Rocksmith Preview
Rocksmith is a new game from Ubisoft that is set for release in September 2011 in the US and hopefully here at a later date and will allow players to jam along with some of the greatest rock bands of all time in the comfort of their own homes.
Ubisoft are certainly entering a troubled market, just as the Guitar Hero series bows out of existence and the Rock Band series looks to an very uncertain future, Ubisoft have decided to enter the market by announcing Rocksmith, its defining feature is that it will actually teach you how to play a real life guitar.
The game still has its roots in the Guitar Hero series and similarities are instantly noticeable, with coloured notes scrolling down a guitar neck which you have to hit at the right time, but Rocksmith comes with a number of huge differences. First up you don’t strum the notes on a small plastic guitar you actually use a real guitar. The second noticeable difference is that since you now have 6 strings to contend with you are met with a very different arrangement of notes, the notes now hover in the air and each string is colour coded along with the notes allowing you to move to the correct string in time to strum it.
Despite initially looking very daunting the mechanics actually work really well and while you won’t be turned into a rock star overnight you will find yourself learning very quickly, in fact far quicker than any other method I’ve tried, and with minimum practice you will find that you are able to play small sections of seemingly complex guitar sections.
The game learns and adapts to your skill level so you won’t get overwhelmed and before long will be progressing from simple single notes to complex chords so it will cater for everyone from the complete beginner all the way up to the expert. If you want to add your own touch to the songs you can, by using one of the pedal options available whether that would be a need for a crunchy distortion, a vintage tremolo, or a psychedelic reverb.
Rock Band Pro did try to do something similar but because you were limited to one or two extra expensive guitar options it never took off. For those who are already guitar owners Rocksmith will allow you to simply plug it in using the standard jack input and away you go as it will work with almost every electric guitar turning your PS3 or Xbox and Home cinema system into your own personal amp.
The game is rumoured to be coming in an optional bundle featuring a Gibson guitar for around the $200 mark, if you are totally new to the guitar playing world.
The tracks included include 45 songs from some rock giants such as the Rolling Stones, David Bowie and Nirvana. The song list is still a guarded secret but it is said to include artist and songs from old to new and from contemporary to classic.
Activision really milked the market dry, releasing an endless series of Guitar hero games and spin offs such as Band Hero and DJ Hero. Viacom also seem to think the market has peeked as well and have offered Harmonix a chance to buy themselves out of their contract. So it really is a risky time for Ubisoft to be entering the market, its one saving grace is that Rocksmith will actually do what the rest have been hinting at by creating a new breed of musicians.
Rocksmith is set to bridge that gap between music game fans and real musicians, so if you have been rocking out on Guitar hero but are getting sick of being told to “just pick up a real guitar” here is your chance to do just that, without trading in the fun elements initially experience when you first picked up that plastic guitar all those years ago.
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