Rocksmith

 PC
User Score
8.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 59 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 44 out of 59
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 59
  3. Negative: 4 out of 59
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  1. Aut0Mat0n
    Oct 16, 2012
    9
    I think i should mention that this game has some seriously good effects and tones. Your guitar will sound pretty damn awesome depending on the settings. You will get tones and sounds that would cost you hundreds of dollars and or hours of time perfecting. Let me sum up, if you play guitar buy this game. If you have even a decent PC get it on PC, The PC version has ZERO lag and almostI think i should mention that this game has some seriously good effects and tones. Your guitar will sound pretty damn awesome depending on the settings. You will get tones and sounds that would cost you hundreds of dollars and or hours of time perfecting. Let me sum up, if you play guitar buy this game. If you have even a decent PC get it on PC, The PC version has ZERO lag and almost non-existent load times.… Expand
  2. keefbaker
    Oct 24, 2012
    9
    I've been a guitarist for a long time on and off and I was indeed one of the people who complained about guitar hero saying it doesn't actually teach you the right techniques and completely punishes you for trying to put a groove in place.

    So imagine how vindicated I felt when Rocksmith appeared. And then imagine how happy I was when this thing not only delivered but it delivered in    I've been a guitarist for a long time on and off and I was indeed one of the people who complained about guitar hero saying it doesn't actually teach you the right techniques and completely punishes you for trying to put a groove in place.

    So imagine how vindicated I felt when Rocksmith appeared.

    And then imagine how happy I was when this thing not only delivered but it delivered in spades!

    Great for both learning and fun. There are tools to get you a better player, minigames to improve your playing and it manages to pull all this off without managing to feel like work.

    Time will disappear... your playing will improve... you will get scored on the standard of playing....

    This has rekindled my interest in the guitar.

    I would have loved to give this a 10 out of 10 but sadly the tracking accuracy isn't 100%, it's really good in-game but occasionally fails on some of the minigames like ducks and scale runner as you batter the requested note in frustration.

    So I will have to knock a number off due to this minor imperfection.    … Expand
  3. Murpheus
    Oct 30, 2012
    10
    Rocksmith has seriously rekindled my interest in learning guitar again, it even got me to replace my crappy Fender knockoff with a nice Epiphone SG. This game is great for people starting out or people like me that learned for a year in high school but wasn't happy with the method they were being taught. Once you get used to the note reading system you really start making progress. TheRocksmith has seriously rekindled my interest in learning guitar again, it even got me to replace my crappy Fender knockoff with a nice Epiphone SG. This game is great for people starting out or people like me that learned for a year in high school but wasn't happy with the method they were being taught. Once you get used to the note reading system you really start making progress. The progressive learning system is quite good at addressing the issue of getting confused if you tried to learn a song from a tab and didn't have the patience to go the whole way with it.

    Overall an awesome purchase if you have an electric guitar lying around (or the money to get one if you feel you aren't going to waste it). Only outstanding issue with Rocksmith is the current price of its DLC at around $3.50 a song. However, if you wait around a month and a half you may get to see some of this DLC reduced during Steam's Christmas sale.    … Expand
  4. Zarafan
    Nov 25, 2012
    10
    first than nothing, this is not "a game" for everyone. There are many kind of gamer, and few ones can find this game as great as i do. This game means a great chance to to practice you arm, your eyes, you ear, and your fingers in the way to touch and play a guitar.

    i has never played a guitar, and i has only 1 month and my will to keep playing only increases. PD: i dont want have a    first than nothing, this is not "a game" for everyone. There are many kind of gamer, and few ones can find this game as great as i do. This game means a great chance to to practice you arm, your eyes, you ear, and your fingers in the way to touch and play a guitar.

