{"id":1507,"date":"2011-11-06T13:32:46","date_gmt":"2011-11-06T21:32:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bytica.com\/?p=1507"},"modified":"2011-11-07T09:32:03","modified_gmt":"2011-11-07T17:32:03","slug":"rocksmith-no-more-plastic-guitars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.bytica.com\/?p=1507","title":{"rendered":"RockSmith: No! More! Plastic! Guitars!"},"content":{"rendered":"

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ROCKSMITH <\/em><\/span><\/span>is a fascinating game, if it’s even fair to call it that. Ubisoft’s new entry into the rhythm-music genre ditches our trusty plastic 5-button controllers in favor of real guitars, and is arguably more of a teacher than a videogame. For a first installment, it gets a surprising amount of stuff right, probably more than anyone should rightfully have expected for an undertaking this complex. But with a steep learning curve and not a whole lot of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153game,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d it’s hard not to worry about how much longevity this new franchise will have.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/span>The first hurdle, of course, is getting your hands on an electric guitar. If you don’t already own one, there’s a special <\/span><\/span>Rocksmith <\/em><\/span><\/span>bundle going for $200 that includes an Epiphone Les Paul Junior. On the other hand, if you’re like me and already have an electric guitar (or six), you can plug it directly into your Xbox or PS3 via the quarter-inch-to-USB cable that’s included with the game, which is pretty darned cool.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Before you play a single song, <\/span><\/span>Rocksmith <\/em><\/span><\/span>does some simple housekeeping that beginner guitar players will probably appreciate. After asking if you’re a lefty or righty and what shape your headstock is, the game helps you tune your guitar, and for any novice who’s never owned a digital tuner, this will be a godsend. Some people might get tired of the game double checking your tuning before <\/span><\/span>every <\/em><\/span><\/span>song, but it takes less than two seconds and really isn’t a big hassle. (Trust me, you’ll be far more frustrated with all the weird menu navigation and endless loading screens to be worried about retuning.) <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The meat of the game is a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153journey\u00e2\u20ac\u009d mode, which places you in the shoes of an up-and-coming guitarist.\u00c2\u00a0 The progression resembles the World Tour from the <\/span><\/span>Rock Band <\/em><\/span><\/span>games, where you play gigs and earn points which unlock more events. You can also play individual songs if you prefer, as the entire setlist is unlocked from the get-go, but be warned: certain songs contain mechanics that will scare the bejeezus out of beginners. If you’re new to the instrument, the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153journey\u00e2\u20ac\u009d mode is the way to go, as it teaches basic skills and presents interface elements in a logical order and doesn’t throw the kitchen sink at you right away. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Rocksmith<\/em><\/span><\/span>‘s gameplay screen can look pretty intimidating, but I have to give the devs credit: trying to translate all the nuances of modern guitar playing into a live videogame is a daunting task, and they did a pretty good job of it. After playing just a few songs, it starts to make sense: obviously, the guitar’s six strings are represented, frets are numbered to help you navigate and there are highlights where your hand should be positioned at any time. Different notes have markings for mutes, bends, slides and sustains, chords are marked with both fingerings and names, and I can tell you that when there are 60 notes flying at you, it’s pretty nice to see that \u00e2\u20ac\u0153C#m\u00e2\u20ac\u009d next to a chord. (<\/span><\/span>Rock Band 3<\/em><\/span><\/span> Pro Keys: I’m looking at you!) <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The most remarkable thing about <\/span><\/span>Rocksmith<\/em><\/span><\/span>, and what it should be most applauded for, is the way it detects how good (or bad) you’re doing, adjusting the difficulty of each phrase on the fly. The first time you play a song, you might only have to play 2 notes of a 10-note riff, or just the root notes of a chord. But as you play those phrases correctly, the game gradually adds more notes, getting more complex until you’re playing parts note-for-note. It’s done in such a subtle, seamless manner that I worry reviewers who aren’t guitarists won’t realize how deftly this is handled: it’s clear that talented and insightful musicians were involved in creating the charts, creating simplified versions of every part that beginners could easily pick up and then build upon. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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The thing I was most concerned with heading into <\/span><\/span>Rocksmith <\/em><\/span><\/span>was the lag factor. Lag has always been a bugaboo in rhythm games, and that’s especially true for <\/span><\/span>Rocksmith<\/em><\/span><\/span>, where you’re using not digital controllers but analog guitars. The software and included cable basically combine to interpret the sounds coming out of your guitar and try to match it to what it’s expecting, and the developers have stated that the cleaner the sound your guitar produces \u00e2\u20ac\u201c which often depends on the quality of your guitar \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the better <\/span><\/span>Rocksmith <\/em><\/span><\/span>will be able to interpret it. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

