After the release of Rock Band on the 23rd of May, I was strangely surprised at how little it had been mentioned. I knew people were excited about the game, which is why it stumped me that no body had bought it yet. Luckily, the Tuesday that followed the release date proved slightly more promising. A good friend of mine, as well as a few others have purchased the game, but simply kept it a secret. This very good friend of mine brought the game around to my house on the Tuesday, I set up the projector and we simply played the game as much as we could.

The first thing I noticed was the guitar, which was the same as the Guitar Hero guitar but with a few little differences. The colour buttons which act as frets on the guitar were not completely coloured. The only colour you could see was at the top and bottom, the main part of the button was a light brown colour - like the rest of the neck. There are also an extra five buttons closer to the scratch plate which can replace the colour buttons at any point in the song, but with them being smaller and closer together, it would be a wise idea to use them for those fast, tricky solos. This made the guitar look great, and I think it does so by resembling an actual guitar. Another addition which makes it look more realistic is the pitch shifter, which when slided, can change the effect on your guitar.

Rock Band Guitar

I am a drummer, I play a real drum kit and have done for over 3 years now. I know 3 years isn’t exactly a long time, but you’d think I would at least be able to cope with the one Rock Band had to offer. The truth is, it didn’t take me long to get the hang of it - after the first song, I switched to the Hard difficulty and left it at that. However, the drums on the stand are awkward to get used to, as they are positioned in almost a straight line, meaning the reach you need to put into it is way more than it should be. Also, the drum kit is missing one vital piece of equipment, which are small rubber tacks on the feet. This would eliminate the problem I had of the kit moving away from me as I played. The skins of the drum pads could do with some work, because whilst you are playing it (And it sounds alright in the room you are in) you can hear the pads clicking all over. My next door neighbour actually popped round to complain at one point, but luckily after seeing what we were up to, she decided to let it slide for the night.

Rock Band Drums

The microphone you get with the game is very simple with a plain, smooth design. It’s lightweight and isn’t anything like the other controller at all. The best part about the microphone is that there aren’t any buttons on it that you will need during game play. This means the vocalist is free to look at the screen the whole time playing. however, the lyrics and notes you need to hit, I don’t think, are quite clear enough, as it basically gives you an advanced version of ‘Higher or Lower?’

Rock Band Microphone

Now that hardware is out of the way, I think it’s time to get more into the gaming experience. Straight away I saw opportunity in the game. The menu had everything you needed, making it quick and easy to find your way to the part of the game you really wanted to play. With nice clear lettering, easy to understand language and simple sub-menus, we were rocking out in no time. And as for the rocking out, other than a few minor problems I came across, it was pretty amazing. The interface is pretty much the same as that of Guitar Hero to be honest but it’s from the same makers, it’s the same game, it just has more to do. The drums were nice and clear and easy to read on the way, and the vocals were done superbly, with them sliding across the top of the screen, telling you which notes to hit.

Rock Band Interface

Now, let’s put all the good points and switch to the faults I found. I only spent about 2 hours on the game, and I find it incredible how many things managed to irritate me in such a short amount of time. For starters, the left hand side shows a little metre, which tells you how good you are doing. the problem with this metre is that it represents all 4 members of the band individually, marking 4 different icons on one bar. This sounds cushy, like it saves room and doesn’t sound like a fault at all. But when it gets to the point where you would like to check who it is about to get kicked off stage, the icons are too small. Rather than concentrating on what you’re suppose to be doing, you are trying to make out what the symbol in the circle is.

The drum kit, as I already mentioned is a little awkward to get used to, as the rack of drums is almost a straight line, leaving uncomfortable stretches. The green pad is particularly difficult to hit because it is placed so far to the right, which leads to turning your waist the way you’re not suppose to turn it.

Rock Band Screen Shot

Even though the game does not have ‘Star Power’ specifically, it does have a feature a lot like it. However, starting to celebration suddenly turns the fret board a weird shade of orange (On ALL of the fret boards.) Now, when you consider you have an orange button on the drum kit, which is for the bass drum, you’d think they’d leave this idea out. Basically, the feature causes the bass drum to become unclear, making it harder to play.

During solos, an on screen number shows up on your fret board, which tells you the percentage of notes you have hit during the solo. This number goes up as you shred away, but also distracts you, leaving you missing more and more notes as you play.

The vocals is well presented, but doesn’t give you much information over what note the game wants you to play. It displays small lines at different heights which say whether the note gets higher or lower, but I personally don’t feel there is enough information to determine the exact notes.

Rock Band Screen Shot

The biggest issue I found with the game was actually nothing to do with the game play. It was the price. I asked my friend how much he had thrown away for the product and he said to me “£140.” At this moment my heart jumped a little, “£140 for a game?!” was the nice way of stating how I reacted. I wouldn’t mind so much, but he didn’t even get a second guitar in the pack. I personally think the price is an outrage, but at the same time, I feel that if you’re willing to pay that price, you think it’s a good deal.

I can’t knock the game, it’s good, it’s better than good. It’s a great laugh and a magnificent way of catching an audience which was left alone for a long time in the gaming world. The music backdates all the way to the 1970’s and it is the first one. Let’s just say, this is the worst Rock Band so far, meaning it can only get better.

*For use with White Sony PSP games console

This sound system isn’t your average set of speakers, it’s more of an extension to your PlayStation Portable. The concept is as easy as plugging your PSP console into to a slot which fits perfectly. How easy can it really get? It looks amazing, the white colour really gives it a pure feeling about it, and the way it folds down is fantastic. Basically, it was already a great item before I even turned it on.

The system itself is actually a 2.1 speaker system, which means that you get your standard 2 satellite speakers, accompanied by a subwoofer to provide lower frequencies. The total output of the set-up is a pretty appealing 12 Watts RM, which gives you a clear, loud sound for your videos and music.

