On Par With Aerosmith

With the recent release of Rock Band 3, I felt it appropriate to write my music games post. I would have posted it sooner, but then my four-part Halloween list crept up on me. Either way, up to the release of Rock Band 3, I’d heard the same negative criticisms everywhere I went. From hardcore fans of the original Guitar Hero, to casual fans who hardly even play the series and thus can’t afford their own opinion so instead borrow others’.

This particular criticism is that Music Games are getting too “realistic”, and you can only upgrade them “so many times”, and that you “might as well learn real guitar”. I’m here to defend Rock Band as a series, as well as music games in general. Firstly, music games are not getting too “realistic”. You’re still playing plastic instruments for a virtual audience with some of your closest friends in your parents’ basement because none of you actually have any musical prowess or stage presence. Even with Rock Band 3’s ‘professional’ instruments, you may be acquiring the talent; but playing a video game and performing the real thing are still quite different. Or do you think you’re ready to take on travel the world on tour, perform next to Aerosmith and take on Carnegie Hall?

Now it’s true that some games can only be upgraded so many times. This is why series end, but genres don’t. Shooters, RPGs and World War II simulations are a dime a dozen but they’re still around because the genre is enjoyable. Sometimes, you just can’t take a game any further without it being too much, and the series must unfortunately meet its end. This will likely be true for games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero (GH is struggling enough as is). However, was anyone else expecting a 107-button guitar in the next Rock Band? As well as an entirely new instrument? Because I sure as hell wasn’t, which goes to show that you never know what kind of tricks may show up next. How do we know Kinect won’t be incorporated in the next one somehow? They may have real people green-screened onto the stage, there may be ‘live concerts’ for others to watch and enjoy and rate. This is what makes the game industry so special. There’s really no limit to possibilities.

Now, it’s well known that many of these games are getting very realistic, and you ‘may as well learn a guitar’, but that’s exactly Harmonix’ point. Part of their marketing campaign is that with Rock Band 3, you can finally learn real guitar. Remember how before, people were criticizing that the Rock Band guitar is nothing like a real guitar? Well they’ve added that option now for the haters. However, not everyone has the finger coordination to learn an instrument with six strings and however many frets like a guitar. Rock Band 3 provides tutorials to help you learn the frets, so you can play the closest adaptation of an actual guitar to date. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea. It’s difficult, it requires a lot of dedication, and it’s more of a personal project than an option to try at a party. It’s not like every Sally Sue can pick it up at bachelorette party and rock out to Livin’ on a Prayer. For those who want to learn the instrument with a flashy, visual aid, this makes for a great, fun, alternative aid to a traditional class or teacher. For everyone else, there’s still the five-button alternative.

Ultimately, games like Rock Band 3 and the recently released Dance Central offer a more realistic experience because a) it’s the next step forward, b) it helps actual artists learn the craft in a fun, positive, lax environment, and c) too many people complain about the already unrealistic experience. But in reality, it’s all optional. This is why there are multiple difficulty levels to perform at whatever’s comfortable for the player. And really, even if Rock Band 3 does teach you how to be a professional guitar player, unless you want to dedicate years of private down time and practicing, these music games are the only realistic option where you and your friends can perform hundreds of number one hits together, one after the other, without having to stop and start over every couple of measures because Timmy’s third string needs tightened.