    i has never played a guitar, and i has only 1 month and my will to keep playing only increases. PD: i dont want have a plastic guitar useless in my closet... with an no use knowledge    … Expand
  5. Justiful
    Jan 19, 2013
    10
    I bought this game to finally learn guitar. Well I been playing it for a two months and can already play some songs. I tied once before to learn, but always go bored and quit. This game makes practice more like gaming. I practice probably 4 hours a day on the game, and only 30 min or so doing other things. After my first month I felt good enough about my progress I started taking lessons.I bought this game to finally learn guitar. Well I been playing it for a two months and can already play some songs. I tied once before to learn, but always go bored and quit. This game makes practice more like gaming. I practice probably 4 hours a day on the game, and only 30 min or so doing other things. After my first month I felt good enough about my progress I started taking lessons. Been 4 weeks since I started that. Honestly if you are playing this game and using the net on free guitar sites you are likely golden. If you can't learn guitar with this game, you just can't learn. It makes even ADHD people get into it. They need to make this for all instruments, I mean really it is an amazing concept.

    I won't give it less than a 10. Because it is the first game in the world to do this. If you play guitar, or want to learn this IMO is a priority to buy second only to a guitar. It is the best game like it in the world, because literally no other game in the world is like it. Amazing.    … Expand
  6. Etch
    Oct 27, 2012
    8
    First let me say, the developers have successfully managed to take a terrible UI on the console versions and make it even worse on the PC. For instance, in the menus, esc doesn't go back a level. It also likes to mix up whether its the enter or the space bar is the selection key. This game doesn't teach you guitar, it teaches you how to play certain songs and build your skills. It wouldFirst let me say, the developers have successfully managed to take a terrible UI on the console versions and make it even worse on the PC. For instance, in the menus, esc doesn't go back a level. It also likes to mix up whether its the enter or the space bar is the selection key. This game doesn't teach you guitar, it teaches you how to play certain songs and build your skills. It would be a great supplement to someone learning guitar with lessons. I'm not that good at guitar, but I can still rock out in my living room and actually have it sound like a song. I still find the game extremely fun after playing it for it a year.
    $3 for DLC is a bit steep, but I had to buy Black by Pearl Jam because it is one of the best (and most difficult song to play) ever    … Expand
  7. Atomicage
    Nov 1, 2012
    8
    First: if you are considering buying this game, make sure your computer can run it. Second: If you want to learn guitar and want it to be fun Buy This Game. Ok, now that those are out of the way. Here is my opinion. Loading this game takes forever and that's a long time. it is 13gb of data that i assume are not on the disk. I have a decently fast internet at 20mbps and it still took aFirst: if you are considering buying this game, make sure your computer can run it. Second: If you want to learn guitar and want it to be fun Buy This Game. Ok, now that those are out of the way. Here is my opinion. Loading this game takes forever and that's a long time. it is 13gb of data that i assume are not on the disk. I have a decently fast internet at 20mbps and it still took a couple hours to download it all off steam. As for steam, if you buy this game you have to use it. If you don't have an internet connection do not buy this game because steam requires it. FYI i have been playing guitar for 21 years, and bass for 6. I did experience lag while playing which is annoying but most of it is gone after i read the pdf manual and tweaked the games settings. There are a lot of songs in the library some i have not heard, but are gems, some are annoying and you will do your best to learn enough of them to be able to master other ones that rock. They did a fantastic job on getting multiple effects in the game. They did not make it user friendly to get out of this game, the first time took me probably 5 min to figure out. You cant just hit the esc. key and exit. you need to be in the main screen and side scroll all the way to the right. There are some other minor annoyances that I encountered but overall it is a solid buy.… Expand
  8. Akuto
    Jan 24, 2013
    9
    Thrilled as I was with the Xbox version, the need for external speakers connected directly to the system (as in, no using the same TV for both visuals and speakers) prompted me to pick up the PC version on sale from Steam for the convenience of 3.5mm output jacks. Entirely worth the second purchase, there's no doubt in my mind. There's nothing I could say that hasn't already been expressedThrilled as I was with the Xbox version, the need for external speakers connected directly to the system (as in, no using the same TV for both visuals and speakers) prompted me to pick up the PC version on sale from Steam for the convenience of 3.5mm output jacks. Entirely worth the second purchase, there's no doubt in my mind. There's nothing I could say that hasn't already been expressed in the glowing reviews this game has received, and as much as I feel the points deserve reiteration, I'll leave it at that.… Expand
  9. SwitSwat
    Sep 23, 2013
    10
    (I also reviewed the Xbox 360 version) Rocksmith certainly had me going at it for hours and hours. It's just so addicting when you start learning a song and then keep practicing until you can get it perfect. I get so excited every time I learn a song so that when I play the song in my room, I can jam along to it, everything memorized. It makes me feel accomplished. This 'game' is great(I also reviewed the Xbox 360 version) Rocksmith certainly had me going at it for hours and hours. It's just so addicting when you start learning a song and then keep practicing until you can get it perfect. I get so excited every time I learn a song so that when I play the song in my room, I can jam along to it, everything memorized. It makes me feel accomplished. This 'game' is great for newcomers and experts too, because we can all use some extra practice, or learn new songs. Overall the PC version is worth getting more because it also offers the Bass Expansion Pack which costs about another 30 bucks on consoles. So why pay more? Get this game now! 10/10… Expand
  10. theonecynic
    Dec 4, 2012
    10
    Not only has this game got me practising my guitar more, but I've been having more fun doing it, getting less frustrated, and playing a whole range of songs that I wouldn't necessarily have tried to learn otherwise. And now that it's on the PC and there are unofficial addons, I can't see me tiring of this. Pretty much ever. I already use it to practise my own band's songs! Awesome stuff!
  11. AxelFlak88
    Nov 8, 2012
    10
    Rocksmith is AMAZING! It's so accurate it is eliminating poor techniques I didn't know I had. This title is suitable for beginner to advanced. If you know someone who plays the guitar or has an interest in learning it this title will be a massive hit with them. Notice the critics give lower scores than users... because the critics aren't guitarists. Waiting eagerly for more DLC.
  12. Wrathchild68
    Nov 13, 2012
    10
    I used to play guitar years ago and tried to teach myself but gave up after about 12 months, didn't seem to get anywhere and lessons were very expensive. So my trusty axe ended up in its case at the back of the wardrobe until this came along. I dug out my guitar and had it re-stringed and checked over then bought Rocksmith. After a few hours of trying the various easy songs and techniquesI used to play guitar years ago and tried to teach myself but gave up after about 12 months, didn't seem to get anywhere and lessons were very expensive. So my trusty axe ended up in its case at the back of the wardrobe until this came along. I dug out my guitar and had it re-stringed and checked over then bought Rocksmith. After a few hours of trying the various easy songs and techniques I started to improve. I've been playing this since release on the PC and already can get about 95% note accuracy on 4 songs, which isn't bad going seeing as I've only had the game a few weeks. The only bad thing about this was that it arrived with no CD key but a quick support ticket to Ubisoft and I was up and running after waiting a couple of hours. I like the way that the dynamic difficulty will change when you start to get better at a certain song, and if you do mess up it will downgrade the difficulty for you. Everybody complains about lag on this game but if you go to the Rocksmith forums then is a set up guide for the PC and if you follow that you shouldn't really have any problems. My video is running through HDMI and audio through a home cinema system and it sounds great, even annoys the neighbours!

