Before this review gets underway, it’s important to dispel some myths and misconceptions about Rocksmith. First, Ubisoft’s virtual guitar teacher is not aimed at axe masters. If you’re an accomplished player, then you need a stage or a recording studio, not Rocksmith. Following that logic, don’t be disappointed in the lack of heavy metal, or track selections that would be considered challenging in games like Rock Band. For a guitar rookie, playing licks that difficult on the real thing is nightmarish. Finally, it doesn’t matter if you can FC (full combo) every Guitar Hero song on Expert; those skills won’t translate here.
The ultimate question that curious consumers will have is “Can Rocksmith teach me guitar without the need for a human tutor?” To answer that, we’ve started a series of articles depicting the experience from a brand new guitar player’s perspective. We’ll also be complimenting our coverage with video footage next week. VGW’s official review, however, is from the mindset of someone familiar with only basic guitar fundamentals; more importantly, someone who hadn’t touched a guitar for ten years until Rocksmith came along. With that in mind, our review strives to critically analyze how effective Rocksmith can be for beginning to intermediate guitarists, and folks new to the instrument.
The magic – and inherent value — of the bundled Truetone USB cable cannot be understated. Not only does it measure note frequencies with shocking accuracy, it also transforms your console into a virtual guitar playground complete with amplifier and a myriad of effects pedals. When you feel like doing some freeform experimenting, just enter Amp mode and start riffing. You can tailor your sound with hundreds of possibilities. For a few of you, the day may arrive when you’ll advance beyond learning and start creating. Just route your console’s audio to a 4-track or PC and start your recording career. But first, you’ll need to learn the basics.
From the onset, Rocksmith assumes that you’ve never held a guitar in your hands. On-screen, a combination of diagrams and human instruction show you how to hold the pick, how to pluck the strings, and where to position your fingers on the neck of the instrument. Being familiar with these basic techniques, we also watched someone new to guitar progress through the initial tutorial, and found that they were uncomfortable because the angle of their wrist was wrong, and they were holding the pick incorrectly. It’s a subtle but important detail; one that reinforces the need for some human feedback, at least for the basic “Guitar 101” building blocks.
The solid line indicates an open note, and the curved icon means you'll bend the note
Expect to sink a few hours into familiarizing yourself with both the interface and your guitar; there is a heavy dose of muscle memory involved. 6 strings, 22 frets, dozens of chords, multiple picking techniques, and 132 places to place your fingers means that mastering Rocksmith’s note highway is crucial. You look through the back of the guitar’s neck, and each of the six strings is color coded. (For those who have played guitar, this is like reading tablature in reverse.) As corresponding notes travel toward the frets, you’re shown which fret and string to place your finger(s) on. Once you’ve memorized which colors represent which strings, things get less frustrating as you begin to focus more brainpower on techniques, and less on finding your way around the guitar.
Once you have these basics down, Rocksmith begins to demonstrate its brilliance and never lets up.
Your mastery of each song is tracked phrase by phrase, across every mode, and your progression is dynamically dictated by both your successes and failures. Here’s an example of what this means: During my first run through of The Horrors’ “Do You Remember,” I was surprised with a tremolo (rapidly striking the same note with your pick), and then a tricky slide from the 9th fret to the 15th fret. Upon returning to the main menu, Rocksmith recommended a tremolo lesson, and a minigame called Super Slider which helps you practice – and reinforce — the art of sliding your finger from one fret to another in a single motion.
The minigames deserve special recognition, because they bring an exciting element of gamification to what is essentially educational software. Whether its blasting hordes of zombies with chords, hitting baseballs by bending strings, or guiding a runner through a series of tunnels using major and minor scales, the minigames in Rocksmith are all the more satisfying when you realize you’re controlling things with a guitar in your hands. This is edutainment in its best possible form.
Rocksmith also tracks your general comprehension of techniques. Did you nail that E chord during “(Can’t Get No) Satisfaction?” Expect to see it in other songs now. Missed that E-minor on “Play with Fire?” Rocksmith will set up a practice session teaching you that single chord. From palm mutes to harmonics, slides to sustains, the developers are constantly feeding you enough leash to attempt them on your own, then reinforcing the techniques through “riff repeater” sections, minigames, and future songs.
Split-screen sessions are supported. You can even plug in a mic, sing along, and listen back to your full performance after the track concludes
I recommend sticking with the “Rocksmith Recommends” path as much as possible. Though the game may give you a “pass” on a song before you feel you’ve earned it, there’s a big picture in mind, and it’s framed by learning the ropes in a logical, progressive order. Don’t be afraid to explore the track list of 50+ songs on your own and master songs at your pace, though. Rocksmith will adapt.
Yet another use for your Xbox: Amplifier and Guitar Playground
The game’s dynamic difficulty measures your skill up to 20 times per song, increasing or decreasing the number of notes, and their complexity. This isn’t just a gimmick; in my week-long experience it has struck that perfect balance between challenge and reward – the reward being more of the song to learn, and the sheer thrill of knowing that you are playing it. There’s very little leniency when it comes to mastery of a song. You won’t be thrown under the bus with an orgy of notes, nor will you be bored to tears with repetitive riffs. Prove to the game that you’re learning, and single notes will become power chords; simple solo riffs will turn into complex phrases, and with dedication you’ll be playing the entire song from memory.
