Yet Another Gaming Tumblr

By Ian Anderson

For the last 10 years, I’ve wanted to learn how to play guitar.  I even went as far to buy an acoustic and an electric guitar.  Between, working, school, and geeking out, I’ve never made the time to sit down and really learn.  Sure, I can pluck a few things, but nothing I would want to show off.  Luckily, our good friend Peter, a student rep for Ubisoft, let Mike and myself sit down and play about an hour and a half worth of their new title, Rocksmith.

First things first, it is hard to refer to Rocksmith as a game.  It is like trying to call a Kinect workout title a game.  Rocksmith is not like Guitar Hero or Rock Band, it is not about hitting plastic keys in perfect timing.  Rocksmith is about playing actual notes and actual chords.  If you put time into Rocksmith, you will learn how to play the guitar.

It is good to point out; you may not learn to play music in the traditional sense.  Rocksmith doesn’t appear to teach how to read musical notation or some of the other fundamentals.  But that is fine.  It will teach you different playing techniques, such as palm muting.  A lot of my friends that play guitar do so by read tablature from the internet and just kind of figuring it out.

Back to the game, I got to play the first song, a Black Keys’ title.  It started out very simple, I feel like I was playing every 10th note.  But as Mike and other people played the same song, more notes were introduced.  The game learns your skill and will slowly ease you into the song.  By the end of our evening, I was playing Stone Temple Pilot’s “Vaseline”, the first part of the song was simple, but as it progressed I actually felt like I was playing music.  It wasn’t the same rock star feeling you get from Guitar Hero, but I did feel like I was actually doing something.

It isn’t as vocal as Guitar Hero about missed notes, no screeching blasting out of your speakers.  But if you are watching the screen, it will tell you which way to move your fingers if you are on the wrong fret or string.  This leads to a more positive experience, one I suspect will make the learning experience more rewarding and less frustrating.

In the end, Mike and I had a lot of fun playing this game.  The song selection was great, giving about 50 selections from all over rock.  I was happy to see Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots, Animals, and the Black Keys.  I also expect to see that list grow through DLC in the near future.

I am throwing this on my Christmas list.  Ever since Guitar Hero, this was something I wanted.  The game itself will set you back 80 bucks and you will have to have a guitar with a ¼ inch pickup.