You know, I always gripe at my kids when they’re doing school work or in conversation to make sure that they understand what they’re being asked and are answering the right question. Sheesh. Missed that one.
Melissa said, I was talking about the new rock star game. What do I need to buy for that?
Sorry for being such a dummy, Melissa!
Okay, for the Rock Band for Wii, with three kids, the out-of-the-box has you covered, IF one of the kids is always willing to sing. In the box, you get the drums, drumsticks, ONE guitar and the microphone. You have to provide seating for the drummer.
We purchased an extra guitar. I recommend doing this because it allows four people to play at once, or you can have three people play an no one has to sing. Singing seems to be the bugaboo of Rock Band players.
Also, if the kids have friends over, and they’re all embarrassed about singing, they can just play instruments. This does not diminish the fun in any way. You can also purchase extra drums (wish I’d known that, I prefer the drums to the guitar….down the road we’ll get an extra set of drums, I’m sure) or an extra microphone. But the maximum number of players at any one time is FOUR, so keep that in mind when purchasing peripherals.
(UPDATE: After further research (aka, a conversation with 13), I’ve been made aware that two sets of drums can only play together in limited situations: tug-of-war and score duel. This means two sets of drums: only two players)
With younger kids, though, be aware Rock Band is rated T because some of the song lyrics are…well, let’s just say they’re not “clean” versions…at which point, having the extra guitar or drums is a plus, because you don’t have some 7 year old singing about non-7-y.o. stuff. In general, I steer 9 away from those songs which I find objectionable (and this is really a matter of personal preference for parents), which has worked so far.
You can see a full list of songs in Rock Band here, including the additional 5 tracks that are on the Wii version only. There is also a list of downloadable songs at that link, but downloading is not available with Rock Band Wii (its one failing, IMO, but certainly not worth abandoning the Wii as the platform to play this on—the Wii is so good is so many other ways, this is easy to overlook).
We also purchased the Rock Band Wii Expansion game, which is an additional 20 songs. It releases in July.
Which leads to an interesting idea. Rock Band Expansion packs that are NOT all rated T. What about a Disney-esque/Nickelodeon pack? Hannah Montana to High School Musical? iCarly to Jonas Brothers?
Or Soft Rock Band? With Bands like Matchbox 20 and Lifehouse and Blue October (though they’d all probably chafe at being called “soft rock”—what would you call them?).
Or Big Rock Band—music from the Big Band era?
Girl Rock Band?
Broadway Rock Band?
9 also had the idea of adding a small keyboard (5-10 keys) so you could get piano going, too. Since all the keys are based on colors and not notes, it would be easy enough for anyone to pick up.
What do you think?
That sounds like a lot of stuff. And my Daughter refuses to sing, whatsoever. *g* Son on the other hand LOVES to sing, so much so Daughter constantly tells him to “shut up”. Not sure if this game would work for us. *G* It still sounds like fun, though.
It’s not so bad, Brandy. You really can just open the box and play…there’s enough fun for three in the box. Really. You want one. Please, come to the dark side….laughter abounds. And having someone who will sing makes it more fun, IMO.
Sounds like a lot of fun for the kids — and their parents. I wonder if Spyscribbler would count that as learning to play music. Somehow I don’t think so.
Edie: I don’t know that I’d consider it LEARNING to play music (because learning to play is much more than learning rhythm), but I think it can spark an INTEREST in (and enthusiasm for) learning to play music.
And that’s half the battle.
Hi, I bought RB for the Wii and we have a blast, but cannot play 4 at once (we have 2 guitars we bought with Guitar Hero III), and with the toy stuff all over the small living room, those 2 guitars, the Rock Band guitar, the drum, the mic stand (I started a career where I play bass or guitar and sing at once – loads of solo fun), I didn’t buy the extra Rock Band guitar, and I thought Wii was going mainly wireless). Plus, I doubt the extra RB guitar is available in Canada yet.
Is there any way I can have a party of four playing at once, maybe using a RB guitar from a friend who has the PlayStation 2 RB guitar?
Thx a million!