Original Link: https://www.anandtech.com/show/2460



Oops, we skipped one. Actually, with the trip out to GDC, we just didn't have time to cover the DLC release last week. With the exceptional goodness that was last weeks releases, we definitely felt it necessary to go back and check them out. This week is no slouch either, with the release of the first (as implied in the name) Nine Inch Nails pack.

While we were at GDC, we did get a chance to chat with some of the guys at Harmoinx who were recruiting. It seems that some of their staff were even a little worried about how well they could pull off selling Rock Band with all its gear even after Guitar Hero did so well. It really is just one of those ideas that could go either way, and luckily for Harmonix the game is just that fun to play.

One of the cool anecdotes we learned is that in developing the game they were originally using the Roland V-Drums as an instrument (which, incidentally, really makes me want to mod my crappy old Roland drums into a Rock Band kit). We were talking about the … less than robustness if you will … of their drum kit, and they said something along the lines of trying to pack all the functionality of the Roland kit (which costs between $700 and $1k USD at the low end) into a controller that cost less than $100 to make being quite difficult.

When we saw it from their perspective, it does seem a bit easier to understand. Our largest complaint is the kick pedal. They seem to think that they did pretty well when their budget was basically a piece of plastic and a spring. Certainly that's true, but hopefully the next version of Rock Band (fingers crossed) will feature a drum with a little better feel to it.

Having already gotten a good idea about how popular the game could be, let's hope they'll be inspired to take the extra time and money to help make the next kit a bit better. With the number of drummers who go out and mod their kit with a real pedal seemingly high, hopefully they'll see that this is something in demand. Maybe they can sell a "higher end" kick pedal for a premium for those who want it or something.

But for now we've got to make due with what we have. And with most of the songs that have become available over the past two weeks we certainly can't say we are unhappy. Here's our review of the songs from 19 February.



Last Week's DLC

This week looked good going in, and we were really excited to get our hands on more Weezer, Garbage, and Stone Temple Pilots. While I was most excited about the STP song, I've got to say that it also let me down the most. Maybe it was because I had built it up in my head, but really the Garbage and Weezer songs translated better to Rock Band. Read on to see why.


Garbage :: Why Do You Love Me (Moderate Songs)

Difficulty: This one is a bit tricky. There are some interesting fills and one longish hi-hat roll that sneaks up on you out of no where. The transitions can be quite difficult to nail as well. This is on par for a moderate song.

Experience: This song was a lot of fun. The quirky transitions and variety of the song really keep it fresh and fun while playing. It's not simplistic but it isn't incredibly hard either. While not the best Garbage song out there (my opinion is definitive right?), this is a song that fans will love, and others will enjoy playing. We'll call it a tie between this song and the Weezer offering for our pick of the week.


Stone Temple Pilots :: Sex Type Thing (Moderate Songs)

Difficulty: This one isn't very hard at all. There are a couple rolls and fills here and there that might be considered tough to master, but this is definitely not a hard song to get an ok.

Experience: Meh. And that's coming from someone who likes the song. Yes, it's driving, but it's just really repetitive without being very engaging. The feel of the quarter note open hi-hat hits just doesn't translate well from a real drum kit to Rock Band, and the simplistic 2/2 snare and bass drum beat for most of the verses is just not compelling. The guitar was the same mostly repetitive and not really fun. If you love STP, you might like the song. Otherwise, this one is a pass.


Weezer: El Scorcho (Apprentice Songs)

Difficulty: Okay, so I had played this with a band without ever really hearing the original, so I found it a bit tough to unlearn. I've gotta say, Weezer did it better. It's not that hard, but it isn't just a simple song either. For an apprentice song it isn't so easy that it's boring, and there are a couple cool fills and transitions that will make you squint a bit.

Experience: Very fun song. For Weezer fans, this one is an absolute must. For others, while some bits of this song are repetitive, they aren't any where near monotonous because they're broken up by the sheer quirkiness of this song. Definitely one to check out. If "Say it Ain't So" was as much a staple of the early Rock Band experience for others as much as it was for us, we have to say that it feels great to play another more difficult Weezer song that carries over a lot of the fun and fond memories we have of playing the first. As mentioned above, this song ties Garbage for our pick of the week.


Pick of the Week:

This week it's a tie bewteen Garbage - Why Do You Love Me and Weezer - El Scorcho.



