Rock Out With Your Smith Out!

MY FINGERS ARE ON FIRE!!!!!

After watching this video I have to say that's pretty damn true about learning how to play guitar. (Sadly you can't kick down the walls to other people playing, but that is damn cool!) It might take me a bit to get used to Rocksmith due to the fact that the fingertips on my left hand are burning from playing the game. It's been awhile since I've gotten to sit down and pluck away like this on a guitar.

This is the setup that I have been waiting for. When the first Guitar Hero game came out, I thought it was the worse invention ever. The time that kids spent playing that game could have actually been put towards learning how to play real guitar. Back in 2010 I saw a glimmer of hope at PAX East where a company was selling a electronic device you could hook up to your guitar, but you could only play those chords in order to get it to work with the Guitar Hero or Rock Band games. Power Gig also featured an awesome idea with the actual guitar as a controller. However I did not get the game due to the lack of money at the time and I heard there were a bit of issues with the game.

Now the idea I had back in 2010 was to get something to go from the quarter-inch to USB, but no one had made it and I was going to go to my electronics route to see if I could do it. Again, time restraints and money held me back. I've learned, thought, if you're patient and wait for things to come to you, they will eventually show up. Ubisoft did just that with their quarter-inch plug to USB. You can take any and all guitars with the electric capabilities and your freakin' golden!

I was lucky that I had my father's Gibson Epiphone lying around collecting dust. All I had to do was plug in the guitar, and they helped me tune it through their special tuner screen. Then BAM! I started with finding out how to pluck some strings and hitting the notes when they are on the screen. Right off the bat they started me with the Rolling Stones classic "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction." I played that for a little while, then it was off to play The Black Keys' track "Next Girl," which is an awesome song. It's really interesting how to get your self situated in the game, like when you feel like you're going to mess up each time. Once you get the flow going, and you start playing the songs more and more, Rocksmith actually registers. If you get better it tosses in a couple more notes than your previous playthrough, or if it see you doing bad it backs down on some of the notes.

I did want to record how I was playing, but I don't have the proper recording capabilities; next to that probably the things that would be coming out of my mouth would've been absolutely hilarious. It's probably not a good thing to show how crappy I was doing. I'm not going to lie: I have been playing with the single cord setup. In the game you can select what you want to play, whether it's single chord or multiple chords. I was able to get this game to my nephew, who is a maniac on the guitar. He was playing damn good, and I'm happy that he's got this game because this will improve his guitar skills.

If you don't have your own guitar, you can buy the Gibson Epiphone Junior Edition

The real problem I was having with Rocksmith was when I was researching other reviews before I bought the game, I found  a lot of the reviews were leaning toward the negative side. The big thing that got me was that the person had bought the game thinking his younger kids were going to pick it up and love the game. However, kids are kids: they are going to pick up the game, play it for all of five minutes, and toss it aside. Be warned: you have to watch out for reviews sometimes because people will go all out to say a game sucks because their kids don't like it, or because they suck at the game themselves. (Next to that, if you get any rental setup of games -- or even the game demos on the system you play -- give it a try until you buy. You'll be much happier and you won't have a pile of games you don't want.)

Tuner set up for the guitar

FINAL THOUGHTS:

Rocksmith is definitely a leap in the right direction for interactive gaming. It's a challenge to play, which is awesome because it teaches you how to actually play a guitar. Your hand-eye coordination starts taking into effect, but I'm not sure into the memory aspect of playing the song. I feel that when you play a song you have to be interested in the music in order to care about it. I'm not saying that all the songs they have on the playlist and download aspect, but it's fun to learn different songs. When you get to that point, you'll be able to add your own style when you start to play on your own. This game is based on rehearsing, then going out onto a stage and playing in front of an audience. It's definitely an interesting twist and different from Rock Band, where they just kind of toss you out on stage so you get humiliated and don't want to play the game anymore. This one helps you learn the song before you go on the stage. Next to that it gives you the capabilities of going over the tougher parts of the music via slow succession. A game like Rocksmith has been something I've been waiting for a long-ass time. It's the most realistic piece of musical gaming you can buy today.

The playlist selection is awesome!

I hope that Ubisoft will be coming out with even more music-based titles, or at least have an add-on with the bass aspect. I have to add a special request, due to the fact that I have a specific instrument: I want them to do some of the songs from Mumford & Sons so I can learn how to play the banjo parts of their tracks. Yes, I own a freakin' banjo, as well as an auto harp. (Don't judge me!) I think with what they have done with Rocksmith has brought a totally different aspect of the music games. So Guitar Hero, Rock Band, and Power Gig: Eat your hearts out!

PROS:

• You can use any electric guitar you please!
• It shows you the words to the song to sing along
• Great surround sound
• Awesome playlist and downloads
• Multiple pedals to change the sound
• AMP section play on your own
• Good rehearsal modes

CONS:

• My fingers hurt!!!
• Getting used to where the number frets and strings are
• Menu is a bit tough to navigate
• Doesn't have Slash album, but does have Velvet Revolver
• No, you can't use a banjo or 12-stringed guitars!

FINAL GRADE: 9.7 (out of 10)

Game: Rocksmith
Company: Ubisoft
System: PC, PS3, Xbox 360

PS: Here is the playlist for the most part (Provided by Rocksmith):

Here are more videos on Rocksmith to check it out:

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