Rock Band 3

So, Rock Band 3. I first heard about it on youtube while I was searching for videos of PowerGig in October, I was interested in buying PowerGig and I am glad I did not. I came to RB from a long standing history of being a Guitar Hero guy, one of those that didn't see the need for two similar rhythm games, but I am glad I was wrong. What appealed to me instantly about RB3 was the pro instrument mode and the Squier. I have been looking to learn guitar for years but have never had the time nor money to invest in a guitar AND instructor. Over the past couple of year I have been watching the instruction side of guitars and its presence online. You can find many videos from various sites now. So I decided to put the money down for Rock Band 3 and more recently for the Squier and a bunch of other stuff along with it (amp, picks, tuner, ect). RB3's set list is awesome, pure awesome. There are tons of great songs like Rainbow in the Dar by Dio, Crazy Train by Ozzy, Centerfold by The J Giels Band, or Cold as Ice by Foreigner. This is expanded by RBN's over 2400 songs up for download, some are even free such as Still Alive; yes THAT Still Alive from Portal, and some Rock Band 2 songs. I have not had a chance to play the Pro Mode yet as I did not want to buy a Mustang, the whole reason for the innovations in this game was to get off those plastic things. I will update this review with info on the Squier once I get in in March. Anyway you progress through the game by beating road tours, set lists, and completing goals for your selected instrument. Each one has their own goals and you can even use the guitar to play three instruments; guitar, bass, and keys. You unlock parts of the road tour as you gain fame. One of the hardest goals you will do in Rock Band 3 is the endless set list where you play through all 83 songs. That took me three days, a total of around 4 to 5 hours. I liked that I could use my Guitar Hero: Areosmith guitar to play this game, true I do not have the solo buttons, but I have never picked up a RB game before so this was new territory. The game is actually a lot more polished then the GH's and it felt like the note tracking was smoother. The charting also seems superior over GH although there are a few songs I think Harm just put some random notes in for in Expert mode, not many of its 83 songs mind you, but a few. One thing I did notice, don't know if it was intentional, is that the background scene tends to lag quite a bit. Again I don't know if that is intentional or not since the fretboard is not affected by this. With the amount of content in-game and on RBN as well as Pro Mode you will have many weeks of use our of this game and it has a very high replay value, like most of the other rhythm games. I have not played online yet, and do not plan to so I can not comment on that. All comments above pertain to playing the game solo, I do not know what kind of issues or quirks the game has for bands. On the instruction side, again I have not had a chance to play pro mode, but I have watched an ungodly number of videos or rather the same videos many MANY times about pro mode. All signs point to that RB3 as an instructional aid is going to be where the butter is at for those looking to break into the field or those who already know some stuff but want to get their stuff together and round out their guitar-ology. I would suggest that you take some basic online video courses to learn how to hold, play, and maintain the guitar before playing RB3 though. As far as I have seen the instruction mode assumes you know the most basics of basics and jumps right into single note strumming bypassing all those pesky technique lessons. There are several sites that have free video tuts for beginners, all you need to do is google for free beginner guitar video lessons.

For some reason this game is hard to find in Mexico city, I think there are few distributors and they are more interested in Guitar Hero. I only wish Amazon would also send guitar controllers which are even harder to get. The game is a very rich update to the experience in RB2. Among the most notorious features are: * when you pause the game, it rolls back a few bars, thus allowing you to catch up * you can join or leave at any time, for practice and to avoid frustration * if you fail a song you may keep playing to the end, but you lose your scoring * road challenges are set lists you must complete, but you may stop at the middle of a challenge and next time it will resume from where you left off * load times are significantly shorter * improved graphics * all songs come unlocked from the start * menus are accessible from more parts of the game, and options such as no-fail mode can be toggled from the song select screen I play RB3 mostly with my wife, we have two daughters but the older one is just 19 months old so she doesn't care too much for the game, just tries to hit the drums or press all the buttons on the guitar. We can just drop one instrument and join on another to keep on progressing. Being able to resume challenges is also very helpful, since we hardly get to play more than a couple of songs in a row anyway. New songs are good, and I'll import my other RB songs into the game, if you'll only buy one RB game, make sure it's this one. It keeps the same gameplay formula so it's just as fun as the others, but all the features I mentioned fix several annoyances from the past. I'm looking forward to play in the new PRO mode, but Amazon won't ship the cymbals, the mustang controller nor the midi adapter for my keyboard to Mexico, so it will have to wait until I find another trustworthy online retailer.

