Great game, not so great Guitar
935098
The game is fun, I love how everything is set up in the game, its easy to pick up and play. But right out of the box I was experiencing the infamous double strum issue. If my guitar controller worked properly I would rate this 5 stars.
3095560
Great game if you are learning to play the guitar. Just wish was some slower songs. 50% or more of the songs are fast rocker songs. But hey it's called rocksmith for a reason I guess
3065036
Ok I have to start this out with saying I play the piano. Not awesomely, but I read sheet music. The fact that I find reading sheet music easier than playing pro keys kind of bothers me. I don't know if it's just that the learning style is different, if the keyboard should be bigger, or what, but that whole element falls flat on me. One thing I wish is that when you hit a sour note on the keyboard, if you got aural cues telling you where you went wrong, as opposed to a generic click. That's sort of a good frame of reference for really playing the piano. (however I will say the piano tutorials actually delve into music theory so a+ there)

It's like HMX had a totally awesome thing going leading up to Beatles Rock Band (which I still think knocked it out of the park) and then squandered it with Green Day Rock Band (seriously?) and then Rock Band 3 which is essentially a really awesome extra long track back with some baffling changes.

The menus are annoying to navigate, you now collect spades as well as stars (I have no idea why) and if you want to get into the pro realm of things you're looking to spend another couple hundred dollars. And while I appreciate HMX wanting to teach people to play real instruments, for real, I kind of feel like I'd rather spend the $300 for the pro guitar on a cheap electric and some lessons.

I feel sort of like, for whatever reason, Rock Band is trying to recapture the more annoying elements of Guitar Hero, with the game telling you when you've got certain length streaks going on, throwing challenges at you, and having sound effects that detract from the music.

It is not a black mark on the franchise, but I feel like there's some of the soul of the earlier releases missing and that makes me sad because I love Harmonix, and have supported them since Frequency and Amplitude.
3657518
For a beginner guitar player, or someone looking to just have something that resembles a Les Paul, you could do worse than this guitar. But, sadly tuning issues and overall flat tone quality ended up in a return of this purchase for me. Even after having it professionally set up, I just couldn't get a good sound out of this very beautiful instrument. But, it wasn't all bad. It had most of the notes, and the action felt good. Too bad, really.
1504238
By now, your opinion is probably set on the Rock Band franchise and rhythm games in general.  This game is basically the same, with a few tweaks.  But since I bought and am reviewing the guitar bundle, allow me to say that this may be the worst hardware I've ever played with, and I bought a launch copy of Guitar Hero and dealt with the early RB1 strats.  I have bought two controllers overall, and both have similar problems: frequent disconnects even with fresh batteries.  Not registering notes.  Registering strums when no hand is on the guitar.  Freezes where a single note (usually yellow or blue) will freeze and no other input can be registered until the batteries are pulled.

For that alone, I almost gave this bundle a 1.  But it's not all bad.

The game itself I would give a four.  I'm kind of burned that there's no pro keys in this version, because it was the main reason I played Rock Band 3 and bought DLC.  Still, I understand it wasn't popular, and that's fine.  I like to sing and the new vocal freestyles make singing even more fun.

One of the big drawbacks to Rock Band 4 is the soundtrack (this is what costs the game a star in my rating).  This is probably my least enjoyed soundtrack as far as full band games have gone, and a major step down from 3.  Fortunately, you can export other soundtracks to the game.  Unfortunately, you need to have played them and registered them to your account on the same platform, so as a former Xbox 360 player, many songs are lost to me forever now that I only own a PS4.

One of the things about the soundtracks is at this point, they're only an issue for new players and cross-platform players.  You may have hundreds or even thousands of songs, including rather stellar cuts from the first 3 games, Blitz, Green Day, or Lego Rock Band.  This is only an issue for new adopters or people switching console platforms, but as someone in one of those groups, I think the soundtrack is atrocious and forgettable.  A few good songs stand out, but most of the time the best I can hope for is "huh?  Oh yeah, that song.  That's okay, I guess."

This wouldn't be so bad, but the tour mode (and the Rivals "Rockudrama" expansion) still rely on random songs, primarily.  In quickplay, for parties, etc, you can complete ignore it.  If you want to complete the game or unlock instruments and outfits, however, you may have to play "The Wolf" 80 times.  Or even "I Bet My Life," a song that bores me from a band I kind of enjoy.

