Rocksmith PlayStation 3
User Score
8.1 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 43 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 35 out of 43
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 43
  3. Negative: 6 out of 43

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  1. icarus1080
    Oct 18, 2011
    10
    After just a few minutes of playing Rocksmith, you'll find that you don't even want to describe it as a game. Rocksmith is an amazing piece of guitar teaching software. It will literally hold your hand, and walk you through step by step how to perform the basics, enhance your techniques, and ultimately play every song in it's library with style and precision. The career mode isn't the most flashy that we've seen in a guitar game, but all the elements that make it enjoyable are there, and doing well is extremely gratifying. Messing up is a unique learning experience, as you see the upcoming notes simplify before your eyes when the game's dynamic difficulty adjusts to your apparant skill, and something inside you musters even more determination to succeed next time. Aside from the career mode, you can browse almost the entire song library from the start, accessing different play options for each, such as the option to practice specific parts of a song that might be giving you trouble in performance. There are also challenges to complete relating to a vast array of guitar playing techniques, which you can also find in the individual song options, showing you what you need to be proficient in to perform it with mastery. Then there is the Guitarcade, a section of mini games that further test both your basic and advanced technique with puzzles, skill games and other creative and entertaining activities, all using the guitar as your controller. In amp editing mode, you can customize a rack of guitar pedals based on what you've unlocked in career mode, save multiple presets, and assign them to the face buttons of your Dualshock for quick effects changes during your rehearsal or performance. The only imperfection about Rocksmith is the minuscule latency in the sound of your guitar through the speakers, but even with more complex arrangements of notes at faster speeds we experienced no problem enjoying the game, feeling like things were in sync, or missing notes due to the barely noticeable lag. It's hardly worth mentioning at all, considering what amazing benefits this software offers to anyone who owns it. Rocksmith is a masterwork of educational software like nothing the world has ever seen. It is the Rosetta stone of guitar lessons. For $79 (plus your guitar), this is the best thing money can buy for an aspiring guitarist, or an experienced player looking to perfect their technique. If you spend time with Rocksmith, you WILL learn to play the guitar well, period.… Expand
  2. buddashak
    Oct 19, 2011
    10
    I've spent roughly 10 of the last 30 hours playing Rocksmith , have over 10 songs with over 85% mastery, mostly songs I'd never heard before, and can now say that this game is the bee's knees for anyone that plays guitar for fun regularly. Don't listen to all the people that say this is more of a tutorial than a game... at higher levels of play it's really just like playing guitar hero with your actual guitar. Regarding the auto-difficulty: At first I didn't feel like the difficulty was amping up fast enough, but then I realized after listening to some replays that this was because of my sloppy technique. For me this usually comes from missed palm mutes, missed harmonics, half-pressed barre chords, and brain farts. Once I got dialed in and actually started playing with precision the game would ramp up the difficulty and mastery level pretty fast. To all the reviewers complaining about the difficulty not going up fast enough (*cough* joystiq *cough*) I'm pretty sure its because you're not as good of a guitar player as you think you are. Rocksmith only gives you what you've earned. You wouldn't expect a mario game to give you access to world 8 just because you can half-a$$ your way through world 4, why should Rocksmith be any different? The lag when the ps3 audio is hooked straight to your stereo is equal to a good latency midi setup, meaning you can sense it if you're really trying hard but it's not enough to effect your playing. The interface is nice and easy to read when not cluttered... when you get to the higher levels of mastery it's another story, but if you're capable of getting to the higher levels then you're no doubt relying on your ear and memory more than what's on the screen, so it doesn't really matter The one thing that sucks is the total lack of streamlining. For example, I prefer to have my songs sorted by artist, but every time you go to the song list it resets to being sorted by title. This wouldn't bug me if you could change the sorting with a button press, but it's not. Also, whenever a song finishes the game automatically loads up the replay, thereby unloading the song. This means if you want to play the song again you have to wait for the replay to load, and then pick "play again", and then wait for the song to load up again. In other words, you end up doing a lot of waiting. Also, the two rap-rock songs are really bad.… Expand
  3. derrickg
    Oct 19, 2011
    10
    This game does everything that it advertised to do and more! We will start by saying I am a decent guitarist. I was in a band as a teenager, but I laid down my guitar for more than fourteen years, just recently picking it up when I heard this game was about to be released. Though I used to know a lot, not playing for fourteen years took a toll on my ability and I was struggling to remember some of the more advanced chord placements, etc.