    There is a good selection of tracks to play and some are surprisingly fun to play, bands I wouldn't even be interested in I find playing a lot. I enjoy it so much that I've already spent around £60 on DLC for it and go on it every day for a couple of hours.

    Be warned though, this isn't pick up and play like Guitar Hero or Rockband, this game takes practise and lots of it, which makes it rewarding. I spent one Friday night trying to get Smoke on the water up from 90% to 95% note accuracy. For beginners who have never played guitar before then a few tips. If after playing for a while and your fingertips are sore (or start to get blisters or skin peeling off) then stop playing until the next day, or your hand aches then once again stop playing until it's better. You will find after a week or two that this won't happen although your fretting hand will have rock hard skin on the fingertips. This is the most fun I've had in a computer game for a long while now and definitely worth the money.    … Expand
  13. Maudster
    Nov 29, 2012
    9
    Has Re-Kindled my interest in Playing Guitar after years of my prized Fender T sitting in its case unused
    Having played and enjoyed the fakeness off Guitar Hero it is refreshing to enjoy something where I feel my time is put to greater use. A game I never thought was possible so very impressed.

    Cant wait for the Song Catalogue to expand.
  14. Ellis_Dee_25
    Jan 15, 2013
    10
    Totally fun game. Bought it for my 12 year old daughter for her birthday, Dec 29 - Rocksmith through Steam (purchased over the Christmas sale, $107 with all DLC, yay!) The first few play-throughs of Blink182's "Small things" was pretty easy, but then the chords started flying. She had difficulty with them at first, until I pointed out that the game was presenting chord names (E5, etc).Totally fun game. Bought it for my 12 year old daughter for her birthday, Dec 29 - Rocksmith through Steam (purchased over the Christmas sale, $107 with all DLC, yay!) The first few play-throughs of Blink182's "Small things" was pretty easy, but then the chords started flying. She had difficulty with them at first, until I pointed out that the game was presenting chord names (E5, etc). All of a sudden she was ... 'yah, I know that chord', and the fingers were in the correct positions (She has been playing/taking guitar lessons for a little over a year), I hadn't picked up my Fender P-Bass for over a year, but was playing coop with her - total fun. Some noticeable latency issues, but following the posted howto's on Steam forums, ubi forums, et al I was able to bring latency down to nothing. (Disabled her Creative Labs X-Fi, enabled Realtek onboard sound, and adjusted latency through Rocksmith.ini - LatencyBuffer=1, MaxOutputBufferSize=160 - with X-Fi was 4 and 1024!)

    She is kicking my @ss at guitar, and giggling about it :D And dammit, my fingertips hurt!    … Expand
  15. Fuzzking
    Jan 23, 2013
    10
    I bought this great Game to have fun with a friend i play with in a band. It´s absolute fantastic, you have to use a real guitar/bass and the songs are great. We almost play Rocksmith when our band meetings are cancelled or one member is missing.
  16. obnubulation
    May 17, 2013
    8
    This game isn't perfect. It is not always exactly accurate at detecting what note I'm actually hitting, especially with the chords. However! I've owned a guitar for 4 years. It is only in the last month with Rocksmith that did more than buy a few self-teaching books for my book shelf and a DVD that I tried, unsuccessfully to follow. Now I can play notes and the people around me canThis game isn't perfect. It is not always exactly accurate at detecting what note I'm actually hitting, especially with the chords. However! I've owned a guitar for 4 years. It is only in the last month with Rocksmith that did more than buy a few self-teaching books for my book shelf and a DVD that I tried, unsuccessfully to follow. Now I can play notes and the people around me can actually tell what song I'm attempting.