From what I’ve played so far, there’s definitely a bit of lag between playing the guitar and the sound coming out of your sound system (and trust me, as a hardcore GH\/RB player, I’ve spent years eliminating every bit of lag possible from my setup), but it still falls into the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153playable\u00e2\u20ac\u009d range. And to its credit, <\/span><\/span>Rocksmith <\/em><\/span><\/span>seems to grade on a curve and allow for some sloppiness: you can’t get away with playing incorrect chords, but the timing windows seem generous and you can get away with a few extra strums or playing 3 notes in a 4-note chord and not get docked for it.\u00c2\u00a0 And to be honest, that sort of captures the spirit of being a real musician — in any live setting, there’s a small level of sloppiness you can get away with, and it’s nice to see that reflected here. \u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

One of the cool features of <\/span><\/span>Rocksmith <\/em><\/span><\/span>is that it includes a toychest of virtual amps and digital\u00c2\u00a0effects for you to play with. Every song seems to have a custom effect applied to your guitar, and once you beat a song, that effect becomes available for you to play with in a rehearsal space where you can just noodle around on the guitar and have fun. There’s also a suite of arcade games that all basically boil down to whether you can hit the right notes fast enough, which can be a fun diversion.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

My biggest gripe with <\/span><\/span>Rocksmith <\/em><\/span><\/span>is something I feel guilty about, because it’s a complaint I consider lame when directed at <\/span><\/span>Guitar Hero<\/em><\/span><\/span> or <\/span><\/span>Rock Band <\/em><\/span><\/span>games: the song list. With plastic guitar games, it’s easy to have fun with songs you’ve never played before, but <\/span><\/span>Rocksmith <\/em><\/span><\/span>is a different animal where you’re supposed to play songs over and over until you know them inside out. So it’s a problem that so much of the <\/span><\/span>Rocksmith <\/em><\/span><\/span>setlist falls into obscure indie territory. Sure, there are a few classics like \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Satisfaction,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Rebel Rebel\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Sweet Home Alabama,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d but odds are you won’t want to play most of the songs in the game more than once, which sucks a lot of fun out of the game. Help is on the way in the form of DLC, with an upcoming pack featuring \u00e2\u20ac\u0153More Than A Feeling,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Smoke On The Water\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Jessica,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and <\/span><\/span>Rocksmith <\/em><\/span><\/span>will need a lot more DLC of this caliber, fast, to keep from becoming a quick footnote. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

My other big disappointment, one that I’m shocked about, is that <\/span><\/span>Rocksmith <\/em><\/span><\/span>has no in-game leaderboards for individual songs or career score. When Harmonix released <\/span><\/span>Guitar Hero<\/em><\/span><\/span> and <\/span><\/span>Guitar Hero 2<\/em><\/span><\/span>, community sites like ScoreHero.com stepped up and provided a place for people to post scores and gauge their progress against the rest of the world. And while it was understandable that a PS2 wouldn’t have that functionality in 2005, it’s inexcusable for an Xbox 360 or PS3 game in 2011. As it stands, I’m going to be done with the setlist in a day or two, and then what?\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I think <\/span><\/span>Rocksmith <\/em><\/span><\/span>can be a nice teaching tool, and there’s some wonderfully innovative stuff here. But there’s not a lot of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153game\u00e2\u20ac\u009d here, especially if you already play guitar. Which is why the lack of leaderboards is a huge missed opportunity: they’re an easy way to add replay value and encourage people to keep improving without affecting your gameplay in any way. As it stands, it’s hard to imagine how much time I’ll want to keep playing once I blow through the setlist.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Sluggo’s Score:\u00c2\u00a0B.<\/strong> \u00c2\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ROCKSMITH is a fascinating game, if it’s even fair to call it that. Ubisoft’s new entry into the rhythm-music genre ditches our trusty plastic 5-button controllers in favor of real […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,22,14,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1507","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-game-commentary","category-music-games","category-reviews","category-xbox-360"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.bytica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1507","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.bytica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.bytica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.bytica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.bytica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1507"}],"version-history":[{"count":36,"href":"http:\/\/www.bytica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1507\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1541,"href":"http:\/\/www.bytica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1507\/revisions\/1541"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.bytica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1507"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.bytica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1507"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.bytica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1507"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}