VITALS
Game: Rock Band 3
Developer: Harmonix
Released: October 26, 2010
Platform: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii
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Following the release of the first Rock Band, subsequent entries in the series have played it safe: adding some new features here and there, but keeping the central mechanics and options fairly stagnant. Rock Band 3 completely turns that trend on its head. A new instrument, vocal harmonies, support for seven simultaneous players, and additional “pro” play modes make the newest addition to the platform, without a doubt, the largest, deepest rhythm game I’ve ever played.
Since waiting outside my local electronics retailer to purchase the first Rock Band on launch day so many years ago, I’ve sunk countless hours and dollars into Harmonix’s music simulator. Several hundred DLC songs later, it’s fair to say that I’m invested in the platform. In a lot of ways, Harmonix has made Rock Band 3 for people like me – fans of the series looking for something more to satisfy their faux-musician craving. Thankfully, RB3 delivers in more ways than one. Finding expert difficulty too easy? Try one of the new pro modes. A measly 1250 achievement points not enough? Try your hand at the multitude of song, setlist, and difficulty specific goals available for each instrument. Already the best possible performer on each instrument? Try the new keyboard [sold separately] (more on that later). Add in support for all of your accumulated DLC and (most) of the imported RB1, RB2, and Lego Rock Band songs, and you’ve got a massive addition to the rhythm genre.
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Completely ignore the huge amount of content both included in and supported by RB3, and you’d still have one of the most user-friendly interfaces to ever grace a music game. If Rock Band 3 had a slogan, it would be “player choice above all else.” Change the difficulty mid-song. Change instruments mid-song. Quit your band mid-song. Switch what instrument your custom rocker uses throughout career mode. Pause a venue performance, only to resume right where you left off days later. Everything in Rock Band 3 is designed to let you control how the game is played. Even the previously unchangeable career mode setlists have been made customizable. Don’t like the ready-made 2 or 3 song set? Then select one of the two other options, one of which is always either a Random [insert genre here] Set or a Custom DLC/Genre Set. Even the random setlists can be customized. Thanks to the ability to rate individual songs, you can control what songs will appear in a random set and how often – an excellent solution for avoiding some of the less enjoyable portions of your music library.
Sounds perfect, right? Well, almost. It’s true that Harmonix has added a bevy of options to the Rock Band platform. The entry fee to gain access to these options, however, goes far beyond the $60 (+ tax) for the disc itself. And unfortunately, these additional fees affect early adopters (like myself) most of all. Because I decided to purchase the full band set with my copy of the first Rock Band — and thus, have the initial, basic instruments — I’m prevented from accessing the Pro Drums, Pro Guitar and Pro Bass modes (unless I want to shell out some more cash for the additional, updated instruments and expansion sets, of course). Don’t get me wrong, I understand that some sacrifices have to be made in order to progress the platform. It’s just a little upsetting when a large portion of the content on the disc is rendered completely inaccessible because I didn’t purchase the updated (and more expensive) peripherals. I already have one set of plastic instruments taking up space in my living room; I don’t need two.
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FINAL THOUGHTS
If you are at all interested in instrument-based rhythm games, Rock Band 3 is a must-own. Harmonix has reached the apex of the genre with its newest addition to it. Even without the extra peripherals, there’s still a load of content — all of it expertly integrated into a near perfect interface.
But if you’re hungry for something more than updated options and new songs, there’s always …
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The Keyboard
The final (and maybe most compelling) feature of Rock Band 3 is the keyboard. Anyone who thinks they’ve mastered all that the Rock Band platform has to offer will be sent back to the beginning when attempting Pro Keys. If (like me) you found it more than a little awkward to shift to the orange fret when first attempting hard guitar/bass, navigating the 25 keys of the keyboard will prove to be nothing short of a nightmare — at first, anyway. Thanks to a varied selection of songs and a robust set of training exercises, the keyboard is far from impossible to learn. Though an additional purchase is also required for this peripheral, it is, in my opinion, well worth it. Sturdy, compact, and wireless, the keyboard is easily one of the best quality peripherals I’ve used and helps to expand an already enormous game.
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This review is based on the Xbox 360 version of the game provided by Harmonix. Approximately 30 hours were spent playing the various modes with 30 of 62 achievements earned. The keyboard peripheral was purchased by the reviewer. Images courtesy of Harmonix.
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