Like PowerGig and Rock Band 3 before it, Rocksmith makes the bold move of incorporating an actual electric guitar into a music game. Indeed, the game requires one, making it perhaps the first true guitarplaying simulation to date.
To play, you hook an electric guitar to your 360 using a special cable packaged with the game. As in Guitar Hero or Rock Band, the crux of the action centers on note-matching along a moving highway to familiar songs from artists like the Rolling Stones, The Black Keys, and Best Coast.
To score points and multipliers in Rocksmith, you line up your fingers on the guitar's fret and press down on the correct color-coded string with one hand, then strike that string with your other hand. Songs are presented in different arrangements depending on your abilities: single-note will have you chasing one note at a time, while combo arrangements toss in more advanced techniques like chords. Rocksmith's dynamic difficulty means the more correct notes you hit consistently, the more challenging a song's construction becomes in real time. The dynamic difficulty feels intuitive, never giving you more than you can handle by leveling down when it does. Rolling through a tune you know - like nailing the central riff to Stone Temple Pilots' "Vasoline" for the first time - can be a thrilling experience.
As a pick-up-and-play game, though, Rocksmith lacks rhythm. The game has hordes of different components for learning, including guitar-instructional videos, amp and pedal tinkering, mini-games, and side-by-side multiplayer (for which you'll need another Rocksmith cable). To a fault, Rocksmith's interface is built around its single-player campaign mode, "Journey," in which you rehearse a set of songs to perform in front of a live audience at music venues you unlock with progression, ranging from small clubs to arenas. What's missing is a strong sense of cohesion and guidance that simplifies and streamlines the learning process, like a virtual guitar coach (we hear Jack White is available); after all, picking up guitar can definitely be overwhelming. You'll get customized recommendations to practice chords and riffs, for instance, but you can easily overlook their presence.
And that hints at the prevailing problem with Rocksmith: defining exactly what it wants to be. It doesn't go all the way in teaching you guitar, in that you're not learning how to read notes or construct a composition. Conversely, as a videogame, its straight-faced tone, added playing mechanics, and high price make it less accessible than, say, Rock Band. Here's hoping it eventually finds itself, though, because Rocksmith has some nice potential.
PUBLISHER: Ubisoft • DEVELOPER: Ubisoft Montreal • ESRB: Teen • MULTIPLAYER: 2 in split-screen only • ACHIEVEMENTS: Difficult • COST: $80
+ Gameplay satisfies when you're playing memorable riffs by your favorite guitarists.
+ The game is pretty and polished.
- Teaching process needs clearer direction; won't fully please guitar students or music gamers; requires 360 controller to navigate menus.
? Is an $80 game that also requires a guitar too niche?
ExWinter
December 22, 2011 at 9:46am
This game is alright... I've got some pretty good skill in Guitarhero and Rockband games, so i decided to try to learn real guitar... after many failed attempts at teaching myself, I pretty much lost all hope. have a Fender Squire sitting around doing nothing. I caught wind of this game coming out and decided i have to get it. if nothing else, it'll entertain me for a little while. I'll admit, i feel like i have started to get better at playing a guitar. I still struggle with chords a lot though. but some of the songs are fairly easy to play, as long as its just picking single strings. or small "chord" like section when you pick 2 stings at a time. there are a few problems with this game though.. my number one complaint is the practice modes. it kicks you off the section you were practicing if one of two things happen. either you "master" the section.. as in, you happen to get all notes hit at 100% accuracy. in my case, i get lucky sometimes and would still like to practice it.. but no, it kicks you off of it because your now a "master". the second thing that will boot you out of the practice mode is its got a "lives" system. and when you can't do it in 5 turns it boots you. what happend? did my instructor get annoyed at listening to me fail so many times?! whats the point in a practice mode if your going to get booted after failing!?! isn't a practice mode ment to help you get better?!my second problem with this game is chords. some newbs to the guitar don't know a darn thing about chords except that they exsist. I'm somewhat familiar with them but struggle alot with them. in this game they throw them at you randomly as if you will recognize exactly what it is right of the bat. it comes and goes and newbs just sit in awe as if wondering "wtf just happend? wtf was that?!" in this case, once again. a practice mode would be very helpful. one that doesn't boot you for failing or masterin. I know it has one that supposedly teaches chords, however, it doesn't really help you figure out the finger placement. at first it plays a couple chords then tells you "your ready to play the chord challenge!!". well thats exciting n all, however, the chord practice i stuggled with, and if i didn't hit it correctly, it stopped for me until i got it. during the chord challenge though, it doesn't do this. it plays a chord, 4-5 times and switches it to a different chord. by the time the 5th note passes, I finally JUST got the hang of the chord, but guess what. A new chord is on its way.. wait, lemme take that back.. the new chord has already passed by 2-3 times already. and by this time i realize, their switching back to the first chord. so i might as well say screw this second chord and keep my fingers right where they are. all in all.. if you have a little experience playing guitar, yeah. this game might help you learn a bit more. if your new to guitar completely however, this game does not live up to its motto "anyone can play guitar".. well.. lets see if they do an update on the practice modes before i'll beleive that. but more likely, they'll just wait till Rocksmith 2 comes out. forcing me to shell out another $80. greedy company.. >:( and only cause they know i'll friggin buy it... sigh.
