Rocksmith is a Rhythm Game created by Ubisoft as a competitor to Rock Band 3's pro guitar mode and the poorly-regarded Power Gig: Rise of the SixString. It was released October 18, 2011, in North America and it took about a year before an international release became a reality.
What makes Rocksmith different from most guitar-based rhythm games is that it goes away from the full band gameplay and focuses only on guitar (later bass as well with an expansion pack/DLC). Or to be more precise, real guitar, as there is no five-button plastic guitar mode in the game. Instead, you can plug in any electric guitar with the help of a specially made Jack-to-USB cable that comes bundled with the game and, with the help of on-screen instructions, you will (in theory) actually learn the song on a real guitar as you play.
The game also features several mini games (the Guitarcade) designed to help players learn guitar techniques through play, various practice modes and an "Amp Mode" where you can use the game as your own custom guitar amplifier.
Rocksmith provides examples of:
- Downloadable Content: Tons of songs are now available for download, as well as amp and effect pedal add-ons for amp mode.
- Dynamic Difficulty: The song's difficulty varies depending on how well you do. It's actually referred to in game too.
- Edutainment Game: Not of the stereotypical type, but it teaches you things, so surprisingly, the game fits.
- The entire point of the 2014 edition is learning to play guitar to a much greater degree than the original.
- Epic Rocking: "Fear of the Dark" (Iron Maiden), "Cemetery Gates" (Pantera) and some other songs.
- Game Mod: There are a number of people who have figured out how to add their own songs through PC trickery.
- This is considerably easier to pull off well since, unlike other guitar games, Rocksmith doesn't use multitracks, so there's not that awkward feeling of the guitar still playing even if you miss (okay, technically there is, but the game was made this way, so no complaints here).
- Just One More Level!: Rocksmith 2014 includes a mode called "Nonstop Play", where you choose a time (e. g. 1 hour) and then play random songs for that time without a break. When you're done, the game gives you the option "One More Song" and even taunts you with an audio snippet for the next song in the queue.
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Nintendo Hard: Don't expect to hit 100% on anything without a lot of practice and dedication.- To be more specific, the most difficult on-the-disc song for guitar featured is Sweet Home Alabama, for bass it's Higher Ground. The DLCs so far has introduced arguably harder songs for the guitar, namely Hangar 18, Painkiller, and Cliffs of Dover; and for the bass YYZ.
- "Through the Fire and Flames" is DLC. And you thought trying to play it in Guitar Hero was bad...
- Nobody Loves the Bassist: When the game was first released, there was no bass mode, even if the game supported the technology to make it possible, though bass charts have later been added through DLC.
- Orange Oni, Blue Oni: The auras for the game types (guitar and bass, respectively) are this, which actually fits. (Guitar often gets lots of solos, while bass tends to play a backseat.)
- Rhythm Game
- Scoring Points: Espically in Score Attack in 2014.
- Unlockable Content - By the truckload.
- The original game has unlockable effect pedals, amps, cabinets, guitars and the sound presets for individual songs. Without unlocking at least a few of them, using the Amp mode is rather boring. And a handful of songs is only playable if you manage to achieve a Double Encore, which means you have to perform really really REALLY good at a gig.
- Rocksmith 2014, in contrast, has mostly cosmetic unlockables like amp skins or guitar inlays.