But don’t fret (sorry, had to), Rocksmith isn’t just about playing covers. Sure, you’re learning how to play songs note-for-note, but is that it? No. The techniques present in these songs are being constantly reinforced. You’re learning what notes sound like, the variance between frets, how to transition from chord to chord, what a pentatonic versus a major scale sounds like, all while trying to improve yourself, and your previous score.
Best of all, it’s really you playing the notes blasting out of your speakers, not the original guitarist. Hearing that is its own reward.
Repetition breeds perfection, and perfection is rarely achieved on the first attempt. Like its rhythm game cousins, Rocksmith may need a sequel or two to achieve perfect harmony with its intended audience. It’s an amazing effort both technically and creatively, but isn’t without some minor hiccups. Chief among these will be your reliance on the controller to navigate the menus. It’s cumbersome and inconvenient, especially on the Xbox 360 where Kinect support could have made menu navigation a dream. As flawless as the frequency detection is, why not ask users to play a note or chord to move up and down and make selections instead of stopping to grab a controller (and more often than not, have to power it back on after a lengthy set).
I also noticed a problem with identifying certain harmonics, but this is a problem we’ve learned that Ubisoft is addressing with an upcoming patch.
Finally, a word of advice: Don’t look at the audience when you venture from the rehearsal space to a venue. They consist of several real people, copied and pasted into a crowd of dozens or hundreds. It’s a bit unnerving if you stare at them too long!
All the greatest self-taught guitarists will tell you the same thing: You never stop learning. You won’t pop Rocksmith into your console and emerge 30 hours later as a rock god; not remotely. Don’t concern yourself with the monetary investment that Rocksmith entails; instead, ask yourself if you are willing to invest the time. If the answer is yes, you can expect a rewarding, inspired experience that will either amplify your love of music, or make you appreciate it in a much more personal way than was ever possible with a fake plastic guitar.
In closing, know that learning an instrument is a massive time investment. The nature of game reviews means that we can only cover a fraction of Rocksmith‘s experience; and it’s an experience that new students of the guitar are recommended not to rush. We encourage our readers to absorb many other reviews. Talk to the Rocksmith developers and users on Twitter, and check out all of our Rocksmith content here.
Review Statement: Ubisoft provided an Xbox 360 copy of the game, Truetone cable, and Epiphone SG Guitar to VGW for review purposes. We piped the audio via an optical connection to an Astro Mixamp and Astro A30 headphones. The game itself retails for $79.99 or $199.99 with an included Epiphone Les Paul Junior. You can also use any ole electric guitar lying around, provided it has a pickup. Ubisoft recommends using only analog audio connections, and warns against using HDMI as it will introduce noticeable latency.
Jason is VGW’s founder, Executive Editor, and a longtime podcaster, writer, and “solopreneur” who is driven by the classic Jello Biafra quote “Don’t hate the media. Become the media.” His singular mission is to develop VideoGameWriters into a gaming site known for its intelligence, timeliness, originality and integrity. You can hear him leading the VGW Collective in the site’s official podcast, “Unlimited Ammo.”
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Just ordered it and look forward to breaking out my dusty guitar. I also look forward to the video updates on this review. Thanks.
had stratocaster checked by 2 guitar techs game still will only recognize e string 30 percent of the time i am about ready to bring guitar to ubisoft and bash a few skulls in with it then see if it works better
I am an experienced guitar player, but no master by any means. I pre ordered this game and picked it up at midnight upon release. I have never learned songs this fast. There is something to playing along interactively that makes learning a lot more fun. It’s opening up my song list to play with my band, and making me practice more. The immediate feedback for hitting a note in the right or wrong timing is a great tool. I can’t say enough about how great this is for beginner to intermediate guitarists. I highly recommend it for anyone just starting out. Pair this game and a few guitar lessons and you are off to a good start. The main issue with lessons alone is it is hard work practicing and learning theory. This game makes it more enjoyable, and instant gratification is there by seeing your progress. Ubisoft, you did right by me and I got my money’s worth.
This game is bullshit on a strat half the notes dont register you have watch how hard you hold string on fret and how you pluck string otherwise it wont register . but game is for beginers no help whatsoever for finger position . i used my friends les paul on game works great . unless they fix it for strats game is going for sale on ebay
I am using a strat and it works fine
strats are terrible
a strat doesn’t even work fine outside of the game
Tell that to the best guitarist of all time, Jimi Hendrix.
Brian Setzer? He plays a Gretsch…
It’s not the game it’s your guitar.
Chances are, your intonation needs adjusted.
had that done now it wont recognize palm mutes
I have a usa 57ri stratocaster, game worked great with it. check your intonation.
had it checked by 2 techs they cant find anything wrong
I fall somewhere between beginner & intermediate on the guitar-playing spectrum and Rocksmith is a terrific game. Face it, sitting alone practicing scales or various drills isn’t the most exciting thing in the world, but the instant gratification and rewards that the Rocksmith gives you is fun and motivating. For someone serious about learning the instrument, this won’t replace actual lessons, but it’s an amazing complement to them.
