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‘Rock Band’ gives gamers a chance to be stars — years of guitar lessons optional
No one would have thought Riley Naimi would lose his voice playing a video game.
After playing the part of lead vocals on “Rock Band” for Playstation 3, he found himself unable to speak the next day.
Since then, he has played the guitar part.
“I like to play the guitar because when I do, I’m able to speak,” Naimi said. “If I do the vocals I end up singing and screaming all night long, and the next day I can’t talk.”
Naimi, a senior computer science major at the University of Idaho, has become a fan of the now-famous “Rock Band.”
The game gives players the opportunity to rock ‘n’ roll their way to stardom.
Originally released on Dec. 18 for the Xbox 360 and Dec. 27 for the Playstation 3, “Rock Band” has sold more than 1.5 million copies and has received numerous positive ratings and reviews.
The game, which was developed by Harmonix and published by MTV Games, is a game for one to four players, each getting to choose from the bass guitar, drums, vocals, or lead guitar.
Players can choose to play either online, or at home with a group of friends.
Naimi plays the game with a group of five to 10 people at his apartment and has a good time while doing so.
“I actually got into the game after I played it at a friend’s place,” he said. “Once I played it I ended up buying it a couple weeks later.”
Naimi’s favorite song to play is “Welcome Home” by Coheed and Cambria.
He also said it’s a good game for a lot of people to play.
“You all get to do things that help each other, instead of fighting over who gets to play next or killing each other,” Naimi said.
Sophomore exercise science major Tyler Beck said that he knew he wanted “Rock Band” when he heard about it because he’s a big fan of “Guitar Hero.”
“I like it because it’s very fun and with all the instruments you and your friends can jam out together instead of arguing over who will play next like in ‘Guitar Hero.’ And come on, who doesn’t want to be a rock star?” Beck said.
Beck plays with his friends, but not online because he says his connection is too slow.
“The thing I like most about the game is that I can play it with my friends and have a blast. It’s also really cool to be able to create your own player instead of always using the generic one ‘Guitar Hero’ gives you. Plus the drums rock,” Beck said.
What he says he likes least is the song selection, and that better songs could have been picked for the game.
“I mean some of them are just stupid,” Beck said.
Beck’s favorite song is “Wanted Dead or Alive” by Bon Jovi because it is fun to play the drums and sing, even at the same time.
He said his most notable experience playing “Rock Band” came when he first got it.
“My friend was playing the drums and told me it’d be impossible to play the drums on hard. I sat down the next song and played one on hard. I guess I’m a natural,” Beck said.
Beck says he’d suggest the game to others because it’s a ton of fun and can really get a party started.
Chris Douglas, a junior electrical engineering major, also takes the living room stage in “Rock Band.”
He first heard about the game around spring 2006 and, like Beck, knew it was something he wanted.
“I was already addicted to ‘Guitar Hero’ and was since the first one,” Douglas said.
Douglas purchased the game the day it came out for his Xbox 360 and enjoys it more than the “Guitar Hero” games because it’s a better group game.
“It’s much more enjoyable for a large group of people because there are four things to do. I also enjoy playing the drum kit because it’s something new and different than playing the guitar,” he said.
Douglas doesn’t play online because he doesn’t have Xbox Live. Instead he tries to play with one of his roommates whenever he gets home.
“We’ll usually play for about half an hour and call it good,” he said.
Douglas said he enjoys the ability to just pick up the game and play and then leave if he needs to, but doesn’t like that that the equipment that was first released with the game was defective for so many people. He does like the downloadable content though.
“It’s pretty cool since it freshens the game every week, but I don’t like paying for the songs,” Douglas said.
Douglas said that he’d suggest the game to others who can gather people often to play it.
“I guess it’d be cool if you had it to play in single player mode, but the real experience is getting people to play with you,” Douglas said.
Naimi suggests the game because it’s fun, eats up time, and it’s accessible.
“The nice thing about ‘Rock Band’ is that it’s accessible. Anyone can play the game, not just hardcore video gamers,” Naimi said.
“Rock Band” is available now for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. EA has confirmed that it will be released on the Nintendo Wii, but no release dates have been confirmed.
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