Rock Band kiosks being installed at Best Buy

by Dustin Burg { Oct 31st 2007 at 2:30PM }

Brian over at MEGATONik sent work that he spotted a Rock Band demo kiosk being set up at his local Best Buy store. The kiosk he saw wasn't fully functional yet due a scratched game disc, but he did get to play with and inspect the peripherals. We're guessing Best Buy's around the country will be getting Rock Band kiosk installations soon (if not already), so keep your eyes peeled. And since you've already had some hands on time with Guitar Hero III, your Rock Band vs GHIII comparison will be complete once your fingers grace Rock Band's instruments. Oh the anticipation!

Tags: ghiii, guitar-hero-iii, harmonix, mtv-games, rock-band

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

TORO @ Oct 31st 2007 2:41PM

Awesome, maybe I'll go to Best Buy every night cause I don't think I'll be buying either games. I just made a downpayment on an engagement ring :(

Wait, I should be happy right?!

mike @ Oct 31st 2007 2:46PM

They already had it up at Best Buy in Chicago North Ave. I was messing with the game on Monday night. They had either put it up Monday or the day before.

Frank @ Oct 31st 2007 3:01PM

Thanks for telling us you played it... mind telling us how it was?

Robin @ Oct 31st 2007 3:03PM

I just don't get these games. Enjoy yourselves.

tony @ Oct 31st 2007 3:06PM

its freakin sweet. te guitar is way better than the gh3 one. the drums are quite difficult to learn though. defintley getting this bc a friend of mine hit the lottery and hes buying me one for xmas. what a bud

Sean @ Oct 31st 2007 3:16PM

I saw this at Best Buy on Sunday.

I didn't bother with the guitar since I can't stand them much anymore in stringed or buttoned form.

The drums were eh. I played "Suffragette City" on Medium. The drums are loud as hell when you beat on them but that just might be the mounting to the metal stands at Best Buy.

It was marginally fun but I could write a novel about what it's missing on the drums. Needless to say, I'll just keep playing on my electric kit and drop that $170 on something more useful.

isocrazy @ Oct 31st 2007 3:16PM

doesnt anybody hate that this isnt ALL wireless. next gen my arse

Aluvendale @ Oct 31st 2007 3:30PM

My local Besy Buy had it and I played around with the guitar a bit. I like the guitar. It seems larger and feels more like a real guitar (than the GH guitar). I also loved the end of song where you got to piddle around and play whatever you wanted to. The game screen is nice and clean and the translucent fretboard is nice. You get too see more of what's going on in the background without it being too busy. Overall, looks fun. I also bought GHIII. . .it's pretty much what GHII should have been. So, it's nice and the wireless controller is SUCH an improvement!

Hey Apples @ Oct 31st 2007 3:36PM

They were just rolling out this demo when I picked up my GH3 this weekend. The 5 minutes I spent trying it were more fun than 5 hours of GH3.

Matt @ Oct 31st 2007 3:45PM

The Best Buy on the west side of Madison, Wi had it up and running when I was there on Monday. I think the guitar is way better than the GH3 guitar.

One note though...

The drum set doesn't have the kick pedal, which sucks.

soyalemisty @ Oct 31st 2007 3:52PM

They put up the rock band demo at the best buy in Savannah on Sunday and my girlfriend and I went to play it. I really like it alot, I wont be getting GH3 until its on sale now. The drums are so damn fun, theres nothing more fun then feeling like your a drummer playing those classic rock songs. The new gituar was weird to get used to and the strum trigger wore out my thumb pretty quickly but it feels more solid than the last controller. GH3 was right next to it but it was collecting dust because of the people lining up to try multiplayer on Rock band, it was so damn fun!

TXAustin @ Oct 31st 2007 5:20PM

I went to my Best Buy in Austin, TX this weekend.

They were having a big Guitar Hero III play-off in the front of the store, but in the back was a playable demo of Rock Band.

The Rock Band demo was pretty fun... I don't think it's nearly as good-looking as GHIII though. I don't know, maybe it was the demo but I thought the graphics looked like PS2 to be honest.

The drums were the funnest part for me and the game defiantly seems like a sure-hit for parties.