    Might not sound like a lot of progress, but short of an actual teacher, who is going to cost more than this game and might not even be any good at teaching, this game is the best thing to get you actually putting your fingers to the guitar.    … Expand
  17. WoolyFox
    Jul 15, 2013
    9
    After playing the bass for 18 months in and out of bands at uni, I wanted to improve my technique from what I have picked up jamming and occasional help from other bassists. This game is an excellent aid for any bassist or guitarist.
    Though this is a guitars-centric genre, the bass arrangements are generally good and fun to play and the recommendation system works really well. The    After playing the bass for 18 months in and out of bands at uni, I wanted to improve my technique from what I have picked up jamming and occasional help from other bassists. This game is an excellent aid for any bassist or guitarist.
    Though this is a guitars-centric genre, the bass arrangements are generally good and fun to play and the recommendation system works really well. The technique section and tutorials are exactly what I wanted with practice tunes and ramping difficult throughout the track to adapt to the technique. The 'amp' section, the section that allows you to select heads, cabinets, effects and so on, is really well though out though only being able to use 3 pedals is limiting (Compressor, EQ leaves you having to choose between distortion and modulation which is a pain).
    In terms of playing the bass, the tabs system used is easy to follow though full song rehearsals are at full speed the first time you play which can lead to alot of bum notes on unfamiliar tracks.
    The main negatives are note lag if your sound card settings (found in game settings) are not correct on start up. The first song I played had a second delay between strumming and hearing the note through the speakers. Also sustains on the bass are hit and miss, especially open E and Drop D as the game seems to drop the note even though you can still hear it through the speakers. Lack of a studio to record compositions is a shame as that would have been a good bonus (though Rocksmith 2014 has this feature).
    In summary, excellent game from beginners and intermediate players, may be too vague for complete novices and frustrating from pros. Setlist is good and purchasing tracks is a good bonus if a little expensive and buggy on Steam. The peripheral at £24 may not be as useless as the GH plastic guitar but still too much in my opinion.    … Expand
  18. shihdo
    Aug 31, 2013
    10
    This "game" is the fastest way I have found to learn guitar and bass, I started off just wanting to learn guitar and within 6 months I was playing at a pretty decent level, I was able to push my self harder thanks to the brilliant forum competitions and found myself upgrading my guitar to something better and easier to play (big fingers) I also decided to dabble with the bass side ofThis "game" is the fastest way I have found to learn guitar and bass, I started off just wanting to learn guitar and within 6 months I was playing at a pretty decent level, I was able to push my self harder thanks to the brilliant forum competitions and found myself upgrading my guitar to something better and easier to play (big fingers) I also decided to dabble with the bass side of things and was immediately hooked, buying a cheap bass to replace the emulation and the upgrading this as well. I am now at the stage where i can play chords along with most songs on my Ipod and can competently read tab.
    It not like learning, it's way too much fun to call it learning lol. I cannot recommend this title enough to anybody wanting to learn guitar or find a new challenge for anybody who already plays.    … Expand
  19. Ackz
    Nov 5, 2012
    8
    Rocksmith succeeds at what has kept me from playing my guitar for over a year: it has made practicing fun. Speaking as an avid Guitar Hero player, the reason I got interested in real guitar, finding songs on tabs that were just the right difficulty and fun to play was very hard. Couple this with poor technique making those few songs you could find sound terrible and it was downrightRocksmith succeeds at what has kept me from playing my guitar for over a year: it has made practicing fun. Speaking as an avid Guitar Hero player, the reason I got interested in real guitar, finding songs on tabs that were just the right difficulty and fun to play was very hard. Couple this with poor technique making those few songs you could find sound terrible and it was downright demotivating. Finding the right difficulty in Rocksmith is no problem as it's fully automatic, and with the points