The system not only makes things louder, it also has some other cool little features too. It powers your PSP console whilst in use for example. This means rather than charging, then listening to music, then charging, then playing - you can charge the console as you listen to your favourite tracks.

The wireless infrared remote is also a great add-on to this item as it means you can either listen to music or watch films from a distance without the burden of having to get up and change the track, fast forward or simply pause to get a quick drink. The only mistake I can actually find with this is that the speakers and subwoofer mute as soon as headphones are plugged in, but I fail to see a reason you would use this item if you plan on using headphones. I may be wrong, but I can’t really see how.

As a conclusion though, it’s a well thought out product, I would rather it have the headphone slot and not need it than I would not have it and need it.

Downloading and installing Ergo was a real pain in the you-know-what. It downloaded quickly to a zip file, but then when I went to install, it took forever, and didn’t even tell me how long I would be waiting. Before it had finished, I was already losing my temper with it. First it failed to install the .NET Framework it required, then after I cancelled it, it seemed to work and it all began to confuse me.

Once it had finished, I thought I may as well have a look and see if the wait was worth it. I can’t really say it was, not for me. The browser uses a gigantic amount of RAM, and it ran very slowly. The idea was good, but I believe you have to have a great computer to run this program smoothly. From what I got out of it though, it looked amazing, and I can see the logic behind it. It allows you to search many different websites such as Google or YouTube at the same time. Meaning you are more likely to find what you want.

The display does look cool, I’ll give it that much, it has different options such as a list of results, a spider-diagram or even a fancy little cube display. Might I add that it was actually very easy to use as well, it’s all self explanitory and all within one click of getting it how you want it.

I can’t say much more about the program, I didn’t get a chance to use it fully because of how slow it was, and I doubt my boss wants to pay me for waiting. What I can say though, is if you have a really fast computer, a good internet connection and want something fancy to show off to your mates, get this program. Oh yeah, it’s also free - So what have you got to lose?

Ergo Internet Browser

I can’t help but think that PlayStation are winning me over, the console is good, not as good as it should have been, but good none the less. What really excites me though is the accessories coming out. Take this remote control for example. It’s sleek, it’s slim, it’s futuristic - It’s cool.

This remote really is a well thought out creation. Even to the extent of being rechargeable, it’s saving you money. You can’t argue with that! The actual charger is simple, small, light and plugs straight into your PS3s USB port, so it can charge your remote whilst you play games.

The remote looks amazing, it has a slide feature to unveil the control buttons from underneath it’s futuristic exterior - but you don’t really need to slide it down once the film has started, you have all the options on this small thumb-roller you need. The centre button acts as a play/pause button, and the actually roller around it acts as a fast forward/rewind option, meaning you can control your film without sliding your remote. If you do choose to use the buttons rather than the thumb-roller, you may be surprised to realise that they all have blue LEDs built into them, meaning in low-light conditions (the conditions you would tend to watch films in) you can still see the buttons. The extra actions available from using the buttons include ‘Skip’, ‘Stop’, ‘Display’, ‘Menu’ and ‘Options’. Not only is it useful, it looks amazing. The controller is light, smooth and feels natural to the hand - I really can’t find any faults to it, except of course, that it makes all other remotes look boring!

I must say, at first i didn’t really think i was going to enjoy using this set up, it didn’t look, to me, like something i would find comfortable. The shape didn’t look like the latest technology, anything futuristic like most designs we see today. surprisingly, it was quite comfortable, the buttons were very quiet and the shape of the mouse was fantastic for the natural position of the hand.

The buttons on the keyboard are slightly raised nearer to the space bar, which isn’t a bad idea - because it gives you reason to lift your wrists whilst typing, this is a major factor in the design of keyboards because certain usage can cause RSI (repetitive Strain Injury.) The mouse was also cleverly designed, usually it is raised in the centre to fit the natural hand position, where as this mouse is raised nearer to the back which gives you reason to stretch your fingers more, so everything remains intact whilst in use.

wireless really does make this set-up, there are no restrictions due to the length of wires, you are free to sit as far back (within reason) from your computer as you like, so if you’re like me and use the big screen projector for your computer, this really is ideal for you.

It’s not very often you come across a set like this. In this bundle you get a keyboard, mouse and 2 speakers for your personal computer. It’s great when you can purchase things in bundles because it usually works out cheaper, and it involves less searching. Meaning the customer gets the satisfaction they deserve.

The keyboard is very quiet indeed, no annoying clicks that everyone in the house can hear whilst typing. The buttons themselves are very comfortable and even though the shape doesn’t look fantastic, it seems to feel great to use. Along the top are also a few extra buttons, which can control volume, play/pause or go to your Internet browser homepage. The number pad is parallel to the rest of the keyboard - which helps you keep your wrists raised, helping against RSI (repetitive Strain Injury) because you end up using your elbows rather than wrists to move your hands.

The mouse is very tiny indeed, it may take some time to get used to, but once you do it is rather comfortable, and very easy to control. The laser picks up on all movements which is really both good and bad. Good because it gives you more control, bad because you need to be extra careful whilst clicking links. The buttons are very pleasant to use, and the wheel is neither to loose, nor too tight. This makes browsing the Internet and viewing web pages so much easier, because it gives you more freedom and control. The actual buttons are clever placed at angles from each other, and easier to click the further up to are, meaning you need to stretch your fingers to achieve maximum comfort.

Like the rest of the set-up, the speakers involved in the bundle are designed brilliantly, with power and volume control on one of them, as well as a headphone socket so you can listen to your music without the whole house hearing. The speakers themselves are not very loud, at only 2.5W (RMS) these speakers give solely a clear sound for you to enjoy.