb 50
DC58 <-> Vox AC30
Fasser <-> Roland JC-120
Hitmacchen <-> HIWATT Custom 100
Soprano <-> Soldano SLO-100
Baritone <-> '59 Fender Bassman
Solo Tenor <-> '64 Fender Deluxe
Solo Megan <-> Mesa-Boogie Mark IIC
Megan Duel <-> Mesa-Boogie Dual Rectifier
Reinier 81 <-> Marshall JCM 800
Reinier 65 <-> Marshall 1959 Super Lead 100w 'Plexi'
Pedals
Tape Delay <-> Roland RE-201
Digital Delay <-> Boss DD-3 Digital Delay
Holy-Cow <-> Electro-Harmonix Holy Grail
Distortion <-> Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer
Buzz 2 <-> Electro-Harmonix Big Muff
Fuzzz <-> Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face
Line Drive <-> MXR Distortion +
Capt Fuzzle <-> Tycobrahe Octavia (?)
Muskrat <-> Pro-Co Rat
Custom Drive <-> Fulltone OCD
Screech <-> Ibanez TS808 Tube Screamer
Super Drive <-> Boss BD-2 Blues Driver
Shred Zone <-> Boss MT-2 Metal Zone
Autofilter <-> Moog MF-101 Lowpass Filter
British Wah <-> Vox Wah Wah
Range Booster <-> Dallas Rangemaster
Waaah Time <-> Dunlop Cry Baby Wah
Auto Wah <-> Boss AW-2 Auto Wah
Compressor <-> BBE Main Squeeze/Orange Squash
Compression <-> MXR M-102 Dyna Comp
Rota-vibe <-> Univox Univibe
Chorus <-> Boss CE-2 Chorus
Pulse Pulse <-> Electro-Harmonix Pulsar
Phaser-363 <-> MXR Phase 90
Chorus 2.0 <-> T.C. Electronics Stereo Chorus +
Vintage Stereo Chorus <-> MXR Stereo Chorus
Octangle <-> Univox Superfuzz (?)
Vintage Flanger <-> MXR M-117 Flanger
Ring Mod, Square Mod <-> Moog MF-102 Moogerfooger Ring Modulator
Choppah, Stereo Choppah <-> gig fx Chopper
I've been messing with the PS3 version for a few days now. I've got a cheap Yamaha Pacifica plugged in and it's working great. recognizes all notes and chords so far but I haven't tried any alternate tuning songs yet. component video to a DLP and digital audio out (optical) to a receiver had a little lag. I switched to analog audio and all-channel-stereo output on the receive and everything was fine. I've been playing a little while and know a handful of chords and a few simple songs. Mostly I've just been looking for new things to practice.
good stuff:
It works & good songs
It forces you to not watch your hands and get used to playing by feel and muscle memory quicker
amp mode is awesome
I'm learning a bunch of fun songs and the game makes it feel easy.
the little arcade games are alright
bad stuff:
slow menus. just some dumb zoom animations and random stuff that should just be much faster or just not in there.
fairly lengthy progress save and reload after every single thing you do. This is my biggest complaint. it seems poorly thought out and it's makes things pretty clunky and really slow.
It can't teach good technique, but I can't say I expected it to
Please Log In to post.
This edit will also create new pages on Giant Bomb for:
Beware, you are proposing to add brand new pages to the wiki along with your edits. Make sure this is what you intended. This will likely increase the time it takes for your changes to go live.Comment and Save
Until you earn 1000 points all your submissions need to be vetted by other Giant Bomb users. This process takes no more than a few hours and we'll send you an email once approved.
Log in to comment