Rocksmith 2014 Review

Rocksmith 2014, available on all platforms (except next-gen consoles)

Dear all,

the reason I have not written that much lately is because I have been testing the latest and greatest guitar learning tool very thoroughly on all kinds of levels to find out if it is indeed a useful addition to your guitar lessons. I am talking about Rocksmith (2014 edition).

First off: what is Rocksmith?

It is a video designed to help anyone to learn to play the guitar (or bass) or improve on their existing skills. It was released in the end of October and I myself got a copy 3 months ago.

I wanted to find out myself how and if it works. So let us get to it!

How it works

What you need to know is:

- you need a guitar (duh)

- you need A) a current-gen console (Xbox 360 or PS3) or B) a computer

- If you already have a Rocksmith cable: you can just buy the game itself
  If you do not own a Rocksmith cable yet, you will need to buy the bundle/pack, since Rocksmith transfers your guitar sound through a regular guitar input jack that has a USB end.

Right, now that's sorted, let's get into the game itself.

I am not going into the specifics of how things work, but I am going into the game modes, there are 3 modes that will be interesting for any guitarist:

- play-along

- session mode (jam sessions)

- lessons

Rocksmith also includes some fun minigames, but you will be very likely to only play those once or twice.

So let's start off with what you're probably buying it for in the first place.

The play-along mode

After tuning your guitar to that of your choice (being lead or rhythm), you can start playing along with many, many rock, pop and metal songs that are available in-game. You play the notes based on a (not so handy) interface and as you are progressing in the song, more and more notes and chords will be visible so that eventually, you will be able to play along with your favorite song.

This is a great feature and a very realistic one too: it offers that real feeling of being on stage playing that song, while also teaching you to play it in the meantime.

However, there are some downsides to the game that can sometimes ruin the fun a bit. For example, if you go with the console version of the game, you might notice a lag between when you actually play the notes and they are registered by Rocksmith. And like I said a bit earlier, the interface can be quite confusing and unclear when playing Rocksmith the first few times.

Session mode

Undoubtedly one of the most exciting modes in Rocksmith, where you get to choose what instruments join your gig, the music genre, what scale you'll be playing in, the tempo etc. and the game will figure out all the rest. It will play slower and more quiet as you pause but as soon as you start playing again everything goes more up-tempo and adjusts itself to you and your guitar.

Just like the play-along mode, this is a great way of learning new stuff, so matter what level you're already on. Even very advanced guitar players will enjoy these two modes.

Lessons

The last section you will sometimes go to, is the lessons. These cover the basics of all guitar techniques and some lessons even go a bit more in-depth. However, if you are an advanced guitar player, you shouldn't learn anything new browsing through these lessons.

Conclusion

Rocksmith is an enjoyable tool to learn how to play the guitar and even to improve your existing skills. There are numerous videos on YouTube showing just how much you can progress playing this entertaining game in a short period of time. Also for the more advanced players, there are quite some cool features to explore, but as you are already more experienced you'll probably end up playing the play-along modes. 

That's what I did too, but that's not necessarily a bad thing: I have picked up more songs and cool passages and riffs in this short period of playing Rocksmith than ever before. And that's great, since I can now play along with entire songs people know, when they come over and visit.

And to be honest: if the Rocksmith games succeed in making their interface a bit more intuitive, they may have found a huge promotor of the game.

If I were to rate this game, I'd give it an 82/100

PROS

fun 

lots of modes 

minigames

entertainment for guests coming over

CONS

interface

latency in signal

As a last piece of advise, if you go out and buy Rocksmith 2014, make sure you buy it for your PC. It will be a much more enjoyable experience. 

Rock on.