BandFuse: Rock Legends is a new breed of musical fun, much like Rocksmith 2014, which not only allows you to have an entertaining time but an educational one at that. BandFuse: Rock Legends offers an easy to use interface that allows players to pick up and play with ease no matter their experience level. When purchasing BandFuse: Rock Legends, players have two choices, which are the Artist Pack and the Band Pack. The Artist Pack is available for the Xbox 360 and includes the game, 1/4 inch cable for your guitar, and a audio adapter. Those picking up the Band Pack will receive a microphone, two 1/4 inch guitar cables and a 4 port USB hub. The Band Pack also features an adapter that takes BandFuse to the next level by working as a guitar tuner which turns the vibrations from the guitar into a signal sent to the game. While this was a great addition, the adapter featured inconsistent accuracy, which eventually got annoying. On the other hand, you have to admit that the fact the adapter even worked shows that the game has some amazing technology.
Players will use the 1/4 inch guitar cable to hook up to four real guitars to their game console to experience the amazing gameplay experience that BandFuse: Rock Legends offers up. The game features around 55 licensed songs from some of the top artists in the music industry that include Coldplay, Maroon 5, Slash and more. The game definitely offers up a great deal of variety and features songs for every type of music lover.
Once you have everything hooked up, which is quite simple to do, players will be able to select their instruments from the game menu and pick Guitar 1 or 2, Bass and Vocals. If you have a player who wants to play the guitar and do vocals then you can combine those options for that as well. The fact that BandFuse: Rock Legends allows users to combine their choices in this nature really creates a more authentic and realistic experience when playing with several people at once. Now with everyone hooked in and set up to play―the main objective of the game is to get as close as humanly possible to sounding like each song you play.
BandFuse: Rock Legends features almost nonexistent latency when utilizing the game's realistic guitar tablature with color coded notes that correspond with the position of your fingers to hit various chords alongside different shapes to symbolize the various types of notes. BandFuse allows gamers to play through an entire song no matter how experienced they are and doesn't automatically scale the song during gameplay. The game's UI is incredibly realistic and corresponds with what you see on your guitar. BandFuse features excellent audio processing which makes gameplay smoother and more responsive creating an overall immersive experience.
Players will be able to practice their skills through drills, as well as, create their own unique music by adding effects like distortion or chorus. BandFuse: Rock Legends will increase in complexity as you play which prevents the game from becoming repetitive while enhancing your sweet skills as well. There are five difficulty levels to choose from in BandFuse to allow beginners or even experienced musicians to enjoy everything that the game has to offer. However, making the jump to more difficult levels is far from smooth with the game requiring cringe-worthy perfection that can be too infuriating for some. The tutorial mode, Shred U, was a great addition for the beginner since it puts a ton of tutorials at your fingertips to help ease you into the game. Once you have down the basics then you can hit up the Career Mode to progress through various stages of your music career like a real rocker. Songs in the game can even be slowed down during certain segments in Lick Lab so you can concentrate more on the parts you are having the most difficulty with. If you get too frustrated with learning the notes on your guitar then you can head over to the game's Karaoke Mode for a fun break. Karaoke Mode will put up the original music video to the song you are singing and another player can join in with the guitar if they prefer. The various games modes in BandFuse: Rock Legends adds a high degree of replayability to the title alongside being a great game for your next party.
CLOSING COMMENTS
In the end, BandFuse: Rock Legends is a good game that not only provides hours of entertainment but a rewarding educational experience for honing your musical skills. The game's multiplayer sessions are a blast, alongside its impressive Karaoke mode, which will keep you coming back and finding fun new ways to enjoy the game. The game's color coded system makes the game easier to enjoy by both beginners and experts but the jump to higher difficulty levels can be a bit intimidating. Overall, BandFuse: Rock Legends offers enough fun and immersion to keep you playing for hours on end. If you have been looking for a game for that aspiring musician in your life then look no further with BandFuse: Rock Legends!
BandFuse: Rock Legends is now available for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 for the MSRP of $69.99 (Artist Pack), $79.99 (Band Pack) and $179.99 (Guitar Bundle). BandFuse: Rock Legends is rated T for Teen by the ESRB for Lyrics, Mild Blood, Mild Violence, Sexual Themes, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco. For more information on the game, check out the official BandFuse: Rock Legends.
Game Features:
- Single Player
- Multiplayer 1-4
- DLC Support
- Trophy/Achievement Support
Game Information:
Developer: Realta Entertainment
Publisher: Mastiff
Available for PS3 & Xbox 360 (reviewed)
Release Date: November 19, 2013
- Great educational game to learn guitar
- Fun multiplayer modes
- Easy to learn layout with responsive controls
- Jump to higher difficulties can be infuriating
- Some inconsistencies in registering notes on occasion