I’ve been following the E3 show with keen enthusiasm and only one title stands out that captures my attention. No, it is not Wii Fit for the Nintendo Wii (which I have to admit it’s a great concept by the Japanese game developers to design a fun game that keeps you healthy and in shape) but in actual fact, its Rock Band.
As a fan of Guitar Hero, the brilliant guitar-based rhythm game, the news that Rock Band will offer the chance of wannabe rock musicians to perform in a virtual band is a dream came true.
And after reading the various news articles online and in video game magazines, Harmonix (the creator of the original Guitar Hero) is now turning this fantasy into a reality!
Rock Band is essentially four games as one, challenging rockers to master the lead guitar, bass guitar, drums and vocals. The game will feature some top quality tracks from the likes of The Who, Metallica, Queens of the Stone Age, Foo Fighters and Nirvana. In fact, many of these will be original recordings.
The drum kit is certainly the instrument I really would like to have a go on. The controller is built in a similar way to the arcade classic, DrumMania, with four pads to hit.
These are the snare drum, tom-tom, hi-hat and the crash/ride cymbals. It also includes a kick pedal for bass and will ship with a pair of authentic drumsticks. Harmonix has even stated that if you can master the drum peripheral on the harder difficulty, they you will be able to play it for real!
The opportunity to support the backing beat to our virtual band will be fantastic and I look forward to the release on the Xbox 360 (and PlayStation 3) sometime this year. My only concern will be the price…