    This game eases you into the guitar environment. I found that some of my memory started coming back to me after I played through the first four or five songs. I got to a song that I didn't exactly dog, so I went to the song list in the options manager and started hammering away at some Free Bird by Lynard Skynard. I was quickly able to hit 100% speed and notes by going through the "leveler" options for the different parts of the song. This takes the chorus, bridge, intro, solo, etc and breaks it down into a manageable chunk that you can play progressively harder until you get the whole thing. I spent hours going through this and didn't find myself getting bored. I think within a week or two, I could nail Free Bird with 100% since the software does such an excellent job at teaching you songs.

    I haven't had a chance to play any of the guitarcade games because I only have one unlocked. I think this weekend, I will play all the way through career mode (easy) and see if it unlocks all those games, so I can play some of them.

    The interface is easy to understand. There is no noticeable lag when hooked up through an external source and not through the TV.

    My only small gripe with the game is that when you are doing a guitar riff and trying to hone that particular riff, you will have to go back to that section, retune your guitar, and load that section. Loading takes a long time with this game (20 seconds or so, at a guess.) I wish if you were in a riff repeater exercise, you did not have to reload that section in order to try it again. Even with this, I am giving this a 10. This game is what I think more games should aspire to. I had guitar hero. I felt like I was wasting so much time playing it. It left me with no skill. And this is completely different from the pro mode on GH3. I would like to see somebody that can do this game at 100% and somebody that can do GH3 at 100% compete in a guitar playoff. The GH3 guy will quickly see that his game did not really teach him how to play the guitar.    … Expand
  4. QuantumBlade
    Oct 19, 2011
    10
    My overall feeling during the game has been motivating :D The game is very good at dynamically ratcheting the difficulty up and down during a song. So far this game has exceeded my expectations. I haven't noticed any bugs, I havenâ
  5. RedHotFuzz
    Oct 20, 2011
    10
    First off, I hope no one pays any attention to Joystiq's ridiculous 5/10 score for this game. Worst review ever - and a real shame as it will scare away some buyers who would actually find this game wildly entertaining AND educational. I guess anything beyond mindless button mashing is beyond that reviewer's comprehension.

    Anywho, in all honesty this is the game I've been waiting 30 yea    rs for. My attempts to learn guitar have been numerous and completely unsuccessful. I've tried it all - live instructor, downloading tabs and practicing solo, taking online video courses - nothing has kept my attention for long. It's too tedious and not fun enough to stay motivating.

    Enter Rocksmith. When I first heard about this game, I was sure it would be a flop. Plug a *real* guitar into my PS3 with nothing more than a PS3 dongle and it would recognize the notes I played? Yeah right!!! No way that was going to work. Well let me tell you, work it does. Played a couple of hours last night and a couple more tonight, and while the throbbing in my fingertips won't go away, neither will the grin on my face. The interface is quite intuitive if you've ever played a Rock Band or Guitar Hero game before, and the killer feature is the way the game will automatically ramp up (or down) the difficulty AS YOU PLAY! Wow, how's that for an amazing learning experience? The better you play, the harder it gets. And the arcade game extras are a great and fun way to work on those typically-dreaded drills (the ones that have made me give up guitar too many times before).

    I am confident this will be a learning method I will stick with. Rather than burning the midnight oil on button-mashing FPS games, I can now be *learning an actual skill!* Yeah, how's that for a video game? If only there were more games like this - and more parents bought them for their kids. I would have killed for this game 30 years ago when I picked up (and put down) my first guitar. Seriously. This is dreams-come-true stuff.

    If you have any interest in playing the real guitar, buy this game. Period. If you're sick of your kids spending countless mind-numbing hours playing regular video games, get this game. In a couple of years they could actually be proficient guitarists - rather than just having won every achievement in Call of Duty. (Zzzzz...) I was going to pick up Battlefield 3 next week, but now I want to devote my gaming time to Rocksmith.

    Hopefully Ubisoft will get enough market support to crank out the DLC. The on-disc catalog is quite limited (and fairly weak - you won't know most of these songs I wager), so I hope Ubi has big plans in this department.

