I am a casual player of the music genre. Whenever I am caught spending time with a plastic guitar strap over my shoulder, it usually means I've had too many glasses of fine bourbon. Additionally, it means that I have run out of good ideas about what to do for the night. I watched Dance Dance Revolution, PaRappa, Karaoke Revolution, SingStar, and Samba De Amigo sweep past me. Really, I think it is attributable to the disillusionment of these games. I just could never find myself in the proper mood or confines to try them.
It wasn’t until Guitar Hero that I finally understood that music-based videogames could be fun. While I still required a proper amount closeting to really enjoy playing “Fat Lip” by Sum 41, I started to get why other people could enjoy the genre as well. My real education into these games came on the night of the release of Rock Band. I crowded into my local game vendor at midnight to purchase Mass Effect, while my girlfriend was there for Rock Band. As these things typically work out in a relationship, I found myself straddling a chair playing drums instead of my beloved science fiction role-playing game.
Rock Band showed me what an enormous music game could and couldn’t do properly. While I enjoyed my experience with the game, there are several valid critiques of the game that I can convey, as both a casual player and a writer. With the announcement of Rock Band 2 freshly over, I think it may be time to explore what the next rendition of Harmonix’s ground breaking game could provide for all of us.
The largest selling point of any music game quickly boils down to track listing. Hitting every possible niche is a daunting task, and every game fails in this regard. The great thing about Harmonix with Rock Band is that they have shown a heavy interest in at least attempting to bring it all to the consumer. This topic is especially pertinent to me, as I hate the majority of popular music. As I grow older, I find myself stuck in an endless rut of Skinny Puppy, KMFDM, :wumpscut:, and pre-hipster Nine Inch Nails. I was delightfully surprised to find out about the Nine Inch Nails downloadable content, especially the inclusion of “The Perfect Drug.”
While I am happy that I can jam to “March of the Pigs” in one of my drunken stupors, I think it brings the validity of DLC up. Should Harmonix really be charging the people that it isolates money for the music they desire to play? This is definitely one area where Rock Band 2 could greatly improve. I envision it this way. When specifically targeted DLC swings to consumers, Harmonix should offer one track for free, perhaps as a “thank you” for having that bulky drum kit shoved in my closet. That one free track could be a steppingstone. First, it would expose people to the music. Second, it would provide an opportunity for me to want to buy more of that album or package. Third, it would give me back the initiative to turn the game on again after I felt like I already mastered or played to oblivion everything I liked.
Another key thing that Rock Band 2 could provide are instruments that are durable, but still responsive to player commands. I think we are all too familiar with the stories and personal experiences of broken or flimsy guitars and bass pedals. In an interview with IGN, lead designer Dan Teasdale had this to say on the subject.
Rock Band 2's instruments will not disappoint ... Along those lines, we've been able to take all of the feedback we've received to make quieter, more realistic, and more reliable instruments.
Great, except when he says “reliable,” I hope he means, “reinforced with something other than extremely cheap plastic parts.” I would hate to have another debacle with sending back a guitar to the publishing giant EA. Dealing with their overly bureaucratic methods made my head spin.
Rock Band 2 needs to forgo the gummy strum bar, cheap drumheads, and bad bass pedals. Even better, how about creating a secondary guitar called a “bass?”
Another thing that
Rock Band 2 should really provide is a more casual atmosphere. For players like me, Rock Band can appear rather daunting. The game boots up with players thrashing on top of a moving vehicle, and all the while I’m busy trying not to trip over the horde of cords scattered on the floor. The glitz and glam of
Rock Band is intense and the set lists are often huge. Hell, some songs are just too damn hard for me to wrap my head around. My ideal play session is just relaxing and having fun, not necessarily chasing a leaderboard stat or pushing buttons until my hands go numb, which speaks to that difficulty jump everyone fears. Some songs are just too easy on medium, while others can be a stretch for someone with meager abilities.
Rock Band 2 could kill this curve.
I also think that
Rock Band 2 could greatly expand upon its multiplayer elements, both online and offline. When I invite friends over to my apartment, it is a huge ordeal to get out all of the instruments, dig out the USB splitter, and get everyone plugged in. How about making every instrument wireless? It is even more of a problem trying to navigate the various 360 menu hiccups when trying to get everyone ready to play online because no one wants to be the singer. Please, let
Rock Band 2 be more intuitive when it comes to guest accounts and ease of use.
In the end, I realize that I am not a “hardcore” music genre player. Perhaps
Rock Band is not for a guy like me, someone who uses videogames as both a form of entertainment and a profession. Even though
Rock Band 2 is on the horizon, it is definitely not late enough to consider some of these finer points. The game has much room to improve, but I wonder in what direction Harmonix will move. Will it try to accommodate a player like me that is more concerned with these small issues?
Rock Band 2 could provide an awesome experience for everyone, given that Harmonix is willing to listen. They have already proven that by including a music mixer, a community staple. What are some of the things that you guys think
Rock Band 2 could provide? Do you find these points invalid? Let me know.
Contest:
10:33 AM on 07.01.2008
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As for the DLC, my only real complaint is they are coming out with bands and songs that I have either never heard of or do not like. I understand them wanting to spread the word on bands that are lesser known, but I'm not willing to give up my hard-earned money for a band from Utah called The Mormonites without ever hearing their music. I think they should include a small sample of the music only for people to download and listen to and see if they like it enough to pay for the entire song.
