Rock Band 3 (various)

[Skull Commander]

Here are some of my first impressions. So far I have only played guitar, and for the record I don't have a keyboard or any pro set up yet, and won't until it's more affordable.

Anyway, first thing that struck me was the streamlined front end, and the presentation. It's a most definate improvment over RB2, and it's really easy to get going. Organising songs seems easier than ever, and you can blank out any crap you don't want.

As far as actual gameplay goes it feels more like guitar hero in respect to the timing of the button presses, and I believe it's a change for the better. I know this should please a lot of my friends who always thought the the timing in RB2 was 'strange'.

The in game presentation seems to be stepped up a notch too, with a lot more "dramatic moments", for instance at the end of Marilyn Mansons' Beautiful People, the screen went red and all intense camera angles. I know this happened in the previous game, but it just feels better implimented this time around.

After you finish a song you can rate it, and it tells you the percentage of the leaderboard you sit in, and also if you have beaten a friends score. New to this as well are tons of 'micro achievments'. For instance you get points that go towards your ongoing career score for 100 note streaks, deploying overdrive etc. What this means is that there is always an element reward, even in quickplay.

I didn't go near the challenges yet, but so far it's a bona fide winner. I played a 22 song set and I can honestly say it's the most I have enjoyed a music game since I played GH Metallica, in terms of empowering the player and just a fantastic sense of pulling you into the experience.

I also got the HMV pre order bonus of Blue Monday, Burning Down the House, and My Own Summer (Shove It), which are all pretty amazing to play, especially Blue Monday (despite me not actually having to do much with the guitar). It was more to do with the experience.

I'm looking forward to trying bass later to see if they have made any improvments (hopefully some open notes at the very least) and I can't wait till I try this out with my friends two weeks today.

Only bad thing I have to comment on is Amy Winehouse. It really doesn't fit into the game.

[Matt]

After a lot of playing since Friday, I've come to obvious conclusion that enjoyment of this game is directly linked to the volume it's played at. Enjoyment increases exponentially as the volume goes up

As a package it's great, as others have said here. But it's not perfect, and I'll admit to being a bit irked by some things.

Firstly, I really hoped they'd solved the "hair clipping through clothing" issue which has always bugged me. It's not like the game is doing a lot graphically (I know they're keeping things as streamlined as possible to have the lowest possible input latency). I was hoping they'd apply a physics model to stop the hair messing up Which kind of leads to another thing - Hats still come with their own hair, rather than being put on your character's hair.

I know it's not a big deal, and it's cosmetic. But it's always bugged me a bit, and with RB3 I was hoping for a fully polished to **** package. The clipping here is worse that ever; last night as a keyboard player, upon failing a song, the guy walked through the keyboard and then the drums doing his tantrum. And members of the crowd have been seen occupying the same physical space.

I'm concerned about the future lack of pro guitar mode (though looking at the leaderboards last night, it appears only 138 people in the world have pro guitars so far!). The Doors pack, only 3 of the 12 packs came with pro guitar

I think that's my biggest issue with the game so far - the lack of pro guitar. It's the strongest selling point to me, the thing I'm REALLY excited about. And it's not available. So I was all pumped up for the game, but now it feels like I'm waiting around for the bit I really want to appear.

There are still lots of positives here of course. It's much better implemented than RB2, and I like the challenges. There looks to be a lot to do to keep you going.

I'm enjoying the keyboard, even if it is proving harder to learn than I thought, lol I can get through Imagine, and a few of the other easier songs. I've given up on Bohemian Rhapsody for the time. I'm OK through the first verses but then it's all chords and I can't do it. Chord labelling would of helped a lot.

A big plus with the keyboard is it no longer feels like the instrument letting me down. With the GH drums I had, often the kick pedal wouldn't register, or a cymbal hit would be picked up twice, nonsense like that. Having a proper instrument makes a big difference

Is there an easy way to switch between profiles when playing with a group? It still looks like everyone has to go Guide to Sign Out, switch instruments, then Sign In again. Takes a while. Was hoping for a more elegant solution, but I guess the SDK doesn't allow that functionality away from the Guide.

[Skull Commander]

I'm just going to add that one of my main cosmetic irks has finally been sorted. I get a female vocalist singing female vocals and male vocalists singing male vocals! It has always annoyed me in RB that this didn't happen, so I'm glad someone has taken the time to fix it.

Another ace feature is the ability to make your own setlists. You can name them, put in a description, make artwork for them and share them with your friends. I made a few and it's a nice little touch.

On a less positive note I have played some Bass, and it's same old. Still not as good as Guitar Hero's bass, with no open notes which is a real shame. I know it isn't the main focus for most people, but it can really make a difference when you are playing in a band and someone has to play bass.

Even allowing for that missed opportunity I'm still thinking that this is a great music game and I can see it lasting for ages.

[teddymeow]

PS3 export is down until tomorrow. Hopefully they're working on a fix.

[Matt]

I'm just going to add that one of my main cosmetic irks has finally been sorted. I get a female vocalist singing female vocals and male vocalists singing male vocals! It has always annoyed me in RB that this didn't happen, so I'm glad someone has taken the time to fix it.