    I can't wait until my kids are old enough to handle a guitar so I can get them started on Rocksmith. Now we just need Violinsmith, Drumsmith, Saxsmith, Pianosmith... :)

    This is the must-buy game for Christmas 2011.    … Expand
  6. LP68CA
    Oct 21, 2011
    9
    Do yourself a favor: ignore that tossed-off Joystiq review and recompute. Rocksmith gets your fingers up off the couch and gets you playing. It doesn't teach you theory. You won't know what key you're playing in, what note you're sounding, why that chord you played is an E major and all of that (very important stuff), but it gets you PLAYING. You're making music. You're moving your fingers, building up finger independence, getting experience at picking/strumming notes on the appropriate frets and strings, working on your timing, building familiarity with the fretboard. You're getting a real workout. It might not be as technical as those dusty old Guitar Magazine tabs from some 80's hair-band guitarist that your instructor gives you for homework, but at least it's fun to practice. Like anti-depressants and psychotherapy, Rocksmith and a good guitar teacher together are a much more effective in combination than taken alone, but at least the game gets you started and motivated. Realize that what you're getting when you buy Rocksmith is a practice aid and not a guitar teacher, and you'll be happy with your purchase. A quick note on the exercises in game: Rocksmith contains something like a glossary of guitar techniques, with videos and skills challenges for practicing them, and some of the mini-games reinforce these techniques. Other mini-games give you practice at scales, chords, speed-building, etc. There are very short videos that cover things like how to hold the pick and the guitar, how to string the guitar, etc. Tips: to reduce lag, use analog audio connections from your PC or console to your stereo, digital induces lag. And if you're a beginning guitarist, the highlighted section of the 'noteway' indicates where you should place all 4 of your fingers on the fretboard, your index finger should play the lowest numbered note, and your pinky the highest. This is proper technique that the game does not explain, and it should, as it essential to playing many phrases of the songs, and building your speed. Good luck.… Expand
  7. themankymoo
    Oct 3, 2012
    10
    Rocksmith is by far the BEST guitar game i have ever played! I grew up with guitar hero and rock band, but always craved the reality of a, well, REAL guitar. This game brings guitar and gaming together which means that anyone with even a slight interest in either can simply pick up and play, no matter what their level.
    I played guitar long before i played Rocksmith, but being honest, I SU    CKED. After playing it for a day however, its a totally different story... I can play riffs to most of the songs in the game pretty well, and considering i'd only heard of 2 to begin with, I consider that a pretty good achievement.
    A game that can teach you such a skill, while maintaining a fun atmosphere is, in my eyes... Genius.

    Way to go Ubisoft, this game has NAILED it.    … Expand
  8. rodz
    Oct 27, 2011
    9
    Simply amazing. The technology works great and I have no problem of lag at all because I use external speakers (that I setup when before because I used to have too much lag singing on Rock Band). The game works as a teacher. It's always recommending what you need to work to improve from your actual level. I haven't played guitar for 5 years but before that I used to play OK. In few songs the game reached my skill level and my limit was only that the game added too many things at once so I had a hard time getting used to the fretboard. After few songs I finally got used to it.

    What I found really impressive was the adaptive difficulty that really helps learn the songs in your own pace. The other really good thing is how the game always suggests something to help exactly with things that you are struggling. I've always been crazy about Rock Band but if Rocksmith starts releasing DLC I probably won't touch plastic guitars anymore, and pro guitar is dead for me. Rocksmith is a different generation of games, what you hear coming back from the speakers is exactly what you are playing with all imperfections, wrong notes, your own guitar tone and when you get a song right it's awesome.    … Expand
  9. Hanseshadow
    Oct 22, 2011
    10
    Nothing available on the market competes with Rocksmith. You cannot find anything that comes close to Rocksmith in the guitar video games genre. If you want to play a video game with a guitar, this is your only option. Ubisoft hit the nail on the head, as far as finding a niche and leading the pack for rhythm video games.

    The polish on this game is excellent. The music variety is good    . The tutorials, concepts and challenges are very informative for beginner guitarists.

    I give this game a 10, due to its originality and the enjoyment it is giving me.    … Expand
  10. spanky36
    Oct 20, 2011
    10
    Excellent game! It is a much better feeling playing along with songs using a real guitar than a little light plastic toy. I have not been playing my guitar often in the last few years, and this game gave me a reason to break it out and play again. I was a bit leery at first since I heard even if you miss notes the game still plays them, sure it does but the wrong note you hit still plays and it makes it sound terrible, so playing it correctly is satisfying enough. I have it running through a surround sound receiver through HDMI and then to my tv, and suffer no lag at all. I had to hook my PS3 up directly to the tv and miss the great sound because no matter how hard I tried to adjust the lag it just never felt right, this feels perfect. If this game would have came out first, I really think RB and GH would not have taken off like they did. This is like finding a better woman after you are already married, except it is much easier to ditch the old games and play this one.… Expand
  11. slikk66
    Mar 5, 2012
    9
    I've owned this game since pretty soon after it was released. I used to play guitar in a band in college, we had a couple of shows at the Roxy in Hollywood, we were good, not great. My guitar playing was self taught, and I never learned the right way to do things.. but we could still rock for the most part. Fast forward 10 years, I haven't played much guitar. I was hoping this game would get me going. At first, I played it some and the auto-adjust put me up to "master" guitarist pretty quickly (I thought), and I was overwhelmed. I could play notes and some easy chords, but when I did well on those, it turned up the hurt quickly. I put the game down for a while.