I just wish the game looked a little better....

Dragod @ Oct 31st 2007 6:12PM

Yup, when I went to go buy Guitar Hero III on Sunday, it was set up. The guitar wasn't plugged in, but the drums were. It was pretty fun... but I'm not about to pay for a 3rd Guitar that I don't need. I'll be waiting for the game and instruments to be sold separately.

useedems @ Oct 31st 2007 7:37PM

"The kiosk he saw wasn't fully functional yet due a scratched game disc"

What a shame. Did it ship that way or did the Xbox do what it does best?

Yeah TB @ Oct 31st 2007 9:10PM

Okay, just got back from my Best Buy playing RB for about 35 minutes. Two songs on drums, two on guitar. I thought the drums were awesome, although a little louder and harder (as in stiffer) than I would have liked, but that's easily overlooked. The guitar on the other hand I thought sucked real bad. I couldn't stand strumming on that thing, and the frets were too stiff. Along with trying to read which notes are actually hammer ons, I thought the guitar part was pretty crappy.

Barbie @ Oct 31st 2007 9:30PM

I played it yesterday and give it an 8/10. The guitar does feel pretty solid, and the drums can (and do) take a beating.

Song selection was ok. I did the drums to Paranoid by Black Sabbath on Hard and had very little trouble. I like the fact you can ad lib drum solos to earn points... +1.

The framerate is a "slow" 30 fps, which is bothersome; and I felt the interface looked bland as compared to G.H. 3.

Overall, I had fun. Head on over to a local Best Buy and give it a shot!

Overwheat @ Oct 31st 2007 9:42PM

I personally hated the fender compared to the les paul, which is weighted just right and feels more complete then the fender. I really didn't like the strum bar and how the buttons are the entire fret, seemed cool but now actually feeling how it plays it just doesn't work for me. That guitar will probably go unused when i get the game, cause I am getting the game just for the drums, so much fun! The drums will be harder with the bass pedal, but the demo units lack it (even stated in the game). It also took a little bit to get used to the new UI and how the notes are lines across board. They're still hammer ons and pull offs, but they seem harder to spot.

Yeah TB @ Oct 31st 2007 9:50PM

Yeah, the hammer ons and pull offs were really hard to spot, even on the HD big screens the game is on. Instead of any color variation like the notes in GH having no black ring around the note, the HO/PO notes in Rock Band are a slight bit shorter in width. It was like comparing these two, first being regular note and second being a HO/PO:

________________________

____________________

When the game's going fast and there are a ton of notes coming at you, it's pretty hard to pick up. That along with the stiffer and larger fret buttons made getting good combos on solos pretty difficult.

bearxor @ Oct 31st 2007 11:30PM

I played with one Saturday at my BB.

The guitar felt really cheap and light. I started a song and quit halfway through because I felt like i was going to break the neck of the guitar. There's things I like about the guitar and it will probably be my guitar of choice simply because of the silent strum bar. It will increase the WAF factor at 3am.

Big Bird @ Nov 1st 2007 10:39AM

WHAT? you stopped playing the guitar halfway through because you were affraid it would break and it felt cheap and light, yet it will be your guitar of choice? Reviews crack me up. Every other person hated it for this reason and the next loved it for the same reason. Keep up the comedy we love it!

mman426 @ Nov 3rd 2007 11:32PM

I played it today for quite a while with a friend. I like the look of the new guitar but it does feel cheap. Also the bigger non raised frets make it hard to hit the chords as quickly as on the GH guitar because I would lose my finger placement. Also the small rectangle notes were harder to see (which I don't understand because every demonstration showed circular notes). The drums were well done in my opinion (If you think these drums are loud try playing Taiko Drum master) I was able to play the drums on hard and made it about three quarters of the way through Tom Sawyer on expert. The drums will be much harder with the kick pedal so I will probably be starting on medium when it comes out. The track list was very good with Tom Sawyer, Dani California, Main Offender, Will You Be My Girl, and some other good songs. Over all it made me want rock band even more. Also on a side note I will probably be forced to use the rock band guitar in order to make use of the effects switch that can change the sound of the solos.

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