This Week's DLC

Oh … My … God …

I have some incredible respect for Chris Vrenna, Richard Patrick, Dave Grohl, and Josh Freese (and especially those last two). Anyone who has played drums with Nine Inch Nails or in a really good Nine Inch Nails cover band (are there actually any of those?) understands that these guys don't play around. This week was intense.

Both The Collector and March of the Pigs are in crazy insane ridiculous time signatures. Regardless of the fact that they are lower difficulty than The Perfect Drug (which deserves it's Nightmare difficulty), they are tough. If you are a drummer who isn't very used to at least 7/8 time or a gamer who tries to find short/easy patterns to fall into you will have a tough time. There are parts of these songs where almost everything seems random and the only way you can really tell that it is still a song is if you can step back and listen to the whole thing.

In a very odd twist, the guitar is employed to play some of the keyboard/piano heavy parts. I had seen some questions at other forums asking how this would be handled and it seems we have our answer: Harmonix expects you to be ok with the fact that you are playing a fake MIDI guitar rather than a fake real guitar. Which I suppose is just nitpicking, but my air guitar is always a Fender Strat and I'm certainly not playing a piano on it.

Seriously though, it might be a little odd, but playing the keyboard parts on the guitar works fine and is better than more dead air. It's kind of a cool twist actually. But now on to the songs:


Nine Inch Nails :: The Collector (Moderate Songs)

Difficulty: This is on the very hard edge of a Moderate Song. After you get the pattern it isn't so bad, so hopefully this will help a bit. The verses are in 13/8, but it's easier for me to count them as an alternating 6/8 and 7/8 pattern. The hitch is that just when you get used to the verse, the chorus flips it to just 7/8. But the chorus is actually easier to count if you look at it as alternating 8/8 and 6/8. Timing is tough on the guitar as well, but finding the pattern is the real key to this one.

Experience: There isn't any guitar at the beginning of this song, so if the drummer doesn't pick it up fast it's hard to keep from failing out. This is a bit boring for the guitarist as well, but they make it up to you at the end by letting the guitarist play a bit of piano. This was a pretty fun song, and if you want a good introduction to strange time signatures on a song that isn't impossible, this is a good one to go with.


Nine Inch Nails :: March of the Pigs (Blistering Songs)

Difficulty: Wow. If you thought the time signature was crazy in The Collector, prepare to have your mind blown. This song is in 29/8 (verses) and 4/4 (chorus). Take that in for a second. To make it easier to count, verses can be counted as three phrases of 7/8 followed by one phrase of 4/4. I made the mistake of not listening to this one first and I kept getting lost every time the "extra" beat came around (since I didn't count it first), and getting back on track was tough some times. This song has lots of notes, and they come at you in very strange timing. Again, this one is tough because the guitar comes in way after the drums. Bass enters in between drums and guitar, but it can still be tough to save each other if needed because of the timing here.

Experience: This one is quite fun, but it can be a little frustrating before really nailing the timing. It was nice to get little breaks of 4/4 time in between the insanity of the verses, and the anticipation set up by the calm chorus for the next verse is actually even cooler when playing Rock Band than when listening to the song.


Nine Inch Nails :: The Perfect Drug (Nightmare Songs)

Difficulty: Ridiculous. This song is in 4/4 and I couldn't for the life of me get by it on Expert. Anand got tired of me trying and I actually had to bump it down to medium to finally pass. This one is like playing chicken with a drum machine on acid. No, I don't really know what that means, but that's what its like anyway. The beginning isn't that bad, on either guitar or drums. The middle of this song is some of the most insane stuff I've ever seen in Rock Band. Not because it's fast or because it's in a strange time signature, but because of how all over the place and staccato some of it is. It does settle down at the end, but if you've made it that far, not getting up to jump for joy will be tricky in and of itself.

Experience: The beginning of the song is very fun and straight forward for drums, bass and guitar. After that it was fun, but very technical. If you like a challenge, then this one has a lot to offer. This one is also the longest song of the day, which is a good or a bad thing depending on how you look at it. This one is really very fun unless you get frustrated easily.


Summing it up: Buy the Pack or Just a Track?

All in all, this is a great pack to grab. Our thoughts are that these are more fun to play as a group than solo, and the frenetic pace of The Perfect Drug to the crazy time signatures of the other two will really be fun with some friends. If you can only pick one and you don't mind a challenge, I'd recommend The Perfect Drug. Other wise, the other two are great picks and you really can't go wrong. For what is is worth, we recommend going with the whole pack on this one.

Log in

Don't have an account? Sign up now