Music game popularity is at an all-time high, with Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero: World Tour dominating headlines. Now Konami, the original master of this genre with Guitar Freaks and Drum Mania arcade games, introduces Rock Revolution. Much to our surprise, this is a lame effort that can't carry a tune, much less any interest.
In the game, you have a choice of three instruments: lead guitar, rhythm/bass guitar and drums. Those looking to sing are out of luck, as Revolution forgoes that option. (This is ridiculous, considering that Konami has its Karaoke Revolution franchise.) You perform songs on a scrolling playfield, with dots representing the next notes in the track. Instead of an easygoing isometric angle, the notes move on a straightforward up-and-down track. Not only does this interface lack charm, but it's also hard to keep up with. Notes move so fast that you'll miss several strings at a time.
As you play the notes on-screen, a virtual band performs in the background. Unfortunately, they're poorly designed and stiffly animated. They try to get into the music but end up looking like buffoons, and the venues are just an assortment of stages with fancy lighting and repeating crowd animations. It's a Rock Band rehash all the way.
Rock Revolution boasts a decent amount of songs, but runs into two problems. First, there are only 41 tracks, half of what other music games offer. There is the promise of downloadable tracks, but no word of which ones, when we'll get them or how much they'll cost.
Second, all of the songs are cover tracks, rather than master recordings. Some of them are good, such as "Paralyzer," but others are downright atrocious. Whomever Konami hired to belt out Quiet Riot's "Cum On Feel the Noize" should never pick up a microphone again. "We're Not Gonna Take It" isn't any better. It lacks the Dee Snider wail.
A separate bundle with a customized drum set will be available next month, but it's ridiculously overpriced at $130. The peripheral is clumsily set up, with the pads squeezed closely together on a rectangular piece of plastic. You'll constantly hit the wrong notes, even after an hour or so of practice. Fortunately, Rock Revolution supports other music peripherals, including Guitar Hero and Rock Band instrument controllers.
Rock Revolution's Career Mode is nothing more than a prolonged jam session, with no narrative or anything to drive you further into rock superstardom. There are unlockable characters, but they're nothing special. A recording studio is available, letting you tweak musical sounds and record songs, but there's no way to share them with your friends (something Guitar Hero: World Tour will let you do). Online multiplayer is available, but its lack of options makes it feel tacked on.
Aside from Career, the game has some extra modes, but they failed to hold our interest. One raises difficulty a few notches mid-song if you're performing well enough. Another introduces "poison notes," false tones meant to throw you off from the real ones. Outside of these, there's nothing to come back to.
It's too little, too late for Rock Revolution. Had Konami come out with this game years ago, it wouldn't be so laughably bad. However, the genre has moved on to new heights of excellence, and there's no room for this horrible effort. Buy Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero: World Tour instead.
Reader Comments (1)
"Those looking to sing are out of luck, as Revolution forgoes that option. (This is ridiculous, considering that Konami has its Karaoke Revolution franchise.)" It is ridiculous that the vocalists are omitted from Rock Revolution. However, this is the result of a strategic decision made by the Konami marketing team. The logic behind this is extremely optimistic and is as follows: "If we provide for a vocalist part in Rock Revolution then people who want to sing will buy Rock Revolution which also has the bass and drum parts included. If that happens then people will have no reason to purchase Karaoke Revolution as that game doesn't allow for anything but the vocal part." I understand their logic, but this is quite presumptuous of Konami considering what a lackluster game that Rock Revolution is. Until they actually put some kind of effort into their full band simulator they have nothing to worry about as far as Rock Revolution cannibalizing Karaoke Revolution.