Review: Bandfuse: Rock Legends (PS3)

Music, suffice it to say, has always been a big part of my life. Long time readers know that my gold standard for a game's soundtrack is one that I would want to throw into the CD player in my car and drive down the road with it. Back in junior high school, I took up the guitar, since I didn't necessarily want to be in band and I did want to learn at least some instrument. I've kept up with it off and on over the years, picked up a couple guitars along the way, and learned to pick out a few songs here and there. When the big rhythm game fever hit with Guitar Hero, I knew that it might have some small application with actual guitar work, but more along the lines of finger speed and timing.

Review: Kickbeat (PS Vita)

Music rhythm games are one of those vices amongst some gamers – find an addictive enough game and you'll end up losing track of whole hours, if not days, at a time.

Most games in the genre use flying colors to keep you visually stimulated while you bang out the buttons on your controller or plastic instruments. Kickbeat has you wailing on hordes of enemies to the tune playing in the background. Mistakes normally would have an audio queue – either a screech in the music playback or a gap; instead mistakes are more tangible – your character gets hurt and takes damage. Too much damage and the game is over.

E3 2012: Rock Band Blitz XBLA Hands-On

I've always been a fan of the Rock Band series. Even to this day, I still download weekly DLC released by Harmonix to keep the experience fresh. Rock Band Blitz is the newest addition to the franchise and ditches all the plastic instruments that have cluttered our living rooms the past several years.

E3 2012: Bandfuse Xbox 360 Hands-On

Last year, Rocksmith taught players how to play real guitar. Rocksmith was a great starting point for people new to the instrument, but there were several shortcomings, most notably, the lag, the long loading items, endless tuning of your guitar, the inability to create your own music and lack of bass support. Bandfuse seems to improve upon the Rocksmith experience by featuring guitar and bass support, real music tabulature, an open ended career and the ability to record your own music. Bandfuse is hoping to offer the most authentic experience to date.