Rock Band is a music video game very much similar to Guitar Hero (both developed by Harmonix) where players uses a guitar controller to simulate playing music by hitting notes in the scrolling music map on the screen. The first entry of the Guitar Hero series was released in the late 2005. Rhythm game was a genre that never attracted me. We own couple of Nintendo rhythm games (microphone and dance mat to play with) for Jackie. Since this type of game was not of interest to me, I was even unaware that people were gaga about Guitar Hero. Only when the third installment of the series was released that I have become aware of how fun this game is. Kudos to my husband for giving me (GH3) Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (released mid 2007) for Christmas - the best present! I had no idea that the game is so much fun, and very addictive. If there are stuff that needs to get done that day, I have to not play because I get lost in it and the entire day is gone - once I start I cannot stop.
Rock Band was released in November 2007. I became familiar of its existence several weeks ago because of American Idol (I am a fan of the show!). Jackie seem to have some interest in singing and I have been thinking about what to get with our gift card. I remember my co-worker mentioning in the past about the American Idol game (a karaoke game) he owned, and how much fun it is. I started doing some research on it and found out that American Idol Encore for Wii is scheduled for release on February 5th. I was reading reviews on the past installments of the game when I ran across Rock Band. All of a sudden my research got diverted to researching Rock Band - LOL. And then, it was finally decided - have to get Rock Band for sure :) Again, if not for GH3 I would not have been interested in reading about it. Thank you Don, I love you!
No regrets in getting Rock Band (RB)- it's a definite hit with me and Jackie. I have to encourage my husband to play more with us :) Before Rock Band we have to take turns playing Guitar Hero because we only have one guitar controller. Jackie has trouble with the game because of her tiny fingers. The frets are hard for her to reach and press. I felt guilty (and selfish) playing the game because she could not play with me (but she loves to watch and laugh at me when I miss notes and fail the entire song - ha ha). Though, I could tell that she really wants to play, but discouraged because of her physical limitations. With Rock Band I can play with her! This is where RB comes ahead of GH3. With RB you can play as a band - guitar, drums, and vocals. The game bundle (Rock Band Special Edition) came with a guitar, drum set, and microphone. At this time you cannot buy the accessories separately so you have to buy the bundle if you want to play band. You can use GH guitar (Xbox360 not PS3) with RB game, but not the other way around.
Here is a video of my 5 year old playing drums
EA may have rushed the release of the game because since launch there were so much problems being reported with regards to the hardware. Though I bought mine this January (box dated December), the hardware version is (my guess) the same as the ones sold at launch. The blue fret (upper set) is not working on my guitar and I requested warranty replacement. We are able to continue to use the guitar because the second (lower) set of frets are working. I hope that the replacement guitar works properly. I have heard that there are people who have the same problem with their replacement guitars.
