Rock Revolution – PS3 – Preview

E3 2008 GameZone Previews

E3 2008 Preview

Few people know that Konami was the
inventor of the music genre. They think it’s Harmonix, who has been making music
games for many years, and invented those little-known titles called
Guitar Hero and Rock Band. It’s understandable that people would have that
misconception, but truth be told, Konami had Guitar Freaks, Drum Mania, and
other music games several years prior to Harmonix’s popular creations. And now,
after years of wondering, "Will they or won’t they?" Konami is finally back in
the music game with Rock Revolution.

First things first: this is NOT a
guitar game. It can use the Guitar Hero peripherals for bass and guitar gaming.
But the Rock Revolution disc won’t come packaged with anything but a drum kit.
This unusual development is Konami’s way of trying to capture the other market,
a market they believe has not yet been satisfied by Rock Band.

The game plays exactly like Konami’s
previous music titles. Instead of a 3D display where the on-screen notes fly
toward the player, these notes move from top to bottom. Hit the drum pads
in-synch with the icons as they scroll by and you’ll start to play the song.
"Somebody Told Me" by The Killers and "All The Small Things" by Blink-182 were
among the featured tracks. Just like the Karaoke Revolution series, the majority
of Rock Revolution’s music will not be taken directly from the artists. Konami
has opted to license several covers instead — a move that’ll save some cash and
music industry stress (some artists don’t appreciate the value of video games
and may be reluctant) but could hurt with gamers who are determined to have the
real versions of their favorite tracks. But for gamers just seeking fun, Rock
Revolution should deliver the goods.

Since the game uses Guitar Hero’s
popular guitar controllers, you won’t have any trouble strumming along with each
song. The drum kit is where the new challenge comes in, as its layout is very
different from that of Rock Band. Right now the kit has one thing going for it
and another going against it: the layout is great and easy to learn, but the
position of the drums is slightly off. I found myself hitting the rims of the
drums several times per song. When this happens, it makes a horrible clack sound
and doesn’t register with the game because you didn’t actually hit the drum.
This became less of a problem with each passing minute, but is still something
the developers should address before the game ships in the fall.


Rock Revolution PlayStation 3 screenshots

With only a drum kit ready for the
package, Rock Revolution won’t be nearly as expensive as Rock Band. Its final
price has yet to be announced, but if the Japanese versions of Guitar Freaks and
Drum Mania are any indication, it should retail for less than $100.

The DS version will be a bit lower,
as it doesn’t need to include any peripherals to get the job done. Using the
touch screen, players can play the drums (tap the on-screen drum kit as various
drum symbols scroll across the screen); guitar (scratch up and down as arrows
approach the center of the guitar image); bass (similar to guitar but with
multiple strings to hit); and sing (a scaled-down, super-simplistic version of
Karaoke Revolution that uses the DS’s built-in microphone).

If these features sound good, then
get in line: the Rock Revolution awaits.


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