Rock Band 3
SCORE: 73
There has been a lot said about Rock Band
3. This game aspires to let the player emulate a rock star. That begs
the question of do we really want to aspire towards that? Sure there are
Christian rock stars that live a good life, but many of the worldly ones
are not anything I would want to become. The drug and alcohol abuse has
killed many creative musicians, or turned others into examples of why we
just need to say no. What I found interesting in Rock Band 3 is how many
various political statements were made in some of these songs.
As I scrolled through the song listing in Rock Band 3, (and it is quite
a lengthy list) I had a Lord of the Rings moment. I found myself saying:
"they have a cave troll." This reference may seem weird, but it was in
reference to Marilyn Manson being included as one of the eighty-three
musicians included in Rock Band 3. There are also two thousand songs
available in the form of downloads and add on packs. If you dig hard
enough you can actually find some Christian bands, and Christian songs
in that two thousand. It would have been nice for some Christian bands
to be included in Rock Band 3 initially. Especially when some of these
songs are in about every single music game.
The visuals in Rock Band 3 are of the highest presentation. Players get
to see their band in a club setting while they are playing. They also
see them walk around town while making menu selections. This is nice,
but after awhile gets old. What else gets old is the same animations for
going to the bands pad, and before a song is played. Play enough songs,
and you will yearn for something different. Certain female characters
wear revealing attire, but they are so hideous looking that I can not
imagine anyone finding them attractive. The characters display a lot of
attitude in their animations - you know like they are more important
than the people paying their salaries. Rock Band 3 also contains some
mild violence, as the band members will kick the camera at certain
points of certain songs.
Some people hear a specific song, and they love it. They may even
worship it. Others hear the same song, and can not stand it. I found a
mixture in Rock Band 3. There are various songs from different eras. The
lack of Christian songs, and lack of family friendly songs is part of
the reason Rock Band 3 gets its 'T' for Teen rating. There are songs
with bad language, even in the song title as an example. Different
opinions are expressed in songs in Rock Band 3, but rarely are they
uplifting or edifying. Others that heard Rock Band 3 wondered what those
screeching sounds were. It was a song or two.
Rock Band 3 lets you create your own characters, sing a lot of songs, go
on road trips, and earn all kinds of various achievements. If you are
willing to purchase more songs online, then you will have near endless
replay to this game. The different instruments can be mastered by the
player or players. In fact getting some friends together to play Rock
Band 3 is one of the draws. As long as everyone can stomach the lyrics.
I would recommend starting out on the easy mode, and working your way
up.
The addition of the keyboard as a new instrument is a masterful
inclusion in my opinion. Rock Band 3 does a good job of letting players
play the different instruments, and jam out to these songs. Dropping in
and out is seamless, and you can completely bomb and the game lets the
song continue. I really hate music games that stop just because I am not
doing good enough. Let me finish it out, and then next time I can do
better. I made adjustments on the fly on some songs and got a decent
score. So that is pretty nice. You do need one of the instruments or a
microphone to play Rock Band 3.
Rock Band 3 taught me that rock stars think they are better than
everyone else, and what they have to say is more important than any of
the rest of us. I also recognized many of them have statements they want
to make, and their statements are rarely in line with the best way to
live our lives. I did not notice any consequences of the rock star life
shown. I did notice an interesting animation after a song was played.
The band hopped over where they should pay for subway entrance. Instead
of paying as they should they gave money to a beggar. It is nice to see
them give money to a beggar.
- Shirley
Graphics: 68%
Sound: 68%
Replay/Extras: 89%
Gameplay: 80%
Family Friendly Factor: 60%
System: Wii/Xbox 360/Playstation 3
Publisher: Harmonix
Rating: 'T'
for Teen
{Mild Lyrics, Mild Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol}
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