Rock Band

Yes this is the evolution of rhythm games, Guitar Hero sort of died off after III, World Tour and V did nowhere near as well, and I think Rock Band had a little to do in the initial death of Guitar Hero. Rock Band felt smoother and like an evolution. Everything in Rock Band felt satisfying from hitting a note, the way the band played in the background, the menus and music selection screens, to the touring modes. Plus this game did offer no fail mode so you could play for fun without failing. Sure Guitar Hero had codes to not fail but it wasn't an official feature in the game. I loved the star system Rock Band implemented where you'd get more stars based on how well you performed a song and how consistently you hit the notes in a row without messing up. Sure Rock band 3 was my go to game as a keyboard player, but this wasn't a bad start to the series and had a decent enough soundtrack, my friend couldn't get enough of playing High Tides. Yeah 2 and 3 did improve on this a lot, but this game killed Guitar Hero, and for that it deserves credit.

When it comes to interface and interaction, I have always viewed Harmonix as ahead of the curve, and even Rock Band 1 is no exception. Their first time out of the gate, they nailed the basics for a malleable but realistic drum engine, something which had never really been tried before, thought about its use of every limb in regards to both chart display and peripheral activation of Overdrive, and most of all, how to meaningfully integrate everything into the band experience. I would kill to have gotten my hands on the design documents for this baby.

However, it is a very aged game, with a failed attempt to account for the growing trend in HD television in its calibration, inconsistent and plain bad charting standards for many drum and vocals charts, and a career mode torn between the same old linear progression of single player and the grind of an MMO in multiplayer to simulate touring burnout...I guess. Even the setlist is weird. Before you get to titanic dark horse picks which were hovering in many create-a-setlists at the time, like Tom Sawyer and Don't Fear The Reaper, you have to play some baffling picks from alternative acts like Weezer and Nirvana, whose more obvious choices would arrive as DLC down the line. Indeed, the launch DLC lineup did little to assuage people's fears of what it may have become, though it thankfully broadened in short order.

Still, it is an important game, and conceptually showcased HMX's penchant for understanding game flow.