Reviews of Rocksmith 2014 Edition - Xbox 360

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REVIEW 1(5 STARS) Don't be misled by the word "game"

This is really not a game. There is no career mode with tour buses and goals that typical games have. I think this is a good thing. The achievement that you earn is the ability to play guitar or bass. That's all I'm looking for. If you bought the first edition of Rocksmith and did not like it very much (I didn't like it), don't let that prevent you from getting this. This is like another planet.

Everyone is talking about Session Mode and I'm sure that will be a big selling point for people that already know how to play. For me, a beginning bassist, it's nice to have the band backing, but randomly hitting notes when you have no real idea of what you are doing is cool but I'm sure once I get the hang of playing, this part of the game will be much more enjoyable.

If you want to learn to play, get this. I am doing bass only but I am sure the guitar play works the same way. I am using the Lessons and here is how they are laid out:

You first choose your instrument and click Lessons if you are a noob like me. The first couple show you how to hold the instrument and things like that. Then you start getting videos of different techniques and each of those lessons comes with a practice track. Here is where Rocksmith shines! Using the Riff Repeater feature, you can adjust the difficulty level from 0-100 using a slider: the lower the difficulty, the fewer notes that will scroll on by. If you start at say, 30, you can play that difficulty until you nail all of the notes and then move up to 40 and so on until you reach 100 which is all of the notes.

But that is not all. In addition to choosing the difficulty level, you can also use a slider to increase/decrease the speed. So if you want all notes but really slow, you can have that. If you want fast but fewer notes to play, then you can have that and everything in between. You can also loop the tracks so you play it a couple of times instead of just one, or you can have an infinite loop and the track will rewind and begin again until you stop it. You can pause and ramp up the difficulty and go right back into the track. If you overstep your ability, just pause, open Riff Repeater and readjust as you need to.

This is really an educational package for the Xbox rather than a game but it's amazing. I received it on launch day from Amazon and have been strictly using the Practice tracks in the Lessons and working on the Walking Bass lines in there at slow speed with fewer notes. I've inched up the meters a few times but need to master the level that I'm at now before moving on. Playing the track in an infinite loop has me playing it over and over and over and over again and I can feel my fingers beginning to stretch out and get more comfortable moving around the fingerboard.

The idea that you can plug in that guitar that's collecting dust rather than having to purchase special instruments to play with this game makes it such a worthwhile buy. It will be frustrating in the beginning if you've never played before (I know the feeling very well) but you really do find yourself saying "I'll never get this" and then all of a sudden you nail it and get such a rush. Then you add a few more notes, up the speed a little and get that too and you can't pull yourself away from playing because you realize that you can do it.

I have had DVD tutorials for bass and while good, they don't provide the instant feedback that Rocksmith does. The presentation in this game is lightyears ahead of the original. Loading times are fast and the options were created to accommodate learners of all kinds and proficient players as well.

I just can't say enough about this "game." It's just amazing, fun, and really teaches you to play. While there is no substitute for a real teacher and learning theory and the like, if you are just a hobbyist looking to learn to play some songs and jam out on a real guitar, this is definitely for you.

REVIEW 2 (5 STARS) Pure bliss for an intimidated noob

My 10 year old son and 39 year old self are having a blast with this game. Neither of us has ever played a "real" guitar before. We have played guitar hero, but there is just one strum bar and five buttons for frets on those guitars. For Rocksmith we have a 6 string guitar with 22 frets. That was (and still is) extremely intimidating to us.

Rocksmith came with
- USB plug from guitar to my 360
- 6 ft HDMI cable
- An audio adapter for the 360
- An audio cable

Lucky for me my 360 is plugged into a receiver via HDMI so the only cable I needed to use was the USB plug from guitar to XBox.

First thing I had to do was tune my guitar. Rocksmith walked me through it and checked the tones for me (good thing for a tone deaf guy). The cool thing (for me at least) was that the software knew the problem before I did. If I hit the wrong string, it knew and told me to check which string I hit.

So I went through about 5 tutorials and tried to 100% them. The tutorials are excellent. It starts easy...if you can't get it, then it slows it down to get you used to moving across the frets and strings in time. For a noob like me, this was great. The game amazed me when it told me exactly what I was doing wrong in the tutorials (ie: wrong string, wrong fret...it knew). After you get through the first test, it does the same riff with more notes and complexities. It allowed me to practice and have a sense of success before it upped the level.

