My Rock Band review is up and it is a long one. There was a lot to be said and I had to trim some spots simply because it seemed wordy and would only add more to the review for those exteremly interested in those specific questions... so I chopped them out.

I wanted to post this a long time ago, but there was the feeling that I should try GH3 first to make sure what people where saying in comparison was up to snuff.

Near the bottom you can find my caveats of 5 main things to watch out for (for those of you already familiar with the game modes and what not).

I actually bought my X360 for this game right here, and to this day haven't regretted a cent I put into getting RB.

I wanted to give it a 10. I really did. But the fact BWT is not multiplayer online was just enough to push it off the perfect 10. This is why I'm really looking forward to RB 2 later this year.

And with this review out, I will probably lay to rest my talk of Rock Band for a while... Though I still have to give some comments on GH3 someday...

Anyhow, let me know what you think of the review.

For this blog I want to reference you to the following article:

"Texas teen is a real-world 'Guitar Hero'

"On May 17, 13-year-old Danny Johnson sat down in front of an Xbox 360 at The Guitar Hero 24 Hour Marathon in Dallas and completely shredded "Through the Fire and Flames." For this feat of finger acrobatics, he earned a score of 890,971 points - and snagged the world record.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25463407/from/ET/ "

He plays pretty amazingly, but his response is what got me: "I do hate the song," he admits with some reluctance. "It gets annoying a lot."

Coupled with a few peoples blogs here on GS (for example: Tired, Angry, and Upset) and my own experience with frustration and annoyance I wonder what are we doing?

Sure every hobby can have its frustrating moments, but in my opinion hobbies are meant to take your minds off everyday things. To give you something to do that is different from 'the daily grind' and most importantly be fun.

In my last job I worked with someone that played in a band. One day I asked him how it was going and he pointed out his last gig didn't go well, everyone was being so uptight and it just wasn't fun. He pointed out that the reason He plays in the band is to have fun and if He's not having fun He'll go do something else that is. That is a wise statement.

That is the course gaming is now taking in my life. I've done my share of speed runs in Metroid games, finishing UN Squadron (SNES) on gamer mode without or dieing, and even currently trying to get really good at RB or GH. But to do such things takes a lot of time investment and to be honest most of the time it just is not fun.

It does come with a pretty good payoff in my opinion. Once you accomplish your amazing feat of skill it feels pretty darn good, but I'm coming to a point where the accomplishment doesn't pay off enough. I could play all the different and amazing games out there and have fun 90%+ of the time, or try to master the few skills required and only have fun 30% of the time.

With the 90% of the time I have fun, I still get to accomplish things. I finish the main story line, or completing an achievement that was fun to work for, but many games achievements seem to tug at the 'not so fun' chord... like playing through GH solo career in lefty mode, or with a controller instead of a guitar. Sure you experience different aspects of the game this way, but is that a good thing? I believe only if you are having fun while doing it.

I still plan on giving difficult achievements a chance, but if I'm not having fun while doing it then I'm doing it for all the wrong reasons. It is the fun that counts. I don't have time to be frustrated or annoyed when so many other opportunities are out there... that is what work is for.

Perfect timing I might add. I was already saving up for GH4 (minus the drums) and now all that money can just be invested in RB2 instead if it turns out to be the better of the two.

A lot of details have yet to be explained, but I'm glad there will be some competition come christmas season... well, except for Wii owners, you still get GH4...

All DLC from the first game will port over seemlessly. They are making it easier to remove the songs you can't stand from the play list... (Yeah! I can remove Won't get Fooled Again, by The Who).

They are adding more songs to DLC on a regular basis to play in both. This alone has almost won me over more than GH4 has to offer. The songs are what makes the game afterall, but aside from the foo fighters DLC for GH, DLC song list for Rockband is more my style.

Now if only I could figure out what I'm doing wrong when I play the guitar with the hardest songs in the game... I can do most of hard, most of expert... minus 6 songs... More practice I suppose... But I'm really sick of practicing just those 6 songs over and over.

Also, maybe they should make a mode where the chart moves a little slower and you still get to play all 5 frets. It has annoyed me to all ends that they (rythmn games in general) add another button, increase the speed AND double the notes to play. It would be nice to have a easier gradient between difficulties.

Anyhow, Here is the news. I'm pumped to see how this pans out this year.