YOUR opinions on Rock Band, Guitar Hero, etc?

tman

The 10/10 score was well deserved imo

I personally don't understand the attraction of football manager games (I could have more fun with a copy of Excel!), but I can understand that to some people, there really is no form of entertainment that comes close. If a football manager game got awarded a 10/10 score I sure as hell wouldn't be kicking up a fuss about it, as I'm sure that to a fan of those games it could be seen as well deserved.

RB3 has finally made me pull my finger out and get a midi keyboard, which I've wanted to do for years but simply couldn't justify spending money on something that I might try to use once then give up on. Who knows, in a few months I might even be making music with leads that are more than a randomised pattern!:eek:

If you don't "get" the game, grow the **** up and stop belittling those who do!

Retr0gamer

Apparently Rock Band 3 isn't selling too well

super_furry

They - Rockband in particular - was a fun gimmick that was a great laugh when friends were around. The novelty wore off pretty quickly though and the fact that I haven't had my Rockband set out since The Beatles Rockband was launched says it all really.

nullzero

I'v eplayed guitar for years, so I never gravitated towards Guiter Hero games although I'm a keen gamer.
I can see why non musicians might want to go down that road but to me it's a bit like having a burger when you've already got steak.

jaykhunter

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Apparently Rock Band 3 isn't selling too well

All numbers from VGChartz.

Guitar Hero Metallica sold just over 2 million copies
Beatles Rock Band did really well (it sold over 3 million copies), but
Green Day Rock Band was a bust (which sold a relatively awful 460,000).

I know what you're saying, they're specific "band" games, but Guitar Hero 6 (Warriors of Rock) was the next big entry and it sold 410,000 copies across 3 platforms, which has to be considered a huge flop.

I'm sorry to hear RB isn't selling well as they really do try very hard and innovate, first bringing drums, a microphone and a "bass" in RB 1, with superb online weekly DLC, wireless instruments and a more streamlined guitar in 2, with huge continued DLC support, The Rock Band network, and now keyboards and a huge step towards actually learning instruments while playing the game in 3, always with a fantastic eclectic mix of rock music.

It's like GH have been playing catch-up ever since the original RB.

(*if you have a more accurate way of obtaining worldwide sales than VGChartz, please tell me)

jaykhunter

Thought I'd compile a quick timeline to better showcase why this great gimmick has run it's course in just a few short years. Here's a list of console rhythm games (i.e. not counting portable/mobile etc) between RB and GH since 2007, which is when Rock Band hit the market.

2007
Guitar Hero 2 (360)
Guitar Hero 3 (Cross platform)
Guitar Hero Rocks the 80s

2008
Guitar Hero 4 (World Tour)
Guitar Hero Aerosmith

2009
Guitar Hero 5
Guitar Hero Metallica
Guitar Hero Van Halen
Guitar Hero Smash Hits (basically "best of" GH 1-2-3-80s-Aerosmith)
Band Hero
DJ Hero

2010
Guitar Hero 6 (Warriors of Rock)
DJ Hero 2

TOTAL : 13

2007
Rock Band

2008
Rock Band 2

2009
Lego Rock Band
Beatles Rock Band

2010
Green Day Rock Band
Rock Band 3

TOTAL : 6

I think the biggest problem is oversaturation/burn-out of the gimmick (thanks Guitar Hero) because in 2009 we got EIGHT console rhythm games.

For those wondering, there are two more GH games, GH1 & 2 (PS2), which came out in 2005 & 2006 respectively.

Dave_The_Sheep

Twilightning wrote: »

Strategy =/= A Good Game

No, strategy alone isn't enough but in my mind strategy/tactics are a large part of games, and the way you play them. Seeing a game that ignores that part of gaming (simply by being what it is*) getting a score higher than excellent games that also include some form of strategy just strikes me as odd. It's a hard argument to make, because after all, playing games is all about inputting information to the computer to make stuff happen on screen and in your speakers, when you get down to the basics of it.

There is so much more to it than that though. I'm someone who really likes to get into my games - immerse myself in the atmosphere of something, put a bit of thought into how I'm going to approach something, etc. These games just don't have that kind of appeal. Of course, that's purely a personal thing, and I've nothing against people enjoying what they enjoy and having fun with a game.

Maybe it's because the rhythm genre of gaming has only been out for a while, and I've been gaming longer than that. Maybe I just don't get it. Maybe I'm still annoyed at all the 14 year old teeny boppers who played GH all around me for 20 hours non-stop at the first LAN I went to, coming close to ruining my enjoyment of the event.

It comes down to what you like, in the end. I personally don't like them at all, and I think that the scoring systems (if they're that important) should incorporate more than just how a game ranks in it's genre, more than how it appeals to those that like the genre. A true 10/10 classic game in ANY genre should appeal even to those people who don't generally enjoy those type of games. It should be something so sublime that almost everyone will enjoy it, regardless of their personal taste.

