They say the music game is dying. That it's a stale genre with no innovation, that it's all been done and there are no further mountains to climb. Indie artists are more than willing to implement their work into music games, but most of the popular and iconic musicians are still wary. Songs and albums are too expensive, especially since you can only listen to them in game, as you play them. With the odds against them, Harmonix releases the third entry in the genre-leading Rock Band series, in an attempt to save the plastic instruments.
Overview
Rock Band 3 looks to put the perfection on its predecessors by adding more instruments, more songs, more customization options, more gameplay modes, more more more! More often than not, racking up the quantity can undoubtedly hurt the quality of your product, which Rock Band 3 learns the hard way.
Gameplay
We'll start with the less obvious changes in the series' third title. Added to the scoring system are Spades, which you earn through mini-challenges within the songs. At the end of the set, your total stars are converted to spades, they're all tallied, and depending on how many you rack up, you'll fall into a tier (think bronze, silver, gold). You'll unlock more items, get more fans, and progress your road challenges further if you get into the higher tiers.
The amassing of fans remain, but money is no longer part of the equation. New instruments and clothing are unlocked by progressing and overcoming challenges, as opposed to blowing wads of cash. Part of being a rock star is swimming in money like Scrooge McDuck, and spending it foolishly on a goat head guitar that you use for one set. The unlocking of items feels detached, but I guess Harmonix didn't want to include money without the other two rock n' roll evils; sex and drugs.
Rock Band 3 raises the bar on music games and realizes the genre's potential, by allowing the player to actually learn their instrument of choice. This isn't achieved easily, unless you have the money to spend on Pro instruments. $150 for pro guitar (or $240 for the Fender six string), $125 for pro drums, $80 for keyboard, on top of the $60 game, that's $400+ if you want to go all-pro. If you're poor like me, you'll realistically get one pro instrument to start. The wanna-be musician I am, I have a MIDI keyboard that I haven't used in months, cleaned, pristined, and ready to jam. Little did I know that the attachment required to get existing MIDI instruments hooked up to your console of choice doesn't hit the market until late November, a full month after the game's release. No doubt a clever ploy by all development and publishing parties to get people to drop the extra grip on the pro instruments. I fell for it, and sprung for the Rock Band branded Mad Catz wireless keyboard. It's a nice instrument, and it helps that it can be used as a MIDI controller if you'd like. However releasing the MIDI to USB adapter a month after the fact is a petty, gold digging move.
After spending $80 on your brand new Rock Band keyboard, what do you want to do? Play some keyboard, amirite? Well, you can, to an extent. Only 60 of Rock Band 3's 83 included songs include keyboard support. And a fair percentage of the 60 has a poor excuse for support, like 45 seconds of keying in a 4 minute song. I would be completely fine with these numbers if Harmonix went back and added keyboard parts to the Rock Band 2 songs that featured them, especially since I have to pay $10 to transfer over the songs that I already paid $60 for to RB3. Alas they haven't done that, nor have they made it clear if they ever will. Future DLC will keep the keys in mind, but do you really want to spend two bucks per song just so you can justify the $80 peripheral?
And for my biggest complaint, I'll illustrate by example. My first night with the game was to be quality time with my girlfriend, roommate, and close friend. Four piece band, yeah! No one wanted to play the drums, so we decided to do guitar, bass, keyboard, and vocals. Unfortunately, the game didn't agree with us. We were forced to play those four instruments in All Instruments Mode, which does not allow you online, does not allow career progress, and limits the vocals to easy mode, with no avatar. What the shit? Apparently, and this was figured out by the community on the rockband.com forums, since the keyboard can also be used as a guitar or bass, it's not allowed to be played at the same time as the two string instruments. Only in All Instruments Mode, where it is possible to play with more than one bass or guitar, is it allowed. I guess that means the engine isn't smart enough to discern between songs that have and have not keyboard parts. That is fucking lame, Harmonix. Spend $80 on a keyboard, can't even use it!
Art Design
The graphics are much smoother and better looking than the previous title, as they should be with two years between the games. And gone are the hideous Ed Hardy styled designs which afflicted RB2's menus and loading screens. Cut scenes between loading menus show your character interacting with the band, an awesome touch. When I finally upgraded to the tour bus, I was treated to a cinematic of my band an I attended a rooftop pool party, throwing chairs at people, pushing people in the pool, and generally getting wasted. Though the scenes are limited, they do well to immerse you and keep you interested during the lulls.
There are a greater variation of venues to play, ranging from dive bars to outdoor festivals, each with their own personality and minute details to be caught. As you play, depending on the song you're playing, a wide range of effects will wash over your characters. Stoners will love this, however they may easily lose their concentration. Playing Jimi's Third Stone from the Sun, trying to focus on my chords as warm psychedelic colors swirled over my character was distracting, albeit freakin' awesome.
Character creation and customization is much more diverse, with more options to tweak to make your rocker look truly unique. Most of the clothing options from previous entries remain, with a few new additions. Emphasis on few, it would've been nice to see more clothing options added.
Sound Design
The meat and potatoes of any music game, is of course the music. Rock Band 3's soundtrack is one of awesome diversities, with something for just about everyone. Plenty of classic rock, alternative, and the newer pop sounds, assure most age ranges are covered. And one of the keyboards saving graces, is the implementation of more New Wave, a seriously undervalued genre. Love me some 80's. My one gripe would be the lack of metal, which of course can be rectified by downloading some DLC packs, but for a $60 buy in, it'd be nice to have all the bases covered.
Conclusion
Rock Band 3 is fun, and that's all that matters. Seriously flawed, but fun. There has got to be a better work around for playing with a guitar, bass, and keyboard. The MIDI to USB adapter should have been released in conjunction with the game so existing MIDI instrumentalists can jump right in without spending money on all new instruments. The $80 spent on the keyboards feels like half a waste. Complaints aside though, Harmonix should be applauded for finding a way to bridge the gap between toy instruments and the real ones. And the solid soundtrack will assure that you'll be jamming at max volume all night long, to the detriment of your neighbors.
Buy it if: You love music games, you want to learn a real instrument and have money to spend
Don't buy it if: You and your friends want to play bass, guitar, and keyboard, you want to learn a real instrument but are broke, you're attracted by the keyboard
The Score: 7 outta 10 blasters!