I'll try to mention some things other reviewers have not covered. Positives and new changes - Slick interface...every user has their own menu (this is where you select your character). - Cut scenes really add to the band dynamic. A lot of times replacing the load screens. - Road challenges are fantastic...mixes in all your old songs and much improved over the old world tour - No cash this time...just rewards. I always thought the cash was a pain. - On guitar if there is trill (rapid hammer-ons betweeen 2 notes) you don't have to hit every note exactly...the highway is highlighted and as long as you alternate rapidly you score - Song selection - a real good mix of all styles. Yes you won't like them all but they're all fun to play. - If a female sings a song, a female character sings...and vice versa. Nice - Pro drums are available on all old songs, both previous versions and DLC...did not expect this - Vocal Harmonies also there on some previous DLC content Cons - MAJOR - Competitive modes have disappeared. No Player vs player, local or online. Why???? - I was hoping the characters playing guitar/bass had straps this time...instead of magically floating instruments. Yes it's petty of me. Have not tried out the keyboard or any of the pro modes yet so this is just my initial take on the game. Probably worth a 4 star based on what I've seen so far, but there's so much more so it gets a 5.

Ok so I had to buy this for like $45 used in "ok" condition. It runs so whatever. I picked this up for the PS3 and the songs on it are really great, so if your one of those people who is on the fence about picking this game up now that it's mission impossible to find it at a reasonable price, my advice is this. If you have the money to blow, and NEED the game, pick it up, you won't regret it. But I'd advise just getting it used over new, since why pay $130-$150 for a game that you will also be paying extra to download additional songs for? The tracks are real solid, and it introduced me to some songs I'd never heard before that I really love, which is extremely rare for me (I'm that guy who believes music stopped being good period lol). I wouldn't say it's worth $150, but it is a solid game, so it is a 5 star game, and I won't knock points off simply because the games hard to find, but man is it hard not to focus most of my attention on how lame THAT aspect of acquiring this game truly is lol.

I became interested in this game because they finally took the music genre another step up. They added keyboards. They made it possible to play using real instruments. I received the game last night with the keyboard controller and I have to say, it's very fun. I haven't used normal keys mode at this time, I started off immediately with pro keys and it feels great. May take a few moments to determine the chords the game is telling you to press in time to press them, the songs generally can take more practice to play properly because of that. Get to focus on your fingering techniques. While most songs in the game seem to feature keyboards, there are some that do not. You can use the keyboard to play bass or guitar parts on those songs, or any song really. This is also pretty fun to do. I've never been too big on the guitar instrument so playing it on a keyboard makes it more appealing for me. Expert pro keys is pretty intense looking. Can't do that yet, but I was curious :) I don't have any of the other RB3 instruments at this time. So am unable to discuss those. Overall, great fun. It's new and fresh feeling, and can actually help to like, play real instruments. I've become addicted all over again :)