* And while I've not played them myself for more than a few minutes, I've been told that RB/GH do what they do very very well indeed. No grudges on that.

Retr0gamer

jaykhunter wrote: »

(*if you have a more accurate way of obtaining worldwide sales than VGChartz, please tell me)

I'm just going by an article in eurogamer where first week sales really weren't great. Some people are saying they are waiting for the good instrument bundles and pro instruments to arrive though.

Twilightning

Retr0gamer wrote: »

I'm just going by an article in eurogamer where first week sales really weren't great. Some people are saying they are waiting for the good instrument bundles and pro instruments to arrive though.

This is true. While Rock Band 3 is a truly magnificent rhythm game, the cost of entry to this installment's main new feature, Pro Mode, is a costly one. Some people can't justify the cost of buying yet more peripherals, especially ones that're more expensive than €100. People are waiting for the better version of the guitar, the Fender Stratocaster, to be released next year, which actually functions as a real electric guitar, whereas the launch one doesn't.

I'd just like to point out to anyone that isn't aware is that Harmonix isn't flooding and oversaturating the video game market with bland rehashes of games that offer little innovation over its predecessor. That's what Activision does. Harmonix actually originally created the Guitar Hero series but it was bought out after their release of Guitar Hero II/Guitar Hero Rocks the 80s by Activision. The franchise's been destroyed ever since then since all they tried to do is milk it. Warriors of Rock is a prime example of this. They haven't changed the formula at all ever since they released World Tour, which in its own right was just trying to simply emulate the success of the Rock Band series.

Sisko

Grumpypants wrote: »

Thats sounds a bt like when my ma is giving out about football and she'll say something like its just a bunch of men chasing a silly ball around. No its not ma dont be daft.


Games are just a bit of fun your arent meant to over think it, the idea of hitting a load of colouredy buttons to make a cartoon man shoot a fire ball at another cartoon man is lost on me but i guess some people enjoy it.

Look I'm just saying its something I don't get, no need to come out with this kinda shite Street Fighter is an extremely deep and complex game involving two people competing against each other 1v1 , out predicting each other, thinking a number of moves ahead, baiting, manipulating all while executing precise commands its basically chess on speed.

Guitar Hero is about pressing the coloured button at the same time as the same colour appears on the screen - the timing of which is designed to make you think your playing the song that's playing in the back ground.

Your comment would only apply if all street fighter involved was ryu shooting fireballs at a wall, in timing with Britney Spears, over and over again and nothing more.

humanji wrote: »

I was never mad into these games, but decided on a whim to get the Beatles Rock Band set for my mates and me, and I really enjoyed it. Much more than I thought I would. I picked up one of the other games (not sure which) anddefinitely got my money's worth from it.

The base game is grand, but you get a lot more out of it because of the DLC. For example, I got Pearl Jam's Ten, and being a big Pearl Jam fan it's a hell of a lot more fun to play than the standard track lists.

Sweet , I'm a big pearl jam fan too and I wouldn't be appose to drunkenly trying this around a mates house during a session.

This is moving more towards karaoke then gaming though.

Sabre0001

nullzero wrote: »

... but to me it's a bit like having a burger when you've already got steak.

Burger AND Steak sounds pretty good to me

Fnz

Sisko wrote: »

Look I'm just saying its something I don't get, no need to come out with this kinda shite Street Fighter is an extremely deep and complex game involving two people competing against each other 1v1 , out predicting each other, thinking a number of moves ahead, baiting, manipulating all while executing precise commands its basically chess on speed.

Guitar Hero is about pressing the coloured button at the same time as the same colour appears on the screen - the timing of which is designed to make you think your playing the song that's playing in the back ground.

Your comment would only apply if all street fighter involved was ryu shooting fireballs at a wall, in timing with Britney Spears, over and over again and nothing more.

Funny, despite stating, over and over, that you just cannot fathom its appeal, you seem comfortable in dishing out reductive statements about rhythm games while being protective of your preferred genre. Offended when people people make reductive statement about Street Fighter while failing to see the irony when you do the same.

"Street Fighter has lame music with a cheap end boss fight. The story is awful and there's no character progression. Also the games have remained exactly the same for generations. Why don't they innovate? Games I enjoy are better in these aspects so Street Fighter is a big pile of MEH!"

Burning Eclipse

Sisko, what's the point of your argument? If someone asked this question about fighting games, and I spent all my time criticising the worst the genre had to offer would you take my argument seriously? Star Wars: Masters of Teras Kasi is crap, therefore I don't like fighting games. Try making your arguments in respect to Rock Band 3.

You said to Grumpypants that "Your comment would only apply if all street fighter involved was ryu shooting fireballs at a wall, in timing with Britney Spears, over and over again and nothing more." Your comment would only apply if the genre hadn't progressed, which it has, immensely.

I can play more music now than I could before I bought Rock Band 3; surely that is an achievement in itself.