Also, a note that I’m using the (entirely unrecommended) HDMI set-up for my audio, as changing around my home theatre set up for this game is not about to happen. There is a small amount of some noticeable lag on the free play modes, but it hasn’t been a problem while playing songs and I don’t feel like I’m missing any notes.
I’ve been waiting for this game for a long time now, and I’m glad the final product came out this good.
Now all I need is for Ubisoft to release the PC version already…
For those interested: My axe is an Indie Traditional Standard, with Cherry Sunburst finish. Indie is a relatively new (and unknown) brand, but it’s value is astonishing. If you’re looking for something new, I definitely recommend checking their axes out.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/269162_168534559883096_100001796602661_370916_2506706_n.jpg
Perfect review. Bought this game at Walmart on it’s release date at midnight. So much better than RB and GH. Feels good to show my Ibanez some lovin’ again
It should be mentioned, the inability to navigate menus with the guitar is a Microsoft/Sony problem: they will not allow unapproved, unlicensed, arbitrary devices to emulate a game pad’s functions, and since you can’t get every guitar in the world validated, you have that issue.
Insightful…thanks for pointing this out.
How would you navigate the menu with a guitar though? strike chords? strum one of the six strings? it not anything like guitar hero where you have 3 buttons (select, back and change songs) and a basic up and down.
Well, think about how the game works to identify notes. It can easily tie that note recognition into menu navigation (it already does, to a certain extent — you have to strum loudly and repeatedly to start the minigames)
I have been playing guitar for almost 2 years and I still have the basic problems of thumb position and proper finger placement . Anyways I am glad to have picked up rocksmith for 360 a few nights ago.
I recently bought a Godin multiac spectrum acoustic electric for about 1000$semi new over the summer. I’m also been taking guitar lessons each week and while sometimes I can’t stand practice because it gets boring . I can now practice for 30 minutes to half an hour and then just load up rocksmith as a reward for my practice.
Even my girlfriend who was somewhat worried thta buying rocksmith would replace my lessons she is happy i bought because now I have a more fun way to keep myself motivated to learning guitar as a incentive to keep up with my regular practice sessions
Definatly worth the money. I was really into Gears of War and somehow this game… learning device pulled me away and i spent 6 hours straight playing it. I have played guitar before, took lessons and even just jammed a few days but in the 6 hours i spent playing, i feel like ive really learned something. It has alot of potential. Im starting to “feel” out the frets so i dont have to look at where my fingers are every 5 seconds. Learning all these techniques, granted i knew almost all of them before, just not how to really put them to use. The wide range of styles in the songs is also great if you want to focus on a particular skill such as hammer on and pull offs, muting, bending or maybe just a steady struming song. It feels really good when you kick a#$ at a song that you played cause guess what, YOU REALLY JUST PLAYED IT. Many have said there is a lag issue. You will have it if you own an HDTV, which is probably why i will never get one, im a gamer and hate lag to no en, but i do not have an HD and so far have had zero problems with it, which suprised me given that the guitar has so many different pitch’s and notes. All in all, this game forces you in someways to learn to play guitar, or atleast the basic skills needed to call yourself a musician.
This is truly a unique experience. I’ve played a little guitar for 25+ years, and bass for 15 or so, even a few years in a band. I’ve never had the time to commit to each seriously. This “game” for lack of a better term, gets me off my butt and forces me to learn songs from beginning to end. NO more learning the intro and part of the chorus only to get bored and move on to something else. I’m sure I had a very childlike grin on my face as I realized I was actually playing Satisfaction by the Rolling Stones. I’ve been through the Guitar Hero, and Rock Band experience, but this is something everyone can get into and learn some songs. It’s a bit of a commitment if you don’t have a guitar. The guitar that comes in the $200 bundle seems good enough to do this. I’m using a Squire Strat I picked up about 7 years ago. Why buy Calloway clubs when you only get to the public course twice a year. Rocksmith is legit, and I can’t wait to log some serious time with it this weekend.
The problem with my strat and the game is i press a note or strum a string too hard it wont register . Now if the game was a rich woman with a tempremental pussy i wound take the time to learn to stroke it right . If i pressed the A button on my laptop and it registers C because i pressed the button to hard it would be in the trash . Game might useful as target at rifle range.
I have been playing on and off since 1973 and am self taught teaching myself how to site read music as well as picking songs up by ear. I had put my guitar aside for several years following some personal struggles in my life but then decided to purchase RockSmith to try and get myself back in the groove. I have been having a great time with this and have not put it down since. Its excellent being able to learn how to play the latest and greatest songs by newest artists out there and much less frustrating then trying to feel them out by ear alone. I have improved my technique, learned new material and have started to enjoying playing again. this is a fantastic concept and i hope you succeed big time with this and that this is around for a long long time. i would love to see some songs made available by progressive bands like King Crimson, Yes and Genesis at sometime in the future and would definitely purchase these, thanks