Actually this only appears to happen under some circumstances. If you only have your character, you're fine - singer will change gender. However, I created 4 male characters for friends and from that point on, one of the male characters sang the female songs. I had to create a female character, and restart the game to get it working correctly.

Can you set which band member does what? Sure you could in RB2 but I've not found it in this yet.

[Skull Commander]

Mine just seem to take random roles, but I did put a female in my band, so I'm sorted for those female vocals.

[Matt]

Yeah. I'm not sure what's going on with the unlocks either - looks to be like RB2 where unlocks only work for the character you're playing at the time. I could be mistaken, but the chick in the band (I can use the non-PC term "Chick", we're in a Rock Band afterall) ended up with the Brain Bass but no other characters I made have access to it. Hope that's not the case as it's limiting and leads to repetition (getting money for costumes in RB2 was the same, per character based).

All this sounds like I'm down on the game, which isn't the case. The sense of gigging is much better in this than any other game I've played. The way you choose a setlist and the songs are logically grouped together, incorporating DLC, is brilliant - simple, obvious, and makes a huge difference.

Any issues I have is this was being trumped as being hugely polished, and I perhaps expected perfection. I'm having a blast on it, as shown by the monster blister I now have on my right thumb from guitaring too much the last few days.

[JSR]

Wow, didn't know people were so passionate about the concert going on behind the note chart. To each his own I guess. I actually find it a bit distracting when the camera gets moving too much. Wouldn't mind the option to switch to a normal visualizer or something.

[Skull Commander]

A slight nit pick. There is a "Him" track included and it's listed under H.I.M.

I also have Him downloadable content, but that is listed under Him.

I-Tunes does the same thing, but manages to get three variants, They should really sort it out.

[Matt]

Reading on the HMX forum about issues with AIM. Sounds a bit naff TBH - vocalists don't score / no overdrive / only easy mode / no rating after the song / no impact on the proceedings at all. When a song with no keyboard comes in, it won't start until the keyboardist drops out. And it seems the drum chart is no longer always in the middle.

TBH that's a huge ball for HMX to drop. I understand the sign-in limitations of the 360, but they could still score points and be a part of the band without gaining bloody Achievements. Despite the PS3 allowing I believe 7 players, sounds like HMX have implemented AIM the same way on both consoles.

Apparently the best bet is to go back to the original style 3 instruments and 1 (or 3) vocalists. Suggestions I've read are drop the bass guitar and use the keyboard - only 70 odd songs have key charts anyway, so when a non-keys song comes up you can choose to play the bass part on the keyboard instead. Sounds like the best bet to me.

[merf]

still loving this, just played a 70s setlist with Hendrix little Wing followed by Steve Miller Fly Like An Eagle and the awesome Freebird, I upped keys to medium and my sone decided to take on medium guitar for the first time, Freebird is mental with both instruments getting hammered in the ending.

I want to play on but can feel keyboard forearm cramp setting in.

what this AIM talk, whats that stand for ?

[Matt]

All Instrument Mode. If you want to use two guitars and keys, you have no option but to turn on AIM - it adds the drums and vocals as well of course. Basically, the full band.

[Riskbreaker]

Yeah. I'm not sure what's going on with the unlocks either - looks to be like RB2 where unlocks only work for the character you're playing at the time. I could be mistaken, but the chick in the band (I can use the non-PC term "Chick", we're in a Rock Band afterall) ended up with the Brain Bass but no other characters I made have access to it. Hope that's not the case as it's limiting and leads to repetition (getting money for costumes in RB2 was the same, per character based)

Just unlocked the Brain Bass as well, it's shows up under the New! section for the custom chick, but the custom blokes have it unlocked as well and have unlocked plenty other stuff besides. Might be the created characters have to be playing in the band as you work your way through the career?

Wow, didn't know people were so passionate about the concert going on behind the note chart. To each his own I guess. I actually find it a bit distracting when the camera gets moving too much. Wouldn't mind the option to switch to a normal visualizer or something.

It used to really irritate me having male singers with female vocals and visa-versa and I love all the visual stuff that's going on in the background. Even though I can only half register it, every now and then I'll catch a glimpse of the band doing their thing and it really adds to the vibe. Love the visual effects as well. I got bored of Rock Band PSP because there wasn't enough stuff going on in the background.

[Matt]

Just unlocked the Brain Bass as well, it's shows up under the New! section for the custom chick, but the custom blokes have it unlocked as well and have unlocked plenty other stuff besides. Might be the created characters have to be playing in the band as you work your way through the career?

OK that would make sense, thanks

It used to really irritate me having male singers with female vocals and visa-versa and I love all the visual stuff that's going on in the background. Even though I can only half register it, every now and then I'll catch a glimpse of the band doing their thing and it really adds to the vibe. Love the visual effects as well. I got bored of Rock Band PSP because there wasn't enough stuff going on in the background.

I pay quite a bit of attention to the band stuff going on in the background. When the pro guitar is around the band's onstage antics will get even more of my attention. They're a big improvement over the past characters, the lip synch is very good.

[Skull Commander]

Seems there was some "exclusive" retailer pre order guitars to unlock with codes given out. Just hit these buttons on the main menu:

Orange Blue Orange Orange Blue Blue Orange Blue

Blue Orange Orange Blue Orange Orange Blue Blue

Orange Orange Blue Blue Orange Blue Blue Orange