Rock Revolution

A B-movie version of current music games. The setlist is mediocre and all of the performances are covers. The gameplay itself is too punishing on the timing and the way notes scroll directly from top to bottom of the screen is just hard to follow. [June 2009]

Rock Revolution is basically what you’d expect from a musical game at medium level.

Rock Revolution is a disaster.

On the whole, Rock Revolution just falls short on every level.

You want players to be entertained and you want them to be challenged, but you don’t want them uncomfortable. Unfortunately, Rock Revolution frequently made me uncomfortable.

Rock Revolution is a bad attempt at cashing in on the genre. It really does nothing to separate itself and actually siphons most of the enjoyment out of playing music games.

Konami might stand at the berth of the music genre with games like Beatmania, DDR and Guitar Freaks, but Rock Revolution fails in almost all the aspects that make the Rock Band and Guitar Hero franchises so good. It just doesn’t play as well, has fewer options and the soundtrack is mediocre at best. This game just doesn’t cut it with the franchises it desperately tries to be.

Despite its baffling looks, booming resonance, and asymmetrical layout, Rock Revolution’s controller is not actually the game’s biggest problem; it’s Rock Revolution’s note charts and the onscreen icons that make the game so joyless.

Rock Revolution is overly complex where it should be simple and soulless where it should be rich. This revolution has little chance of overthrowing the genre's kings.

Its fundamental flaws and dearth of good music makes this also-ran even more pointless.

It is quite unfortunate that the company that essentially invented the music genre has produced such a poor title, but Rock Revolution just doesn’t have any redeeming qualities. From the poor music selection to the bad visuals, this game doesn’t stand well on its own, and can’t even be considered good as a supplement to current music titles.

So Rock Revolution isn’t quite the revolution it claims to be. Quite the opposite, in fact. It’s a game that cuts every corner possible to create a soulless, low-cost venture that happily plays second fiddle to its competitors.

Rock Revolution just isn’t fun. Guitar Hero and Rock Band are way better.

If Rock Revolution came out two or three years ago, it might have been revolutionary, but in 2008, it's not even relevant. Uninspired presentation, a tiny tracklist that includes no master tracks, a complete lack of vocal support, uninteresting gameplay, and a barebones Career mode are just a few of the many ways in with Rock Revolution fails.

Whereas Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero: World Tour headline the music game genre, Rock Revolution is a scrappy cover band. Its presentation rips off Rock Band's, the scrolling notes are hard to keep up with, the career mode is unsatisfying and the song selection, while decent, is made up of lame cover tracks.

Playing Rock Revolution is like getting kicked in the teeth, and not in a rock 'n’ roll way. The cover songs are bad, the gameplay is unintuitive and dull, the options are extremely limited and the drum peripheral is horrid.

Rock Revolution is inferior to its competition in every single possible way. If you absolutely have to try it, we urge you to think of it as a track pack of guitar-only songs for Rock Band or Guitar Hero and buy just the game (instead of the drums-included bundle).

Even at the bargain-bin price that Rock Revolution is undoubtedly going to hit mere weeks after it is released, the game is an irredeemable waste of time. [Feb 2009, p.114]

Cheap, bland, and pretty much tasteless, like that value-brand white block that claims its chicken. [Issue#43, p.94]

More revolting than it is a revolution. [May 2009, p.87]

For 25 quid, you could hire Richard Blackwood and Daniel Bedingfield for the afternoon and still have change for an egg sandwich, a Panda Pops and the bus to Lewisham Travelodge. You'd have more fun.

A music game so bad you genuinely feel pity for Konami. Just stick to Guitar Hero or Rock Band.

If it wasn't for its technical and gameplay problems, Rock Revolution could have been an interesting musical game, with some things to contribute to the genre. But nothing it tries managed to work well; its quality is mediocre at best in music and graphics, and it doesn't offer anything new. Maybe years ago we wouldn't miss more options and content, but its rivals are well ahead. This time Konami has not achieved its purpose.

As Mick Jagger said, (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction. I've tried it many times, alone and with friends, with an optimistic attitude... but it always ends the same: Rock Revolution does not make me feel anything.

Rock Revolution is a shame that has nothing to do with giants like Rock Band or Guitar Hero. Cheap price is a value but it's even a statement of the bad work done before launching it on the market. Leave it on shelves.

Instead of trying to wrap my mind around this troubling cash grab, I'm going to move on and do my best to forget about Rock Revolution. I recommend you do the same.