    Recently I picked it back up and really started to pay attention to what it was trying to teach me, pausing to lookup chord charts online when I wasn't sure. Long story short, I can play chords and "actual" riffs, pickings etc better than I ever could before. This game does what it promises, but just remember.. it's not easy. This is more of a tool than a game. But, it really does teach you how to play guitar in an enjoyable way. I think it should have come with a big chord chart, and maybe some real "how-to" videos to get newbies started.

    The critics have some points on the details, but once you find a few good songs to practice: Sweet Home Alabama, House of the Rising Sun, and some DLC: Smoke on the Water, More than a Feeling.. it starts getting really good really fast.

    I haven't put it down much in the last few nights, I'm hooked on guitar again.. and my fingers have callouses again (sweet!)

    Highly recommended, just be committed.    … Expand
  12. Bueller
    Oct 21, 2011
    9
    Right off the bat let me just say that I am stoked to be able to plug any of my real guitars that have a 1/4" adapter right into my PS3. At this point I have only spent 3 hours with Rocksmith but they have all been enjoyed. For someone like myself, an intermediate guitar player that has been in multiple bands that never really took off and in turn had to put down the guitar in order to make the bills and chase the mighty buck, Rocksmith is awesome!! There is an immediate since of accomplishment when playing a song that you have never heard or played before and you qualify first time through, of course the flip side to that coin is playing a song that you know and love but fall flat on your face the first time. I found myself being pushed to my limits as a player very quickly due to the dynamic difficulty. At times the dynamic difficulty would frustrate me, having destroyed a basic riff over and over the game increases is difficulty on the fly and all of the sudden I am forced to play new sections of the song at the same difficulty level completely caught of guard and being forced to learn "Rocksmiths's" way of telling to play a chord, hammer-on, slide, or any of the other techniques I am versed in, yet totally unaware of what these techniques look like as they are being displayed rolling down the fret board at break neck speeds do to my proficiency of power chords.
    Novice players will have an easier learning curve IMO since difficulty will not ramp up so fast and throw new techniques at you before you have the chance to play some of Rocksmith recommendations, which will help you understand what these techniques look like before you have to interpret them at full speed.

    All in all I am happy with my first 3 hours of play and Rocksmith will certainly be fun and entertaining enough for me to get back into a regular practice routine.    … Expand
  13. FriedConsole
    Nov 6, 2011
    6
    This game is fun and it would be a great teaching tool, however, as a more experienced guitarist I find it frustratingly boring to get to a point where it just displays how to play the whole song instead of a simplified version. There doesn't seem to be an option to just play the song as it originally was recorded. I think it might not be able to pick up too many notes at a fast pace and it is never going to be the entire song. It often harder to play a simplified version of songs I already know how to play. Good thing it is very generous on the timing of notes. You have a +/- of a whole second to hit the appropriate note to register it. I can see that being good for beginners but I think a lot of people will learn these songs really incorrectly. For mini-games they actually turn off the generous timing so it become frustrating with the delay of your setup. I appreciate the generous timing when I have to go through songs I hate or have never heard before. You can just fumble through it the first time and never have to play it again. Seems to be a lot of modern hipster songs for the kids. I think most people, even kids, want to play the classic riffs instead of these artists that nobody will remember in 3 years. Overall I wish this was available to me when I was 12 and could learn guitar at a faster rate. As an experienced guitarist, it bores me too much to want to setup everything for me to play.… Expand
  14. Yare
    Oct 19, 2011
    10
    I had to register to leave a review. Rocksmith is amazing. It's not common that a piece of software comes along that delivers exactly what it promises, in this case: accurate note detection and dynamic difficulty. Ubisoft nailed both of these. As a beginner (guitar, no lessons) I found this game to be perfect. It reminds me very much of the Miracle Piano Teaching System from 15 years ago or so. I can't stress enough how great this game is, and I hope it is successful.

