I know music is a subjective artform and all of that…But I am having a really hard time wrapping my mind around that statement.
I don’t mind them putting Visions in the game. I just wish it was optional. That song will prevent me from ever making it through the endless setlist on expert. I might eventually pass it with enough practice, but I have zero desire to practice it.
Exactly. My beef with Panic Attack is that it’s basically four songs run through a shredder and reassembled in random order, and that hurts my sensibilities in much the same way that Metallica used to when I was in high school and hadn’t heard any metal. I got used to Metallica and now I like the high points from their classic years, and I suspect that maybe I could get there with Dream Theater, but that song in particular jars and unnerves me, and I’ll never want to finish it on Expert, not only because I can’t predict the general pattern of buttons are coming, but because I can’t even guess what noises are slated to come out of the speakers.
My argument is that if Visions weren’t in the game, a lot of people who feel the same way that I do would be complaining about Panic Attack. The only reason they don’t is because its problems look miniscule when compared to Charro Riding a Rabid Cougar Mauls Slayer During Second Encore.
salwon
2783
I always considered Dream Theater to be music for people who are into metal and think they’re smarter than you. For those of us who aren’t going to buy Guitar Hero: Metallica, that song is terrible. And it’s like 10 minutes long, which doesn’t help. I hated the Breaking Wheel song almost as much as Visions, FWIW.
The last tier is filled with, “FASTER! LOUDER!” shit. Some of us prefer challenges that aren’t based on blazing guitar solos.
Oh, and I hate Steely Dan too, but that’s a different argument. There’s plenty of complicated music in the world, and not all of it is metal.
I guess I’ll just say that I disagree and leave it at that. Honestly I have never heard anyone complain about Panic Attack being unfair… Sure it is difficult but Mike Portnoy is widely considered one of the finest technical drummers in the world. Also Constant Motion by Dream Theater, arguably even more difficult, is one of the more popular DLC releases among prog/metal songs. I doubt too many people would buy something from Abnormality if it were released.
I don’t really like Panic Attack much, either, but that’s more of a function of my disliking virtually every album Dream Theater’s recorded since “Scenes from a Memory,” except for bits and pieces of “Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence.”
So I’m sitting here rocking out to Muse at my desk (Stockholm Syndrome, specifically), and I realized that I’m doing fake plastic air guitar – that is, I’m shredding pretend five-button fingerings with my left hand as I sit here flailing around like a dork.
While I haven’t played a real guitar in years, Rock Band has definitely made me a better air guitarist.
Rock Band needs more Muse as a rule.
Absolute, utter agreement here.
z22
2790
Ouch, those are some great songs (keep in mind I’ve only played RB2). Run to the Hills wounds like it would be fun on drums, my “instrument” of choice. Thanks sluggo, and others. You guys are great.
Shadarr
2791
Enter Sandman is a pretty good drum song, Paranoid is just a faster version of When You Were Young. Run To The Hills is… something. If you’re good enough to play it, it’s probably fun. I’m not.
My wife and I are good enough to play it (me on Expert Guitar, her on Expert Vocals), but we don’t think it’s fun. It’s one of those songs that we would occassionally select during a Rock Band party so our friends would laugh at how ridiculous my wife sounded while singing it (and still getting 5 stars, natch); aside from that, we’d avoid it like the plague otherwise.
That being said, I’ll take any five songs by Iron Maiden over Visions or the rest of the crapfest that makes up the last few tiers of RB2.
wumpus
2793
Really good week for DLC. Standouts IMO:
- Feed The Tree, Belly
- Space Cowboy, Steve Miller Band
All the Steve Miller tracks are fantastic (Les Paul was Steve Miller’s godfather??) but oddly enough Space Cowboy was, to me, the most enjoyable to play.
Shadarr
2794
I was just talking about drums. I can play it on guitar and five-star it on vocals (down the octave). But I agree it’s not a lot of fun. Even though I love Maiden I rarely play their stuff in GH or RB.
Funkula
2795
I was kind of disappointed with how Take the Money and Run plays (it’s been a while since I heard it, I forgot how much rapid-fire repetition there is in the guitar part) but other than that, yeah, awesome. I’m so glad we finally got some more Steve Miller.
Good week for drum songs.
I Stand Alone, Take the Money and Run, and Typical are all fun without being crazy difficult.
salwon
2797
RBDLC says Grateful Dead pack 2 is confirmed, possibly for next week. Personally I think they should hold off on X version 2 until they get more version 1s, but some of these should have interesting charts.
Hmm…I don’t know any of those songs. The first pack was good stuff, though, so it’s likely I will pick it up.
Speaking of the Grateful Dead:
Neither me or my wife are Deadheads, but she really enjoys playing guitar on Alabama Getaway. Any opinions on whether the DLC Dead tracks would be similarly fun for those who don’t really like Jerry and Co.?
I can’t stand the Dead, but both my wife and I have gotten some good use out of most of the original DLC. I think China Cat Sunflower is her favorite, but that’s primarily from a bass/guitar perspective where it is awesome. Vocals, it’s best to sit that one out. Trucking is the only one we skipped iirc because the charts looked boring and I prefer to get packs as individual tracks for the luxury of deleting the ones I get tired of without ditching the whole pack (thanks Megadeth!).
