I often see enormous tents and displays on campus. I usually pay little attention, as they often involve free energy drinks or activists. Fortunately, the semi parked on campus last Friday was promoting the game Rock Band. I made an exception and decided to check out the tour bus.

I spent about two hours on the Rock Band tour bus, which had been opened up to form a little stage. The time passed much more quickly when I ran into some friends. I had been playing drums, and I was happy to do so. I have spent some time with Guitar Hero, and the guitar on Rock Band seemed like the same thing. I wanted to try out the “new” instruments. I was surprised to find that there was little demand for the drums, but they were quite fun to play.

Virtual drums are rather interesting. I had thought that it would be like a practice pad, with one or two round circles to hit. Instead, the controller is structured more like a drum set, with four small circles in an arc and a foot pedal. The easy drum difficulty rarely use the foot petal, but the later difficulties become increasingly complicated (as expected). Hitting the different color-coded circles isn’t too difficult, but many people (including myself) seemed to have a lot more trouble when the foot pedal was involved. As a former flutist in high school band and orchestra, I got used to tapping my foot to the beat. I had to switch feet to tap my left foot, as the right foot controlled the pedal. When one foot is tapping and the other has to push a pedal down at certain timed cues, it becomes rather complicated. Fortunately, I played mostly on easy and medium difficulties, so it was manageable.

One of the most fun components of the Rock Band tour was the recording portion. It wasn't a part of the normal game, but was meant as a promotion on the tour. In order to get a free t-shirt, you had to play for a camera. This video is then posted online and eventually feeds into a contest. I ended up with random people, so I never expected to be any good. However, the fact that you get to see yourself on the internet in a silly little video is quite a novelty. I had a lot of fun playing on stage and rocking out in that geeky gamer way. My video is posted below.

After visiting the Rock Band tour bus, I am no closer to buying the game than I was before. I did learn that it is a lot of fun with a group of people that you know, and it can make you feel like a rock star with a little imagination.

See Video Below:

Or click the link here: My Rock Band Video