Rock Band-- A player's review

          When it comes to seperating my household from cash, I am pretty much skeptical about the value of certain things.  This is true (at least for me) in regards to the perceived entertainment value of one medium in particular: video games.  The outrageous prices that are charged when a "new" game is released can surely wipe out at least a day's pay from a paycheck.  About two months ago, my boyfriend told me that he was hoping to acquire Rock Band with his income tax refund.  Not just the game, but the whole set---a set that would put him back at least $181.00 by my calculations.

          Though I wanted to speak out against the purchase---the tax refund was honestly his money--- I made a deal with him: help me out with a few little wants and needs, and I don't care what you do with the remainder of your tax refund. Always the skeptic, I still felt that he was going to be disappointed once he honestly had it in his hot little hands.  And, to be fair---between December and February, he had plunked down quite a bit of money on another set of video gaming equipment/games: Guitar Hero III, two Les Paul wireless guitars, and the two Guitar Hero games.  So, I was very displeased when he stated he wanted the Rock Band set----because he'd already spent loads of cash on simulated music.  I began to wonder if my boyfriend was having a mid-life crisis about not being a rock star.

           My boyfriend finally purchased his Rock Band set in the first week of March.  Since his apartment is a small little studio---barely big enough to hold one person, he asked me if I'd mind making one of the bedrooms of my apartment a "gamer's room".  I told him that he would have to do all the heavy lifting, but okay---still believing he was seriously having a mid-life crisis over being a rock star wannabe.

           After two days of moving rooms around and numerous bumps, bruises and scratches,  my boyfriend had his gamer's room and the Rock Band Set all in place; he was excited to get down to playing it.  Much like Faust, I began to believe I'd made a deal with the devil and that I would soon regret my acceptance of a gamer's haven.

           To my surprise, after playing Rock Band (on drums and on guitar; I prefer guitar) I can honestly state that although the price tag on the set is steep---the entertainment value is far much greater than I originally gave the music simulation game credit for: the drums are easy to navigate (especially once you find the song's actual rhythm and memorize the pads color coordination with the notes on the screen); the guitar that is included with the set is easy to use and play due to it's smaller neck design when compared to the Les Paul guitar from the Guitar Hero series of games; and, the included microphone adds a seriously cool karoake feel to the game as long as you have a singer.  And, looking back to a couple of weeks before the purchase----I began to ask myself just why I had been so skeptical!

          Believe it or not, this video game accesory/game is a very worthwhile investment if you're looking for quality family and friends time in a hectic lifestyle.  Although my boyfriend's set is only a couple of weeks old, it has seen a lot more play time than any of the other games (including the Guitar Hero series) in his library---and it becomes quite gamer addictive after awhile.

          Another neat little trick (with a few more hidden costs) is to download game content---usually song downloads---to keep the experience of Rock Band fresh.  Sure, having to purchase more songs sounds lame at first, but, after awhile, the same old songs tend to get b-o-r-i-n-g.  With the rising costs of gas, a night out for dinner, and oher entertainment that we all seek becoming pocket busters---the entertainment value of the Rock Band system/set is quite worth the investment.  Between my family and friends we've logged in at least 100 hours of the wannabe rock star fun. And that's just in the first couple of weeks.