    Even if you have no intent on learning guitar right now, if you know think you might in the future I recommend picking up this game. Who knows how long it will be around? Who knows if anything similar will ever be made again?    … Expand
  15. sauros73
    Oct 21, 2011
    10
    You want play for a arcade game with many friends or family ? Rockband 3 is good for you.

    But if you want to have a learning and practice tool in completion of a teacher ? Rocksmith your self
  16. alakazoo
    Oct 23, 2011
    10
    This is not really so much a game as it is a guitar practice tool, as stated in a few other posts. Now I said a guitar 'practice tool' because if you think you'll pick up a guitar and learn to play in a weekend, forget it. It seems to me that a person should have played a little before plugging in this game. I began learning guitar in the last couple of months and I find this game helps in many areas I have neglected, but I think to try it without never having picked up a guitar before would be daunting at best. Don't get me wrong, I truly believe Rocksmith is great, more a piece of software than a game, but if you need help getting motivated to play or are trying to go beyond the first few campfire chords, this is what you'll need.… Expand
  17. amalficoastin
    Oct 23, 2011
    10
    This game continues to blow my mind every time I play it. Who would've ever thought you would be able to use a real guitar as a controller and have a game accurately detect the sounds it make? A must buy game for any experienced guitarist or noob guitarist looking for a way to make practicing something more fun.
  18. kifmzk
    Oct 27, 2011
    10
    This is an amazing game. playing Rocksmith translates to a real life skill just as advertised. Makes practicing fun, great song selection though everyone is eagerly awaiting DLC.
  19. GreatBlumpkin
    Nov 4, 2011
    8
    As many have done already, I'm not rating this as a game. If I would it would be a low score but as a guitar instructional method that is FUN, I gotta give it a very solid rating. In fact its the game portion that sort of ruins it for me. For example I want to learn the 3rd solo of Free Bird for example. I have 5 tries to nail it in practice mode, then it boots ya out and ya have to go back through a menu process that is a real buzz kill. The actual interface with the guitar is SCARY good. People have complained about lag, especially through HDMI, but mine sounds perfect and inside the once-again cumbersome menu there are adjustments that could be made if one felt it was needed. The preset tones of the different artists is great as well. Supposedly these tones, as well as user changeable virtual effects, cabs and guitars are available, but I haven't been able to figure out where an open 'jam area' exists to play around with this. The game doesn't force, but it annoyingly tries to make sure you take a linear path that they've laid out for someone learning guitar. Its a good path and one I'll probably explore myself, but for those of us who are not complete beginners we'd also like a little more freedom with choices (or at least the path to those choices could be clearer if they do indeed exist). For instance if there are 4 degrees of difficulty I'd like the ability to choose expert right away, rather than have to 'prove myself' to the software's ear before it lets me move on to a more challenging rendition. There are onscreen notes that encourage and coach (I'm guessing) but poor placement makes them impossible to read if you are still trying to play the song. I don't want to sound too harsh because I am overwhelmingly AWESTRUCK by how this whole thing works and think the sky is the limit for musical games or tools through a platform that otherwise fails to develop too much practical, real-world skill. It's been a while since I've played (guitar that is- I've wasted **** of time on games) so I worked up a couple of blisters and had to step away for a few days, but I'm ready for round 2 with this baby and think it will be something I'll come back to fairly regularly. Even though I'm not crazy about the song choices, more should be available later and its nice having the whole 'band' to play along with. I know my playing would be light years ahead if I'd played with other musicians because I'm not motivated enough to practice on my own. Rocksmith is the next best thing to playing with another human and I can't recommend it enough for beginners and intermediate players. Someone complained that the chords appear upside down to tab readers, but there is a setting to flip chordshapes over, which really helps I have found. The mini games doing the drills are also a nice touch, but overall I would have liked to have this not be an identity crisis, dump the 'game' gimmick altogether, and focus on being the awesome tool it can be.… Expand
  20. Buster_Muffins
    Nov 11, 2011
    10
    if you wanna learn to play electric guitar, BUY THIS GAME!!! It makes such a laborious task fun and you will get good very quickly! There is no difficulty level because it adjusts on the fly to how much you progress! You want to practice and get a higher score like when you play guitar hero or rock band. I gotta say, i never played guitar in my life and now after 2 weeks of 1 hour a day sessions, i can play nirvana in bloom note for note, chords and all. I can't wait to play more!… Expand
  21. Wakanabi
    Dec 20, 2011
    10
    WOW is all I can say... I took some acoustic classes when I was in 8th grade(About.... 12 years ago) and never wanted to take the time to get good since I played too many videogames(Still do at 26 lol)
    I just got my PS3 back from repair yesterday. My mom bought me an electric guitar cuz I asked if I could borrow our old acoustic to take some classes, but she wants to learn too. So she boug    ht me the electric, I bought Rocksmith and got her a cert for classes. Anyway, I just started last night, played for about 2 hrs. Being out of practice my fingers are almost bleeding as I type this, but boy is it amazing. I'm already to the point I can play basic notes on songs like Nirvana's 'In Bloom' just plugging into my amp... that's with 2 hours of play!!! I can't even imagine how far this can go, but since I have motivation now, the sky's the limit. Once I master this game/trainer, I have friends who are pros that can take it to the next level for me. I can't wait. Rocksmith transcends what a game is, bridges the gap between plastic playthings and real musicians, and most importantly.... Gives motivation to expand horizons. If you're a parent reading this, invest the money to set this up($240), you won't be disappointed.… Expand
  22. fuchikoma
    Dec 17, 2012
    2
    First off, Rocksmith is a great game with a few rough spots (technique challenges that are almost impossible because they require high-level mastery of other techniques not being tested. ie. Hammer-ons & pull-offs requires perfect, fast, frequent shifting without glancing at the guitar at all.) Overall though, it's a great way to push you forward to try harder techniques at a fast pace and make breakthroughs in ability, as well as keep practicing regularly.