system it's easy to track your progress. The software is also surprisingly accurate, in reply to kakupacal, the game 'greenlits' (flashes) whatever part of the chord you got right, but only get points for those specific notes and not the entire chord (though I'm not saying it's flawless). The demand for precision is also quite frustrating, you may feel you played something just right but the game remains fussy, and another pass-over after some practice reveals your technique needed work after all. While you will learn your way around a guitar, you need to remind yourself that Rocksmith is not really a teacher. It's a game that will give you the basic techniques you need to play guitar and the specific songs that come with it. In other words, it doesn't teach you, but you learn regardless by doing. This is especially apparent when I've been playing a song and getting better at it, when it suddenly throws some sections at me that are way too hard for me. I have had my 'f this' moments and closed the game, but all it really takes is the mentality to keep going back to it later and try it again. I also haven't been experiencing many lag issues like some others, it's about the right equipment for sound output (which the game even tells you). I will say it's not lag free, but for me it's not remotely enough to bother, especially when playing a song. A simple solution for this would be a humble splitter, turning guitar volume in the game to zero, and let your real life amp make the noise for you. Others have also had complaints about crashes, though in 25 hours of play I've gotten a total of 1 crash, which is nothing out of the ordinary in my opinion. A major flaw in this game though is the user interface. It has received no upgrades to take advantage of the keyboard and mouse. There is mouse support but you may as well use the keyboard and you have to tap sideways through individual tracks to find the one you want to play. Furthermore, there is no real way to get to a specific menu quickly (for instance, after playing a song and you want to change the arrangement, you need to first go back to the song menu, scroll to the song and select a different arrangement). The 'A' button takes you to a free play area with emulated amps you can set up yourself with unlockable guitars, pedals, amps etc, I just wonder why they didn't make more shortcuts like this, like 'S' for song menu, 'E' for events and 'M' for mini-games. Another issue is the fact the game won't run unless your sound is in 48000 Hz (16 or 24 bit, either works). This isn't bad quality per se, but I run different settings for my music and it's a tad annoying having to switch the audio settings each time I want to play. Lastly, the DLC comes in at … Expand
  20. kring
    Oct 25, 2012
    10
    Game of the Year! Finally a game that translates into real-world benefits. While it might not make you a rockstar outside the game, it's teaching you all about the fundamentals, movements and coordination in a very fun way, I took guitar lessons 10 years ago and after 6 months I didn't feel like progress was made so I quite. In just 4 hours of Rocksmith play, I feel like I know more aboutGame of the Year! Finally a game that translates into real-world benefits. While it might not make you a rockstar outside the game, it's teaching you all about the fundamentals, movements and coordination in a very fun way, I took guitar lessons 10 years ago and after 6 months I didn't feel like progress was made so I quite. In just 4 hours of Rocksmith play, I feel like I know more about Guitar then in those 6 months of lessons. I'm a firm believer that music education should NOT start with theory, music lessons, reading music... that's an excellent way to bore someone to death... Start with just playing, keep them interested and then learn/refine your skills years down the road. Rocksmith delivers on this perfectly. A+ on the dynamic difficulty and track selection. I'd like to ding a point for cost of downloadable content ($3 per song) but I've got months or work to do before I master the decent sized library already. I have zero lag and the guitar tuning, effects and overall sound is fantastic... I'm impressed and the last time that happened with a PC game was probably Valve's original Portal game 10 years ago.… Expand
  21. kakupacal
    Oct 30, 2012
    7
    Sadly, the PC version is a buggy, lazy port of the console version. Frequent hang-ups, system-freezing crashes, and lag that comes and goes based on its own mysterious whims. A glaring omission from the game is a mini-game to teach you the notes on the fretboard which would go a HUGE way towards really cracking the basics of understanding music theory.

