Rock Band 3 Review - New Game Network

There’s certainly been no shortage of the music rhythm-based games this generation. From the almost-annual Guitar Hero iterations to DJ Hero and other emerging franchises, Rock Band has always had stiff competition in the genre. But, between the numbered franchise entries to the themed ones like The Beatles and Green Day, Harmonix have managed to keep on top of their series and provide something new to the fans over the years. After a two year break since the last game, Rock Band 3 enters the scene with high expectations from fans, and aims to achieve those goals from the start. Featuring 3-part vocal harmonies, various gameplay tweaks and modes, as well as professional-grade hardware, Rock Band 3 is a great entry into the franchise, though a costly one.

For those not familiar, Rock Band 3 allows players to play various music using special instrument controllers mimicking lead and bass guitar, drums, and vocals. The original Rock Band was the first title in the industry to allow such interactions, with Guitar Hero only being limited to guitar at the time. This time around, Rock Band 3 does not offer a band set for purchase, so those wishing to jump into the game will first need to purchase a previous Rock Band title for the instruments. Instead, the game comes bundled with the new controller – a keyboard. The instrument features 25 full-sized keys, and is MIDI compatible, so it to be used outside the game.

With the addition of this instrument, the gameplay has also expanded to include keyboard parts of songs. These parts are played in a similar manner as the guitar and bass, as the players strike a key in one of the four zones matching to the on-screen prompts. A range of white keys represents a colored string in the game, so hitting any key within the range works. For songs without the keyboard parts, the instrument can still be used as a guitar or bass in the same fashion. Unfortunately, the hardware is difficult to come by, and we were not able to test out the peripheral fully in time for the publishing.

Once the game is underway, there have been many changes made to the friendliness of the experience in Rock Band 3. Players start by selecting any difficulty they wish, and should they want to change it during the song, they’re able to do so without having the need to start over. The menus have been touched up and revamped to allow for not only a more personalized presentation, but also ease of navigation. The song catalogue has been adjusted for much easier sorting based on difficulty, artist or just a random mix. The game ships with 83 songs, but the DLC that’s available for the game now reaches almost 2000 tracks. The songs that ship with the game are of wide variety of styles, though it feels that the “rock” aspect of the game has been sacrificed to include more pop tracks that utilize the new keyboard controller. Still, the selection is diverse and has an appeal for everyone, which is great for group play.

Much of the core gameplay remains unchanged, but that’s not really a complaint. Players will still compete by earning points and stars on songs, with multipliers and Overdrive still core aspects of the game. Some subtle changes have been implemented in regards to how the game tracks moving parts (ie drum rolls), providing a better reward for getting the set perfectly, but also lessening the punishment for making errors. At this point though, the gameplay formula has been nearly perfected so there isn’t much left to do in that department.

Rock Band 3 also features an in-depth career mode, that lets players take their bands from the small club shows on to the big stage. The game has a detailed stat tracking system for accomplishments (similar to achievements) that follows the band through an entire game and spans all game modes. So between playing offline and online, everything players do will be tracked and tallied for a more well-rounded experience. The game also features a character customization system which has been expanded from previous games. Players are now able to create and fully customize their avatar in very detailed ways, such as hair styles, colors, body types, faces, and other appearance items. Once complete, the created band will appear everywhere in the game – be it the main menu, loading screens, practice mode, or other locations. This works well to really immerse the player in the experience as they are using their own personalized band through the game.

Aside from the basic career mode, there are also new Road Challenges. These are a series of – well, challenges – that the band can choose to undertake. Each comes with a specific victory condition, such as playing the song extremely well to a group of critics in the audience or saving a show after the opening act disappointed the audience. The challenges vary in length, from one to a few songs, which can be customized or randomly generated. All of the successful challenges are tracked, not only as local achievements but also on online leaderboards. The online play itself has seen no changes, but again none were really needed in what is already a smooth multiplayer experience.

One issue that has always hanged above the heads of fans that enjoy rhythm games is their relatives or friends telling them to go learn a real instrument instead. While the drums were always at least a respectable start in learning the real trade, the rest of the instruments resembled only the basics of playing the real thing. Enter the new “Pro” mode in Rock Band 3. With this mode, players are challenged to actually perform the music as it would be played on a real instrument, making it that much more difficult but also closer to reality than ever before. With drums, players will need to purchase the added cymbals kit, and can start playing realistic beats and practice as if on a real drum kit set. The keyboard that comes with the game also features a Pro mode, in which all keys are their own notes and songs can be played with 1 to 1 precision – since this is, after all, a real MIDI keyboard. With keyboard and bass, things get complicated with a whole new controller. Instead of five colored buttons, there will be 6 buttons across 17 different frets, for a total of 102 buttons on the guitar. Players are tasked with hitting the frets, approaching close to what it is like playing the real instrument.

Undoubtedly, the Pro Mode is a great evolutionary step forward for the whole genre, but it certainly comes at a price. With the Pro guitars retailing at well over $100, owning the latest Rock Band 3 tech definitely costs a fortune. Considering that the players will already spend $120 on the game and the keyboard, plus (if needed) the whole instrument set from previous Rock Band games, RB3 is the most costly entry in the series yet, especially for new players. Sure, in technical terms all of the peripherals are worth their production cost, but there is a lot of ongoing debate if players may as well take up a real instrument, instead of spending over $200 to get the best that Rock Band 3 has to offer. Again, because of the high costs and limited availability, the “Pro” grade instruments were not tested and are not included in the scope of this review.

Rock Band 3 continues to involve the series with a mix of new additions to the gameplay that make it an easier and more personal experience. From new sorting options, to the fully customized band, to the over 2000 songs readily available – music fans can’t go wrong. The new Pro mode is a step forward for the whole genre, and the possibilities now are truly endless – though it all comes at a cost that is beginning to run too steep, particularly for the uninitiated. As it is, Rock Band 3 is sure to please all existing fans with its host of new gameplay features and improvements, as well as general ease of use. But for those just entering the scene, prepare to spend a fair amount of cash if you’re looking for the full experience.