Let me start off by saying that Rock Band 3 is an excellent experience. I am writing this as an experienced Rock Band player, so I'm going to write this review from that point of view. Major improvements over Rock Band 2 include: - Being able to drop in and out of a session without having to resort to "backing out" into the lobby area to add/drop players. HUGE plus; no longer is there the audible groan emitted by the group when someone wants to take a break or "hey, I want to play!" - Filtering / song selection is a LOT friendlier. You can now sort by song genres, decades, game versions, etc. in a much more controlled manner giving you better access to your songs. - As your band goes on the road, the in-between videos of driving to your next gig, or the parties after your concert to the aftermath that ensues is an awesome personal touch. - Pro Mode keyboards (Mustang PRO guitar will arrive 11/26; I'll edit my review once I get it) are a challenge, but a blast. It definitely wants to make me excel; it's so much fun. A big concern that I had was whether or not there would be a range of difficulties in PRO Mode so I can baby-step into it; rest assured, there is. Both PRO and regular modes have difficulties ranging from Easy to Expert. - Character customization is far more powerful and I like the range of choices far better. - Song choice has expanded considerably with the introduction of the keyboard. - Harmonies are now supported in Rock Band 3 a la Beatles and Green Day. Major gripe: - And oh, it's a doozy. You want to have 2 guitars, a keyboard, and a vocalist at the same time? Nope. It won't happen. It...will...not...let you. Well, that's not EXACTLY true. The ONLY way that you can have these combination of peripherals work is if you enter "All Instruments Mode" which will support 2 guitars, a keyboard, a drum set, and your vocalists. What's the complaint, you ask? Well, vocalists are forced into "karaoke mode" which means that all their singing is for naught...no overdrive, nothing. Rock Band 2 had a similar thing...it was called "stand behind the couch and sing along while 2 guitars and the drum set are utilized with the mic turned off." In fact, I could have a choir going on with Rock Band 2 with the mic turned off. I can make it a 24-player game. The effect is about the same for me in Rock Band 3. It's stupid and costs the game a single star for me. Not only that, but you can't have 1 guitar, 1 bass, and a keyboard at the same time either without being forced into "All Instruments Mode." It will force you into it, vocalist or no. The downside to all of this is that you can't enter into an online session if you're in "All Instruments Mode." Overall, it's a great game. Why they could support a vocal/keyboard/drum/guitar (or bass) combination but NOT a vocal/keyboard/guitar/bass combination staggers me. There is already one complaint (or I should more accurately say, "how do you do it" post) on the [...] forum. If that issue doesn't bother you, then rush out and get it. If it does, then you have been warned. -- Edit 10 / 30 / 2010 -- To make matters worse, this problem appears to extend to online sessions as well. We tried drums and keyboard at my house while my friends' house had guitar, bass, and vocals. The guitar + bass + keyboard combination appears to be the kiss of death; it WILL NOT WORK as of 10 / 30 / 2010. Through troubleshooting, we figured out that the highest number of participants that you can engage is 6: 1 bass / 1 guitar (or keyboard, just not a combination of the 3) / 3 vocalists (harmonies must be in the same household; we could not get harmonies to work in different households) / 1 drum. The box says 2 - 7 players online. We could not make 7 work. Please chime in if you could and what combination that you utilized to make it happen. Hopefully, Harmonix produces a patch for this issue because the nexus behind Rock Band 3 (and what all of us were led to believe) was that the keyboard became the additional instrument, not the frustrating "and / or" situation that it has become. Buyer be warned. -- Edit 11 / 10 / 2010 -- Harmonix posted a Top 10 FAQ. They may be working on a patch which may resolve some outstanding issues, but it's not specifically clear whether or not they intend on addressing the All Instruments Mode issue. I will continue to track this. If this issue is fixed in the future, I will update this review. In the meantime, I stand by deducting a star from an otherwise awesome game. -- Edit 12 / 26 / 2010 -- All Instruments Mode is still around. I'm afraid that it might be around to stay. While it's not a deal-killer for all, I'm afraid that it will alienate the singers out there.

Having been a fan of the RB series and finally upgrading to a PS3, this was the first game on my mind. On the plus side: *Familiar gameplay *great animations/customization *great track list My only cons are *downloaded songs have to load every time you start the game. This seems weird, and while it doesn't take long, its irritating *the "band set up" montages before each song get pretty lame after you've seen each of them 50 times. Wish they were skippable *if you are a fan of only one instrument, it takes a while to unlock all the road challenges and you still have to play songs you don't like to get your artist/band through the single player game All in all, a great addition to the series and well worth the purchase for RB fans or just music fans looking for a fun game.

My husband and his friends are musicians in their spare time. They use to play together in high school and college, unfortunately, becoming grown ups has taken a toll on how often they get to "rock out" with their real instruments. HOWEVER, when they do, I get jealous that I can't join in and play something (besides tambourine). When Rock Band came out, we all thought...."Lame, fake instruments" but it has proved to be way better than expected, especially the capabilities to purchase new songs. Great graphics. When parties run late and we have to put the real instruments away, we can still "rock out" into the wee hours!