Post by funkdiggity on Jun 27, 2009 23:36:42 GMT -5
Here's my dlc review for this week: Tackhead is insane and no one should pay attention to his insane ramblings on his insane thread.
Really this was probably my favorite week of dlc we've had in a while. Lots of different artists, different styles of music, songs that were always fun for at least one instrument. This was all good stuff.
I really went in expecting to hate the Warped pack. My son listens to all of these bands except Bad Religion, so I was familiar enough with them to know I didn't really like them. As is so often the case with Rock Band, bands I hate are often the most fun to play. These songs are good times. None of them are terribly hard, but they're enjoyable. Lots and lots of power chords on the guitar, really basic bass strumming, drumming that's fast but not complicated. These are all things I usually dislike in my charts, but as my friend Bigfish said when we discussed these tracks, they all feel really fun, and that's enough for me to overlook their shortcomings.
Suprisingly enough, I enjoyed the Maroon 5 pack too. The bass charts are a joke, and I wasn't too taken with the guitar charts either. There's lots of moments in this pack where the guitar and bass player are going to be sitting around with little to do. But that's ok, because the singer and drummer will be having a good time. The drums here are really really easy. But they're also really fun. Extremely basic patterns, but Maroon 5's drummer does alot of unnecessary bass kicks when he plays, which means that when you play the song, you have a little something extra to do. On top of that, whoever mixed the audio on these songs added a really nice, huge thump to the bass kicks. The net result is pretty satisfying when you're playing. I had one of those moments where I really felt like I was actually being musical while playing these songs. Verisimilitude, my friends. Its what makes Rock Band awesome.
Finally there's the Pearl Jam pack. Like alot of the reissued versions of songs we already have, Alive isn't too dramatically different from what we already have. The guitar solo struck me as tougher, and the drums had a few extra kicks and fills thrown in, but the meat and bones of the song are largely the same. State Of Love And Trust was alright. It doesn't play the way most of the Pearl Jams songs play. Its faster, for one thing, and the guitar and bass are significantly less wanky than what I've come to expect from PJ charts. I enjoyed both songs alot, but I'm not going to pretend they're essential purchases or anything. Good for the fans, no one else really needs them. Brother, on the other hand, is awesome. The guitar chart has a little bit of everything, with a nice solo, some noodly hopo stuff, and Tackhead's favorite, hopo power chords. The bass chart is lots of fun, and the drum chart is laid back, but with enough fills and rolls included to keep you from getting bored. If you want some Pearl Jam songs, but don't want to invest in an entire album, I'd recomend this track as a good alternative. Or maybe a three pack of this, Jeremy, and Even Flow. That'd be a killer pack, right? Anyway, I'd say Brother was the best song of a really outstanding week. Here's hoping next week keeps the momentum going.
Really this was probably my favorite week of dlc we've had in a while. Lots of different artists, different styles of music, songs that were always fun for at least one instrument. This was all good stuff.
I really went in expecting to hate the Warped pack. My son listens to all of these bands except Bad Religion, so I was familiar enough with them to know I didn't really like them. As is so often the case with Rock Band, bands I hate are often the most fun to play. These songs are good times. None of them are terribly hard, but they're enjoyable. Lots and lots of power chords on the guitar, really basic bass strumming, drumming that's fast but not complicated. These are all things I usually dislike in my charts, but as my friend Bigfish said when we discussed these tracks, they all feel really fun, and that's enough for me to overlook their shortcomings.
Suprisingly enough, I enjoyed the Maroon 5 pack too. The bass charts are a joke, and I wasn't too taken with the guitar charts either. There's lots of moments in this pack where the guitar and bass player are going to be sitting around with little to do. But that's ok, because the singer and drummer will be having a good time. The drums here are really really easy. But they're also really fun. Extremely basic patterns, but Maroon 5's drummer does alot of unnecessary bass kicks when he plays, which means that when you play the song, you have a little something extra to do. On top of that, whoever mixed the audio on these songs added a really nice, huge thump to the bass kicks. The net result is pretty satisfying when you're playing. I had one of those moments where I really felt like I was actually being musical while playing these songs. Verisimilitude, my friends. Its what makes Rock Band awesome.
Finally there's the Pearl Jam pack. Like alot of the reissued versions of songs we already have, Alive isn't too dramatically different from what we already have. The guitar solo struck me as tougher, and the drums had a few extra kicks and fills thrown in, but the meat and bones of the song are largely the same. State Of Love And Trust was alright. It doesn't play the way most of the Pearl Jams songs play. Its faster, for one thing, and the guitar and bass are significantly less wanky than what I've come to expect from PJ charts. I enjoyed both songs alot, but I'm not going to pretend they're essential purchases or anything. Good for the fans, no one else really needs them. Brother, on the other hand, is awesome. The guitar chart has a little bit of everything, with a nice solo, some noodly hopo stuff, and Tackhead's favorite, hopo power chords. The bass chart is lots of fun, and the drum chart is laid back, but with enough fills and rolls included to keep you from getting bored. If you want some Pearl Jam songs, but don't want to invest in an entire album, I'd recomend this track as a good alternative. Or maybe a three pack of this, Jeremy, and Even Flow. That'd be a killer pack, right? Anyway, I'd say Brother was the best song of a really outstanding week. Here's hoping next week keeps the momentum going.