Guitar freestyle solos are also quite fun, barring my hardware issues.  There is structure to them, so it's not just "mash buttons" like the Big Rock Endings of prior games.  Both high and low frets are used in a somewhat authentic way.  The big problem I have is that the sound is the same no matter what song you're in.  This sounds really bad in some songs, but your mileage may vary and you can turn them off if you prefer the classic solo style.

Still, if you can't play them, what's the point?  I don't know if my guitar issues are widespread, but getting two with similar problems really leaves me thinking the worst.  I'm torn between giving up altogether and just karaoke-ing it or trying the new rivals Jaguar controller in hopes that, like prior Rock Band games, the hardware revisions make all the difference.  My favourite thing to do is to play guitar or bass while singing, which has been awesome in helping me sing and play real guitar at the same time, but it's so frustrating when you get dropped notes and extra strums and constant disconnects.  I haven't even tried drums because I'm worried I'll run into similar issues.

Harmonix has found some ways to make old gameplay fresh, and if you have reliable hardware you might as well give it a shot.  I'm just not sure about new adopters or transfers.

Game: 4/5
Guitar: 0/5
2512461
Rocksmith rules! I've learned more in just two weeks with this game, than I did spending a whole year with one-on-one guitar lessons. However, the PC version of this game does have some bugs. It freezes whenever I try to play the video lessons and I have to restart it. Sometimes I can't hear my guitar even though the cable is working and allowing me to play the game, which makes the different guitar tones within the game virtually useless. However, even with all of these problems, I'm still learning a lot and would highly recommend it to a beginning guitar or bass player (this one game will teach you both). It'll also teach you about the gear that musicians use (pedals, amps), etc. and let you try out different effects pedals (when the sound is working). I would highly recommend this game to a beginner, just not the PC version. Just an FYI to people who might want to use the Rocksmith USB cable with free Amp Simulators on the web like "Amplitube,"...I tried this, but could not get it to work, just got some crackling noises.
454251
I am a HUGE Rock Band fan.  There are a few good things about the game and a few not so good.

The good:
I love the new instruments and the fact they are Bluetooth.
The new guitar solos are awesome and fun to play.
The new guitar controller is much nicer than the older versions.
The new vocal improvisation on hard and expert are a very nice addition.
The old instrument controllers work just fine with this game, you just need to use the dongles.

The not so good:
No way to import songs from the old versions...yet.
Getting your previously purchased DLC is time consuming
The included set list is kind of "meh".
The new drums controller don't work as well as the older ones.
The character creation is lack-luster (if that matters to you).

All in all the game plays nicely and the tour is fun.  I wish I could import all the songs I am missing.  That is something I feel the game should have shipped with.
2340368
On the lower strings, everything below the 6th fret buzzed so much it significantly deadened the sound. Couldn't even ear-tune it. On the minor details side, the frets stuck out enough to bother my hand and on the inlay side of the fretboard the frets seem to have been pressed into the wood a little too hard, there are all kinds of minor cracks and deformations where the fret hits the board.

I would love to have kept it; the weight is awesome, looks great, and the action is really fast and fun, but it's just unplayable as is. I had heard even the entry level Parkers were good quality but... seems like only if you get a good one.
4026860
You know why the other people are complaining about the first edition of the Guitar Hero LCD game? Well, they expect it to be like the TV Guitar Heros. WHAT?! If you look at the picture, you'll immediately understand that this is a little LCD game that surely can't contain as much as the console games. Plus, they were expecting modern-day kids to love this. If they love Game & Watch games, then I'm sure there won't be a problem. Otherwise, you were mistaken.

First, let's go over the in-game. At first, they seem confusing to navigate, because you don't know which buttons to press. Well, soon, you find out that the yellow button sets the volume or difficulty higher, and the blue button lowers them. The orange button should be pressed to confirm your choices of volume and difficulty.

Now, the main gameplay is still pretty similar to all the other Guitar Hero games. You just don't strum with the buttons you press. You can also mash the Whammy button (See the fake handle next to the screen?) during long frets to score extra points. The songs are shorter than the originals, and there are only 15 of them, but the game plays well. And also, it's not really common for an LCD game to have voices come out of the speaker.