Since RB never officially got released over here, I can just say: make the instruments long lasting (future and damage proof), not ridiculously expensive for any consumer and make expert mode for experts!
so that i get points for chugging during the drawn out organ solos in the boston tracks. players that fail to chug 'fail' and have to be saved.
Other than that, it occoured to me the other day that Ray Parker Jr's Ghostbusters theme would be an awesome track for Rock Band 2. Do an 80's movie theme pack. You'd sell buckets.
Phazer
I think improving the set up part (in game) is especially in need of an overhaul as it's daunting trying to coordinate 3 other people into their characters (especially when they don't know what they're doing). And for your other point about the learning curve, the in game Rock Band store includes separate ratings of difficulty for every instrument for each song. They need to show those when you're picking the song to play as well and that would help solve that. Especially since I don't like navigating the songs by difficulty and the people I usually play with don't even understand that concept.
So yeah. Good write up!
Also, if they expect me to buy the bundle with all the instruments, Harmonix needs to give me a reason to own 2 drumsets. I think a drum battle multiplayer mode would fit that need quite nicely. Include this harmonix or I'll only be buying the RB2 disc, no matter how much better the new instruments are.
-Jd
Hell yeah, at the announcement yesterday I was blow away. I could have sworn MTV/Harmonix said that the rockband platform would be sustainable for years to come. I guess I took that to mean I wouldn't have to purchase a sequel every year but I guess I'm wrong.
Not really. As long as the DLC and the instruments work for both (and they do), I don't mind. I see it more as an expansion pack of songs with bonus features.
Suppose it depends on how much you want to invest in the game. I'm pushing 150 tracks now, I do NOT want to add up how many points or $ that is. Still I look forward to more online game modes.
@Eternal: Everyone does that, their web portal sets up a link to digg for every story automatically. It's a simple/free way to promote their website. Look around, crazy social blogosphere site links are everywhere.
Another 180 out of my (moms) wallet.
The DLC is supposedly fully cross compatible with both games. So The older songs will work in RB2 and newer songs will work in RB.
I usually tell my friends (who have stage fright, in a group of their best friends, for some reason) to do the pitfall harry voice, where you just match the tone to the pitch bar. It's fun, and non-embarrassing. Try it.
Which leads me to wonder, do we really need to Full Band games out there, cuz IMHO having two different sets of 100+ dollar equipment is just stupid.
See here:
http://vgamehaven.blogspot.com/2008/06/guitar-hero-world-tour-do-we-really.html
I know about the cross compatible DLC it just bothers me that they're putting out a sequel already. I would have guessed the original Rockband to go at least two years before an update would really be needed. This stinks of franchise whoring to me.
Indeed. Couldn't agree more.
And while hardcores like me(I have logged more hours on this game than any game in my life I think) and you(maybe) stay up to date with DLC week in and out, there is stil a large portion of the populace that does not, they play everything straight off the disc.
But for me, there are a few things that I would love to see:
-The ability to officially sing and play an instrument at the same time, as in reflected by my character on screen
-Background vocalists by other players would be awesome, hell they are already singing, might as well give them in game credit for it.
-I dont know if its possible with 360, but more than 4 bandmembers would be awesome, rhythm guitar, etc.
However, the damn game is already casual enough as is! Quite frankly, junior, if some songs are too hard maybe you should stick to Medium. Since, y'know, Hard is supposed to be -hard-. Even GH3's Medium puts Rock Band to shame. Rock Band's medium difficulty is just too damn easy, and even the Hard is mostly simple until the high tiers.
Come on!
If the DLC works on both games, then stick to the first one until you want the new content.
I do like the idea of new features with a stand alone game.
Don´t need to buy the bundle.
@Josh & Daed
Maybe they found out it was easier to put out and sell another game/expansion than selling RB as an opportunity to buy more songs. I don't think something like "Buy Rockband!! It's a year old, still expensive, but you can buy a ton of songs not included in the disc!" would sound very good in the consumers mind, that and the competition with GH.
The drum difficulty is too hard for me late in the game even on Easy. I also swapped 3 guitars and 2 drum sets, though my pedal thankfully never broke.
The thing I'd like to see most in the music genre is a FINAL set of instruments. I paid $170 for this game. I can't afford Rock Band 2 if I have to buy the instruments again. Even with GH, seriously, I am sick of having to buy instruments everytime. Sure, I didn't HAVE to buy the GH3 wireless guitar pack... but come on... the wireless option should have been in GH2 and if I can afford the chance to go wireless I will. Especially since my 360 is on the top of an entertainment center. The little RB hub is stretched like a clothesline between the 360 and the power outlet... the usb cord is just barely long enough to reach the 360 and the power cord is just barely long enough to make it to the wall. Many times while playing if I move the guitar too much I end up making the hub swing down in front of the TV.
I've been pretty disappointed with Rock Band. I think that GH3 had a lot more songs that were my style. Slayer, Metallica, Iron Maiden, and even other stuff like Heart and SRV. My wife's biggest complaint about RB is the lack of chick rock. Where's Alanis? Indigo Girls? etc.
also, BPG: They have that.. <_<
Overall, good write-up. But RB1 was way too easy, so making it more casual isnt the best idea.