Recently, I’ve found myself putting away my keyboard and trying out some good ‘ol console fun on my XBOX 360. The game I am really digging right now is the popular title Rock Band. Personally, I’ve yet to see a more involved game than this.

Interactive games have always interested me, having been a big fan of Dance Dance Revolution and different arcade variations of hand drumming games. Back when I was a blossoming gamer the most interaction in a game I ever had was shooting ducks with the giant orange Nintendo gun. In this day and age there are several interactive games where you can be more involved. I can name off a huge list, but you see them any time you walk in a gaming store. Some popular examples to entertain you though are Beatmania, Singstar Amped, Manga A Go Go, and Guitar Hero.

So when Rock Band was released I finally felt justified in picking up an XBOX 360 and playing this game for myself. The reviews I read were great and hearing how much fun my friends throughout the states had with the demos was just more encouragement.

For those who are uneducated in this game, Rock Band can be purchased two ways - one by itself without any of the controllers and you struggle to use something you already have. The Guitar Hero controllers are great, as this game recognizes them (but be warned, the Rock Band guitar isn’t recognized by Guitar Hero) and with a bit of tweaking, you can use other accessories. The better (but expensive) alternative is to buy the entire package that comes with all three basic controllers - the microphone, the guitar, and the drum set. It’s a four player game, where another guitar can be added for bass.

Of course the boyfriend and I decided to get the full set thinking that would somehow pull our friends from ‘finals study Hell’. Of course we were wrong and for the most part, it’s just the two of us digging the tunes. This means I can perfect my singing for online play since I am not shy about bursting out in a random song in his presence, but with strangers it’s different…

The online play has truly been a savior for me when it comes to the game. Being able to randomly find other players to fill up a spot is fun, even if most of the time the band leader will chose to play one or two popular songs, just like the band leader before him, and so forth. Overall, the people you find online are excellent players and have a great sense of humor, shouting out funny things during a song or complimenting fellow band mates on a job well done.

If you sing or play one of these instruments as a hobby, the skill can definitely aid you a bit in this game and vice versa. If you play the drums well on expert, you are well on your way to mastering them in reality. Matching the pitch as a singer in this game helps perfect a future vocalist. In fact, I haven’t seen a game spark this much interest in music with the younger folks before. I hear a lot of children at the demos proclaiming they want to become a drummer after playing it for a little bit and chuckle. Games like that is what is shaping society and helping mold future stars. You know in 10 years from now there will be some famous guitarist being interviewed and they’ll talk about how they first got interested by playing Rock Band.

Personally I can’t wait to see the next wave of interactive games. I never imagined a game like Dance Dance Revolution and never spent a thought on making a game out of playing a guitar. I’m excited to see where this technology will take us next.

This entry was posted on Saturday, December 29th, 2007 at 2:46 am and is filed under Xbox 360, Gamer Culture, Reviews, Casual Gaming. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.