You can choose to play lead guitar, rhythm, or bass. You can use your electric guitar for bass, but I have not tried yet. I have only tried lead guitar so far but plan on trying the others.

There are 20 or so more lessons to do, but I was interested in trying a song (knowing I would fail). Low and behold, they actually up the level of play on each song as you improve. So the first time through the easier songs was not impossible even for me to achieve some success. I felt like "I can actually do this with some practice".

The part I recently tried was the guitarcade which is awesome. Retro style arcade games that work on your guitar technique. The first game is similar to jet pack joyride, but based solely on how loud you strum the strings and control the volume. The next game is like the old Root Beer Tapper game but you have to hit the right string to "shoot" down the right area. I had trouble with volume and finding strings and these were fantastic ways to practice. It includes high scores, mini achievements, and online rankings. I also tried the slide arcade and a duck shooting game that helps practice slides, frets and strings. There are many more arcade games that I have not tried because I don't know the concept (ie: bending) yet. Some games are more fun than others, but the fun and rewarding way to practice is top notch.

The main thing this does not do is teach you to play guitar by reading sheet music. That was not important to me, but worth noting.

We try and limit video game play for our kids, but this game is so educational that we bend the rules and let our kids play Rocksmith at times when they normally are not allowed to play games.

I highly recommend this game for anyone who wants to learn to play a real guitar for fun. It provides learning, fun, and a sense of accomplishment. It will provide our family many hours of fun time together.

REVIEW 3 (5 STARS) If you have a guitar/bass already, $80 is cheap to learn to play.

To be clear, you MUST own, or have one on its way, either an electric guitar or an electric bass. One or the other is required to learn using Rocksmith. Those old plastic instruments we all came to love and adore, then ignore, do NOT work with Rocksmith.

Also, be sure you get what you need. If you have a previous version of the program, and already bought the guitar/bass to USB cable, you don't need to buy the cable included edition again. The old cable works just fine.

Why does Rocksmit seem to work where DVDs and books fail? It teaches you actual SONGS, real songs, not wimpy, silly lullabies or children's songs. You want to learn Slayer? You can. This is the goal of pretty much every guitar player (not to play Slayer necessarily, but play a son in general!) - you want to play like your rock heroes. The books and DVDs are good with teaching basics, getting you started, but they tend to just whet your appetite, not get you on the fret like Rocksmith does.

This being said, Rocksmith isn't easy. You won't likely be playing like Randy Rhodes after an hour or two. It will take practice, REAL practice, but... this is again where Rocksmith shines. You play games that help you practice. They can be fun, to the point that you don't really realize you are actually practicing. It's brilliant.

You can adjust the difficulty to suit your needs. If you've ever played, I recommend starting in the 10-20 range, if you've never played, hit the bottom and work your way up. And the most important part: DON'T FEEL BAD STARTING LOW! You WILL get better if you stick with this crazy "game."

Where the game excels at teaching you is the "riff repeater." If you have a part in a song that you absolutely just cannot get, fire up the riff repeater. This thing just adds to the brilliance! It lets you choose the speed and difficulty of the section - ramp up the difficulty as you seem to start learning the sections.

Session mode, when I am good enough at actually playing, will definitely be fun. It's OK right now, but I don't feel like I know enough to really enjoy having a band backing up my playing. And it's cool because it tries to match how you are playing with a level of randomness - it's not just the same beat and riffs over and over.

And it really does start at the beginning. Really, the beginning. How to hold a pick, tune your axe and so on. I say it again - it shines the brilliance of the entire package.

AND THEN there is the option to use a TON of equipment, really expensive equipment in the real world, using just the 360 to simulate the tones and so on that only certain amps and equipment can lend the guitar.

A note on configuration. When the pamphlet included tells you not to include your TV in the mix, and they tell you not to plug your system in w/ HDMI or optical, they mean it. I tried it and the lag really did kill the fun and the lessons. Please make sure you have this configured for the best option to "win" at it before playing, or you will be disappointed.

Bottom line - if you've ever wanted to learn the guitar and not have to pay for a lesson every day, this is the best $60 (or $80 if you need the cable) you will ever spend. But like anything, you really only get what you put into it, so make sure to leave your mind open and give the program a chance to teach you. They say 60 days on Ubi's website, and if you stick with it I'm sure 60 days is more than enough to make you quite a few levels better than where you are. Well, unless you are a Randy Rhodes naturally.