I started out by customizing my band. Any chance I get to make a game feel more “mine” I do it. I named my band Nefarious, and got set to try out the training sessions. I strongly suggest you do the same, as the gameplay in this is strikingly different from Xbox’s version of the game. First off, you don’t have a guitar. No attachments of any kind, in fact. Which is one of the things that irritates me about PSPs in general. How hard would it be to create some new gadgets to plug into that USB port? We get a GPS device and a camera. Whoop-dee-doo. How does that help me defeat the beast in the lower dungeon?
Once I got through the training sessions, I decided it was time to tour the world. I started out in Amsterdam, trying everything out on Easy to begin with. I like Easy… it makes me feel like a game master. I am the lord of Rock Band. So after playing some Social Distortion, Bon Jovi, and Lit, I decided to try playing on Medium. It’s like instant pain after playing so well on Easy. The thing is, you don’t stay on one instrument for more than a few seconds in this version. At the end of each section, another starts on a different instrument. You have to use the L and R buttons to switch back and forth between tracks to keep up with the game.
The setlist is very strong with over 40 songs, but there aren’t very many exclusive tracks to this edtion. Players familiar with other Rock Band and Guitar Hero games will know many of the tunes. I am glad to see that Freezepop (interviews part 1 and part 2) has been included in this edition since they were neglected in Rock Band 2. Another warm fuzzy is an exclusive track from Tenacious D. There are currently 10 downloadable songs, and I’m sure more will be available soon on the Playstation Network. You can click on the tracks to hear them.
It’s easy to pick up on this when in Easy, because you basically only use two buttons to hit the chords as they come down the track. Once you get into Medium, you get all four, which consist of your Left, Up, Triangle, and Circle buttons. Trying to switch back and forth between tracks and keeping up with this is pretty close to difficult. Once you get into Hard, it’s extremely difficult to keep up with the chords, let alone trying to switch back and forth without missing a beat. Expert? Forget about it. I couldn’t get through a single section without missing at least four chords or more. Believe me, I tried.