    Another complaint is that the note    Sadly, the PC version is a buggy, lazy port of the console version. Frequent hang-ups, system-freezing crashes, and lag that comes and goes based on its own mysterious whims. A glaring omission from the game is a mini-game to teach you the notes on the fretboard which would go a HUGE way towards really cracking the basics of understanding music theory.

    Another complaint is that the note recognition software seems far too generous as I have occasionally bashed out idiot-chords that consisted of frantic fingers pressing the wrong strings in the wrong places and still been green-lit by the game in mid-song.

    The developers have included several songs that barely feature the guitar (which is baffling) and a few songs that have odd, awkward melodies that are simply no fun to try and noodle out on the fly as colored blocks are vomited at the screen.

    It's not all complaints. If you can look past the awkward UI, the game itself is mostly fun and will teach you a few useful guitar techniques as well as guide you towards learning whichever library songs catch your interest. I'd be far quicker to recommend this if not for the persistent glitches.    … Expand
  22. murphyj
    May 5, 2013
    0
    This game had potential, but ultimately, it's a waste of money.

    The game is so riddled with bugs that it's unplayable. Good luck trying to complete songs and advance onto new levels, as the game will suddenly and randomly stop registering notes, even though you can hear your guitar through the game and absolutely no indication (like an arrow pointing to a different string if you're    This game had potential, but ultimately, it's a waste of money.

    The game is so riddled with bugs that it's unplayable. Good luck trying to complete songs and advance onto new levels, as the game will suddenly and randomly stop registering notes, even though you can hear your guitar through the game and absolutely no indication (like an arrow pointing to a different string if you're playing the wrong one, for example) that you're playing anything at all. Sure, the game ensures that your guitar is in tune at the beginning of each song, but that doesn't matter because the input processing in this game decides to cut out whenever it feels like it. Want to play a mini game to improve your playing technique? Well, I hope you don't plan on advancing too much because you'll only get a few minutes before the game decides, "hey, that sound isn't even a guitar, is it?"

