Earlier this week, I was really looking forward to getting myself a copy of Beatles: Rock Band. I've managed to miss this whole music game melarkey, and was thinking of doing a combined cultural catch-up with both the music genre and the music of The Beatles.
After playing both Rock Band and Guitar Hero at a party last night, I've decided I'm never going to spend any cash on either of the franchises.
For those lucky people that don't know me personally, I dabble in music. I've been playing bass since I was 15, and I also play drums (badly) and guitar (exceptionally badly). I've recorded on 6 EPs/albums, gigged over a hundred times over 6 years, played in front of 1,000 people, done shows in London's Leicester Square, been interviewed by the national music press, and been featured in Kerrang's Pandora comic strip.
So it's with the above experience that I just assumed that I might just be able to muster the ability to get through The Killers - When You Were Young on medium difficulty. Alas, no.
I'm sure I'm not the first person to observe this, but actually playing instruments makes playing these music games incredibly hard. You try playing to what you can hear rather than the reduced inputs that are required, and the games seem to want you to be ever-so-slightly ahead of time.
I'm pretty disappointed. I was really looking forward to B:RB, and now it just seems like it's a game that's not for me. Can you play it with just a controller?
Anyway, I'm off to play on my real drum kit in order to try and heal my bruised musical ego!
New games that're a bit like old games, but better.
3 comments:
There's a learning curve to these sorts of games. Tackling anything on medium first try will be difficult, but it actually doesn't take long to actually get to that level. B:RB is apparently a lot easier than most other titles, so pick that up and I'm sure you'll get into it.
Keep in mind that audio-visual lag (introduced through a receiver or an HDTV) can really mess you up in these games. If the game isn't properly calibrated for the setup, it becomes a timing nightmare.
I do agree that playing on these instruments can present a fairly difficult learning curve, especially once you realize that *actual* musical skill with real instruments isn't necessarily helpful. Don't give up, though! It gets better.
Probably?
I think you might have missed the point. I've always seen these games as an "in-betweeny" stage for people who learn to be musicians.
Stage 1:
Listen to music. Love music
Stage 2:
Imagine playing said music. Air guitar in bedroom. Singing while hoovering etc.
Stage 3:
Plead with parents to get a second hand instrument and learn to play.
Guitar Hero and Rock Band are stage 2.5. You passed that long ago.
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