When Rock Band 2 was released, it fixed most if not all of what was wrong with its predecessor; band leaders were scrapped, the setlist was expanded, and other subtle changes to gameplay were implemented. The game had a perfect formula, and as you can imagine, it was a huge hit. Harmonix followed up with spin-offs focused on The Beatles and Green Day, and even Lego, each with their own degrees of success, but it has been a while since Rock Band had a true sequel. Well, the time has finally come and Rock Band 3 has come to rock down the house once more. So how good is it? Let's find out.
DesignEvery game has to start with a concept. So how do you follow up on Rock Band 2? By adding keyboards, of course! Yes, this game finally got a keyboard peripheral, though it costs an extra $70 to get it with the game. The peripheral is supposedly a functional MIDI keyboard, though I don't plan on testing that. But that's not the only addition.
Those familiar with Harmonix should know that its founders believe everyone should experience the joy of playing a musical instrument, even if they're tone deaf and have never played one before. This is the philosophy that created Pro Mode, the most noticeable addition to Rock Band 3. Yes, there are keyboards, but they only have parts in two-thirds of the setlist while Pro is featured in every song. (That two-thirds is still awesome, though.) Pro Mode is determined to change the way people play music games; you play each instrument more like how it should be played, not a cheap, dumbed-down version of it. Pro Guitar actually requires different strings and more frets, Pro Drums uses cymbals as well as the standard input, and Pro Keys uses the whole keyboard (25 keys instead of 5.) There are no Pro Vocals, but Vocal Harmonies from The Beatles: Rock Band are included. Each Pro instrument comes with handy tutorials that teach the techniques necessary for the instrument. You don't have to do Pro on Expert difficulty, either; Pro can be done anywhere from Easy to Expert to get you used to the interface. There are two problems with Pro Mode, however...
One - Sometimes the screen interface gets confusing when using a Pro instrument. The exception is drums, where cymbal hits are the same color as the toms on the kit, but shaped round and blacked out in the center. A clear as day difference, so once you're used to it you'll be hitting those cymbals in no time. But Pro Guitar and Pro Keys sometimes have too much going on at once for their own good. Anyone who's new to Pro Mode will be looking at their hands to make sure they are in the right position, but you can't do that and look at the screen at the same time. I guess you're not supposed to do Pro Mode right off the bat, though; the training mode includes "Learn a Song" as one of its options. As a musician myself, I assure you looking at your hands for months of practice WILL be necessary if you're new to the instrument, and probably even if you're not.
Two - Pro Mode requires a different peripheral for each instrument, and some of them get REALLY expensive. Most Pro Guitars are in the neighborhood of $100, and the ones that actually function like a real guitar are probably triple that. A full Pro Drum kit will cost $130, and just three cymbals costs $40. You can just buy two cymbals for a Rock Band 2 kit for $20 and do Pro Mode like that; the game allows you to enable and disable certain cymbals in the song. Pro Keyboards don't require a different peripheral, which is why I recommend getting them with the game. If you do buy it separate, it's about $80. The worst part is, seeing how you're on an achievement site, there are achievements for Pro instruments that are necessary to complete the game. And there is at least one for EVERY Pro instrument. The lesson? Musicians must suffer for their art, and so must their wallet.
GraphicsGraphically, Rock Band 3 uses the same engine as Rock Band 2, but if it ain't broke, don't fix it. There are a few new venues, new character customization options, and one new filter that plays during creepy sections of songs, but the main graphical update is the main menu interface. And holy crap, is it a huge change from Rock Band 2. Each player now has their own individual menu, with options like no-fail, lefty mode, vocal options, turning drum pad navigation off, etc. But the main game is also navigated differently. Quickplay and Career are now under the option "Play Now," and Career is now called "Road Challenges." Road Challenges put you on the road to earn stars on each song you play, but you can also earn bonuses through spades. To earn spades, you must follow instructions given before each setlist, like activate Overdrive as much as possible, or play accurately when your character is in the spotlight and hand off to the next player. Spades will turn into stars at the end of each gig. They're a little annoying to get, but you don't need them all to get the best grade at the end of the challenge, so do what you will with them.
The new menu interface will throw off a lot of experienced Rock Band players, but like everything else, you get used to it. Calibration works pretty much the same as in Rock Band 2, and no-fail and lefty mode are individually selected at any time. It's an interesting change, but it's necessary to the changes in gameplay that we see.
GameplayPro Mode was already covered, so I don't have to mention it again. Like I said, the new interface will screw around with you, but why is there a new interface? Well, certain modes have been added and some others have been thrown away. Character creation and customization is now selectable under the main menu, instead of the pain of going into Career mode and having a thousand sub-menus. Training is still on the main menu, and includes drum freestyle, Pro training and regular practice. One addition you'll notice quickly is the inclusion of goals. These function similar to achievements but instead of gamerscore, you will add fans for each completed goal. Some goals even coincide with the achievements that give gamerscore, and you can track your progress on these goals. You can view them under the "Career" option in the main menu, which is deceiving; the Career option has no explicit gameplay option, just goals and leaderboards. You can, however, decide to play a goal, which will give you a setlist that earns the goal. This is handy for getting achievements like The Endless Setlist III, or Dave Grohl Band.
So what has been taken out? Only one thing: Competitive gameplay. Yes, there are no Score Duels or Tugs of War to be found. Not local, not online, not anywhere. Harmonix has stated that they wanted the game to be cooperative and not competitive, but I don't see why Score Duels were such a big deal that they had to be taken out. All hopeful keyboarders wanting to face off against their friend in an Expert Score Duel with Cold as Ice can kiss those dreams goodbye. Which actually brings me to the next concern of this review...
AudioRock Band 3 sounds just as good as Rock Band 2, and here's a good place to mention a subtle menu change. In Rock Band 2, all selections on the main menu were accompanied by a stock sound effect of the entire band doing something. This was a little interesting, but not worth noticing. In Rock Band 3, the sound effect will change according to the instrument that made it; a selection made by the guitar plays a little guitar sound effect, drums get a few hits with each navigation, and keyboards make their presence known as well. But hey, you don't care about that. You care about the setlist, right? Well, let me tell you this: Be cautious. Many of the songs included on the setlist are very strange and are done by artists most people would not openly admit listening to. There are classics added into the mix, including Sister Christian, Cold As Ice, Bohemian Rhapsody, Imagine (pianists, stop touching yourself,) as well as hardcore metal songs like Beast and the Harlot, Caught in a Mosh, and Before I Forget, but the majority of the setlist is devoted to songs like "Last Dance" by the Raveonettes and "The Look" by who-knows-and-who-cares. Don't get me wrong, these are good songs and there will be something for everybody, but the setlist as a whole seems a little bit shaky. If you're worried that the songs seem easier than those in Rock Band 2, don't worry. Llama by Phish and Roundabout by Yes will kick your ass if you're not careful. The difficulty curve for keyboards, however, seems a bit harsh towards the more difficult songs like Antibodies and Roundabout. It's not because I suck; the chords in the second half of Antibodies and the runs EVERYWHERE in Roundabout are downright cruel, even more so than the guitar solo in Rainbow in the Dark. Songs from each Rock Band installment are exportable, so if you've been playing this series for a while, your setlist can only get bigger.
Final Score 5 stars, 9/10
5.0