Well I've done it again. After years of venomenlty denying that I would, I purchased and XBOX 360. I didn't just purchase a 360, I went all out. Four wireless controllers, Guitar Hero III, Charge and Play adapter, the whole nine yards. And what you may ask would ever prompt someone that hasn't played a video game system in the last two years to spend nearly $800 on a toy. Well, it was ROCKBAND. Harmonix has produced what I consider to be the game that resurrected my gaming career. Originally back in 2003 it was Halo, but now it is Rockaband. Now that I mention Halo, let me say that it was not an early adoption for me. The game was nearly three years old before I even bought the system, so restraint was always a part of my newfound interest in gaming. But Rockband is something different.
Apart from the sociopaths, and weirdos out there, no one dreams of killing people with a rapidly evolving barage of weapons. But every little boy at some time or another dreams of being a rock star. For me that dream was a whole lot simpler. I just wanted to be able to play an instrument. I tried the piano....too many keys. I tried the guitar, twice.....too hard. So here comes Rockband to rescue me from musical pergatory. Now the premise of the game is simple. You take a Guitar Hero style interface, and add to it another guitar to play bass, a microphone to sing into, and the holy grail of video game music, a drum kit, and you've got an honest to goodness video game band. But this drum kit is pretty cool. Sure, you're not actually playing the drums in Rockband anymore than you're playing the guitar in Guitar Hero. But it's closer. The physicality of hitting the drum pads, and the real drum sticks, and the thump of the bass pedal. It's pretty sweet. Even real drummers say that though not exactly like playing a real drum kit, Harmonix got it pretty close.
So each evening I head home from my job, take my seat at the kit and bang out such rocking hits as "Say it Ain't So", "Creep", "Enter Sandman", and even a little Jimmy Buffett. So for the wanna be rock star in all of us, I say hats off to Harmonix, EA games, and XBOX. This title rocks, and version 2 is on it's way. For me however, it means a return to the land of late nights in the basement.....and the quest for a perfect song. For me it's off to the land of the dorks. And man does it feel good to be KING!!