    And that's just the software side of things.

    As if the sloppy software wasn't enough, you're also required to buy an overpriced, $30 proprietary USB cable in order to play the game. Surely, a one-time fee of $30 isn't bad for a game that will help you learn to play guitar, right? Well, I'd agree with that, except that these cables are extremely prone to failure and you'll have to keep shelling out $30 every few days, weeks or month to keep playing this broken game. So not only does the software randomly cut out and stop working, but the physical cords also just randomly die for no apparent reason. Don't believe me? Look up some Amazon reviews and take a look at their support forum. This is a known problem and has never been addressed. They simply don't care about this game.

    It's pretty sad how many paid reviews there are for this game. If you don't want to get ripped off, avoid this game AT ALL COSTS.    … Expand
  23. SgtMatt777
    Jun 29, 2013
    6
    This is a review 'from the bottom of my heart' so to speak, I am really passionate on the subject and have strong feelings about how this product turned out to me. If you don't want to sit and read it, you don't have to, but if you do, awesome.

    I purchased this for £7.49, which is a bargain considering that it's normally around £30, but the catch is that it tells the purchaser that    This is a review 'from the bottom of my heart' so to speak, I am really passionate on the subject and have strong feelings about how this product turned out to me. If you don't want to sit and read it, you don't have to, but if you do, awesome.

    I purchased this for £7.49, which is a bargain considering that it's normally around £30, but the catch is that it tells the purchaser that they have to buy a 'Real Tone Cable' to be able to play it, basically a USB to 1/4 inch adaptor cable with a small gizmo half way down that 'removes interference', for at least £20 extra from the local video game retailer or online business. I usually play my guitars plugged into my computer via my line in slot, hooked up to guitar rig, and the sound that comes out of there is crisp and proper, little to no interference to be found. All that cost me a tenner, so having to order a 'special' cable for it is outrageous. That being said, I did manage to find a crack that allows me to play using the line in slot just as well as the official cable, but at the same time sacrificing the use of any of the song DLCs, which if fine because nobody on earth wants to buy Maroon 5 songs.

    I've only been playing guitar, mainly Bass, for 11 months at the time of me writing this, but I feel I can hold my own with the instrument, so I thought I could just dive in and start playing. I couldn't've been more wrong. This game insists that you should start all over again from a total beginner. If it had been any more of the mollycoddling part-time guitar teacher, part-time plumber your school hired in year 2, I feel it would've made me sit on its lap, pluck the strings with me and told me that 'Every Alsatian Dog Grows Big Ears' is a good mnemonic for remembering the string names. It's not that I don't think that should've been in the game, it's that there's literally no way to skip it, and it isn't even done very well. I was getting bored out of my mind at the 'soundcheck' stage, and spent 15 minutes hastily plucking my E-string because it requested that I 'make some noise' and going into an infinite troubleshooting loop for no reason, only to find out I had to then pluck the A-string which it never told me to do.

    Now on to the fundamental flaw (At least for me). This game is like guitar hero, which is all fun, but the one thing with the game was that you constantly had to be looking at the screen. It's fine when you have 5 possible Lego Duplo brick-sized choices, but when (On Bass for example) you have 80 different choices, for the beginner and even me, it gets a little tough. I can play short bursts without looking at the neck, but it doesn't last for very long. Almost every guitar player looks at what they're playing even if they're comfortable with it, because it's just to make sure they're not making any mistakes, so although being able to not look at the neck is a valuable skill, beginners don't need to be thrown into the deep end that quick. I fell at the easiest of hurdles while playing songs, mistakes I wouldn't have made if I had looked at tablature or learnt by ear.

    While the UI looks spectacular, with it's cool 3D models of guitars and scrolling graphics, it is utterly confusing. I don't know what the main menu looks like still because there's no real indication of what menu you're on at any time. Also, it really insists you use the keyboard for navigating the cue card-like menus which gets tedious at times when you start furiously clicking 'End Now' because you picked a song that only wants you to play the 7th fret on the A-string and you're bored out of your mind, to which you then find out you have to cycle through the options using the arrow keys. Marvellous.

