Games

ABOUT three years ago I started learning guitar, beginning with simple chords and scale practice.

A few weeks into the scale practice I found my fretting fingers adapting to the work far quicker than I expected. It took me a few days to realise that I had Guitar Hero to thank for that.

Playing Guitar Hero is — for the most part — nothing like playing the real thing. A modicum of finger dexterity is the only real parallel. But wouldn’t a music game be the perfect vehicle for learning a real instrument?

Enter Hello, Rock Band 3 (Xbox 360, PS3; RRP €59.99, €149.99 with keytar/Fender Guitar €149.99). Forget everything you know about every other Guitar Hero or Rock Band game. This is what we’ve all been waiting for — a game that teaches you how to play real instruments, in this case the drums, keyboard and electric guitar. While Rock Band 3 is still centred around using those plastic accessories, it comes with the choice of buying a separate ‘keytar’ (keyboard and guitar hybrid) or Fender electric guitar with which to learn the real thing. There’s also a mind-boggling, 102-button plastic guitar available. The result is magnificent.

The game’s ‘Pro Mode’ effectively teaches you drums, keyboard (on a two-octave range) or guitar, by way of solid lessons and playing tracks on the game disc. Make no mistake — this isn’t a game trying to make you ‘feel’ as if you’re learning. In fact, its emphasis on proper technique might even help some half-decent guitar players clean up their basic fingerwork.

It isn’t perfect, of course. The better you get, the more features you’ll long for that aren’t present, but at that point Rock Band 3 will already have worked its magic. For the first time, a music game truly rocks.

Rating: *****