People used to say that Guitar Hero was "that game you play with a guitar". Of course, what they meant was it was "that game you play with a plastic video game controller shaped to look like a small guitar". With all respect to Activision's music-based video game series, Ubisoft's game/rock guitar teaching software really IS that game you play with a guitar.
Outside of basic syncopation, about the only thing that "guitar" players of Guitar Hero and its rival Rock Band learn is color recognition. Color recognition will hardly help when sitting down to play an actual guitar. Rocksmith, however, is played with the ultimate goal of being able to transfer what's learned playing the game into real life -- playing the game's various rock songs without the need for a game console or its on-screen interface.
Learning the guitar (or any musical instrument, for that matter) can be quite the intimidating endeavor. Rocksmith does its best to keep things simple and guide you along, automatically increasing its difficulty as you catch on and backing off when things start getting too tough. In some ways, this makes learning the guitar much more enjoyable than working with an actual music teacher, though players must have the drive and the dedication to move forward in the game. Sometimes it does pay to have that third party helping you along and pushing you to constantly do better.
Most players will likely find themselves firing up the "Journey" (aka: career) mode. Players are able to learn songs in whatever order the game software finds best; or players can make their own custom learning playlist. Those who already know how to (at least) fake it on guitar might find some fortune in jumping into whatever song looks good at the time, but more novice guitarists should probably just go with whatever the game recommends.
As the player/guitarist levels up, more advanced maneuvers become "unlocked" and both demonstration videos and practice mini-games open up for them. The videos do a good job at explaining not only what to do to pull off advanced guitar moves, but also why. As for the mini-games, most of them are actually very fun to play and more-or-less trick the player into becoming better at hammer-ons, slides, chords, and so on.
Other tools at the player's disposal to get better at the guitar and, in turn, Rocksmith include the Riff Repeater. This activity is geared towards helping players improve at specific parts of songs, repeating a segment until the player gets it right.
Getting it right, though, can be a bit frustrating. That's not because getting it wrong is a negative experience, but rather because the game software wants each note to be exactly right. If a finger is on the correct string yet isn't quite in the exact right space between frets, there is a good chance that Rocksmith won't like it. Playing the game with different guitars (the supplied 1/4"-to-USB cable works for most any electric guitar on the planet) doesn't seem to change things. This is simply the way things are with Rocksmith and, if nothing else, it forces the player to pay keen attention to detail when fingering each note and chord.
One group of guitarists that may find Rocksmith to be the most challenging (or at least have the most hassle in playing it) would be experienced players. Like it or not, the game starts everybody off at the same level: bare-bones beginner. Legitimate and self-proclaimed guitar experts will have to work their way up the difficulty scale to get to where they feel at home, which will take time. For this alone, more experienced players might find themselves turning the game off and their amps back on.
One thing that Rocksmith is not that Guitar Hero and Rock Band most certainly are is a party game. While Ubisoft's title can be played two-player, it's still very much on the more serious side of the scale. Those looking to rock out with friends while drinking Pabst Blue Ribbon should stick to those pesky plastic guitar controllers. Then again, those looking to bust out a real guitar and blow those PRB-drinking amigos away with an acoustic version of The Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction" should look into burning many hours into this PS3/Xbox 360 title.
Final Game Guys grade: B-
(Ubisoft supplied a copy of this game with hardware for review).
News10/KXTV