So overall, it's not as bad as everyone says, once you realize that it is what it's supposed to be: Guitar Hero on LCD.
3433101
I can't believe I got both the guitar & game for about $25.  This guitar is great, but it's not like the PS guitar.  They keys aren't color-coded so it's going to take a little while to adjust.
30570
Pretty much a continuation of the other Guitar Hero games with the added instruments.  The additional content on the Wii version make the game more fun to play.  Haven't purchased the drums or mic yet.  Overall the guitar experience is better than the older games on the PS2 (the strum bar and button placement is better and the new touch pad on the neck makes it more interesting).  Being able to download additional songs is another cool feature.
841468
Guitar Hero 3 for PC/Mac is just like any other version. Graphics look great, game play is great, just as good as a console system would put out. The only downside to this package (in my opinion) is the guitar. It isn't anything special, but like one you would get with the prior guitar hero games. Not all spiffy like the new wireless ps3 version or the advertised guitar hero 3 controller, and is a heck of a lot louder. When rocking the strum button, it can (if the volume is not all the way up) get louder than the actual song. Which, if you are a "hard-core" guitar hero fan, you won't mind, but when you have a roommate, or are trying to be quiet, it can be very annoying.
3898598
This game is great.  The song selection is better than the first 2 games in my opinion.  There is a song title for just about any genre.  If you are a fan of the guitar it would be pretty hard to not be able to find at least 5 or 6 songs that you like.  As for the christian comment in the other review... I am also Christian and all I have to say is.. oh, please.  Can we not get offended by every little thing?  The fun is totally taken out of life by people who get offended by every little thing.  Just play the song, beat it, and move on.. You never have to play it again.  Don't give the game a 2 star review because a few songs don't agree with your religion, thats why we're in America, you believe whatever you want, listen to whatever you want, and play whatever you want!
3069402
I have always loved the Guitar Hero franchise. This game doesn't disappoint, but it doesn't quite hit me the way the old versions did. I have large hands. I have a difficult time going between the two rows. The controller just isn't great for large hands. If you have a smaller hand than you will truly enjoy this game. If you have big hands you will find yourself getting more frustrated everyday.
2927996
Honestly, this game is pretty awesome.  It didn't really help me improve my playing too much, but it did get me back into playing guitar with the different technique games and trying to get through a song without too many mistakes.  The only reason that I'm not giving it the full rating is because I wish it came with more songs.  I know I could download more songs, but it would be nice to just have a few more that come with it.
4694685
Great game, loads of fun, the new guitar button layout is unique and a welcomed challenge in my opinion.  Its just the colors: 3 black keys ontop, and 3 white keys on the bottom if you are right handed playing the keys with your left hand. but don't be fooled its a bit tougher than you think. The tracks in this game...wow so much variety. I know it doesn't cater to every different rock music genre but there's way too many different genres of rock, they did what they could and I can't complain with having Disturbed, System of a Down, Rise Against, Korn, and Slipknot in the game :)
2335397
I had been wanting Rock Band for awhile, but being that I don't have a PS3 or 360, and the load times for Guitar Hero on the PS2 were terrible, I was excited to finally get this game for the Wii.

First, the good:

The songs are great, the game play is great and the sound isn't as bad as some people are saying it is. It sounds great in Stereo. Unlike the Guitar only games, the drumming for this game is probably as close as your going to get for a video game. After the "Easy" level, it's rather realistic.

Now, the bad:

When your playing the Medium it shows there are 63 songs to play through. There are, but only about 50 of them are songs from known artists, and a lot of them aren't REALLY that known. The remaining dozen or so songs are of unknown acts except for one song from South Park.

So you could imagine my surprise, playing through Medium and I hit 50 (or so) songs and learned I was done. I then had to play through 8 to 10 songs I had never heard of to reach the South Park song. Not to say all the unknown songs are bad, some of them are quite good, but it was kind of annoying to say the least.

One thing GHIII had over this was the ability to just "Buy" the extra songs you wanted, but not having to play the un-heard of songs if you didn't want to. That Rock Band pretty much forces you to play them in order to open up everything is more than slightly annoying.

Also, on GHIII the "Extra" songs weren't included in the number of songs needed to play. So when you see 63 songs, you think "I'm going to get to play 63 songs that I know". Again, not the case.

The other thing missing is the lack of downloadable content. I do like the idea of having the extra "Track-Pack" and I have already pre-ordered it.

When I hear that Guitar Hero IV will feature downloadable content, and the fact that you STILL can't use a Guitar Hero guitar for play on Rock Band (for shame to both Activision and Harmonix on this one) not sure if we'll keep Rock Band once GHIV comes out. We'll have to see what we get on the forthcoming track-packs.

Overall, it's a fun game, I do recommend it for those that want a new music