    Finally, and probably the biggest pet peeve of mine is the DLCs. You start out with quite a large repertoire of songs but some are from frankly sub-par indie rock bands or groups that are so obscure I would never have known they existed until I saw them there. Each single is about £2.39, which is quite dear considering that iTunes sells singles for dirt cheap. There is a custom toolkit for the game, but it's basically tablature software so if you can't listen to songs and work out what the notes are by ear, it's useless. Sure, more advanced people make really high quality ones, but waiting for a song you like might take ages and with the flaw I mentioned earlier, you really need to have gone over the tabs beforehand anyway to even start to comprehend what's coming up on screen.

    So, if you're a beginner wanting to learn guitar, I don't recommend buying this game to help you, your best chance is getting a proper teacher (A family friend or one-to-one tuition from someone who plays in a band) or teaching yourself (Which I did), those pathways to learning guitar will be much better than confusing yourself and putting yourself in the deep end as this game will do.    … Expand
  24. orctown-troll
    May 24, 2014
    10
    Best Game Ever. Well until they came out with Rocksmith 2014. Be warned of possible technical problems which may ruin the experience for you. This is an educational game and a real-world life improvement game. It is also the faster and most enjoyable way to learn guitar. Definitely recommended.

    Orctowngrot
  25. sh4dow
    Jan 24, 2015
    1
    Idiot that I am, I actually bought this piece of **** game. I had weird issues with very heavy distortion even on low input volume settings and the latency wasn't that great either. I bought myself a Behringer UCA222 (20€!) to try and use my computer as an amp (using AmpliTube) and THAT actually makes those ultralow latencies that Ubisoft claims its cable has possible. So I thought "Hey,Idiot that I am, I actually bought this piece of **** game. I had weird issues with very heavy distortion even on low input volume settings and the latency wasn't that great either. I bought myself a Behringer UCA222 (20€!) to try and use my computer as an amp (using AmpliTube) and THAT actually makes those ultralow latencies that Ubisoft claims its cable has possible. So I thought "Hey, you know what? I might as well give Rocksmith another shot!". So I installed it again... but no luck. The Real Tone Cable has to be used. Now, I found some workarounds that are supposed to work but I'm REALLY pissed off right now because I shouldn't have to use things like that in the first place!! F-ing huge companies and their f-ing greed. I hope that encourages people to pirate all off their **** and give to decent indie devs who release their games DRM-free instead!… Expand
  26. pokrishka
    Dec 7, 2015
    9
    This is a really good game, it is fun and beneficial. If you didn't have patience to learn guitar on your own - this might be your chance because it is very compelling, you just need to invest time.
  27. Avalord
    Dec 5, 2015
    10
    It's not a game. It's a e-guitar learning tool. And a good one at that!
    I could do without those "mini-games" however, most are not precise enough. But there are enough other features to teach you the guitar.
  28. bdkn87
    Aug 20, 2014
    6
    this game is fun but I can't tell if it's my guitar or the note register but sometimes it tells me I'm not hitting the right notes. I had no experience before with a guitar and I feel like they could have started me off easier by showing me how to play specific notes rather than just throw me into starting full songs. But still, this has real learning benefits compared Guitar Hero

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
78

Generally favorable reviews - based on 5 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 5
  3. Negative: 0 out of 5
  1. Worth Playing
    Dec 11, 2012
    90
    The PC version doesn't offer anything additional over the console version, other than perhaps less audio latency, so those who already own a copy have no reason to pick up the PC offering. However, those who don't have the game and are musically inclined would do well to pick up Rocksmith, and the PC version is arguably the most accessible version of all.
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  2. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Nov 4, 2012
    70
    Rocksmith game has ambition to become a guitar playing teacher, but because of its flaws in the learning part of the ambition is not fully achieved. [Nov 2012]
  3. CD-Action
    Oct 24, 2012
    85
    If ten years ago, when I told my parents I want to learn to play guitar, I had had a choice between a 15W practice amp and this game, I would have chosen Rocksmith. [12/2012, p.74]
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