    However... it's really irrelevant how well planned this software is when the PS3 version doesn't even function. It will lock up every 10-15 minutes of play, presenting a loading screen that never ends. This problem is well known and infamous on their forums, but Ubi's support staff basically take any open support tickets on it and declare that they have nothing to offer, and close the ticket as "solved." In other words, "it's really too bad you just spent $200 on this, but we got our money so you can buzz off now!" In a half hour session, this game will crash more than any other game I've played since PS3 launch has ever crashed, added up across all sessions I've ever played. It's broken. It's useless. It's buggier than an anthill. Stay away! The PC version is fairly decent, but the PS3 version isn't fit for an alpha test.    … Expand
  23. GeeRodKee
    Jan 21, 2012
    5
    While there are plenty of things to like about Rocksmith, I was ultimately disappointed for one reason: the audio (not video) response lag. I used the ideal setup recommended by Ubisoft -- a component audio cable from my PS3 to my home stereo, (with HDMI carrying only video to my TV). Despite this, there is still a slight but noticeable delay between the real-time sound of my guitar and the sound coming through the game. As an experienced guitar player, I couldn't ignore it. It was like using a delay pedal that didn't play my initial note -- just the delayed notes. As others have noted, playing faster passages only makes it more noticeable. I felt like I wasn't completely in control of my timing, and that took most of the fun out of the game for me.… Collapse
  24. X-Abrupto
    Jan 10, 2013
    10
    I will tell you right away. If you have given up on playing guitar in the past, this game is for you. But it is, of course, also for those who already play guitar. I used to play when I was a teenager and I had a very bad teacher who put way too much pressure on me back in the day. My poor little Epiphone spent years in the closet collecting dust until my friend ( who is the best guitarist I know and plays in a band ) told me about Rocksmith. He said " This is the game you have been waiting for, it's like a teacher and it adjusts to your skills, it's like Guitar Hero except that you will play the real thing and learn how to play real guitar. ". At first I was sceptical but after viewing a bunch of videos and seeing my friend playing Rocksmith himself I decided to give it a go and bought it. The fact that you don't have to buy the Rocksmith guitar to play was a big relief since I couldn't really afford the guitar at the time. Any electric guitar can work with this game. It will detect your guitar's sound and tell you to adjust it if needed. At first you will play a few notes, then the game will eventually make you play on more than a couple of strings, then it will introduce you to chords and additional techniques. It never overwhelms you with content, it softly puts the knowledge into your lap and inevitably you will be seduced into raising the difficulty and learning more thanks to the points and ranks system. Once in a while you will unlock new items such as guitars and pedals. So you will end up having a huge studio at your disposal in the comfort of your living room. At first I was scared that I would develop technical flaws while learning. But this game teaches you guitar almost subconsciously by repeating riffs over and over. At some point it will all be printed in your memory forever and always, and you will know the sound the guitar will make instinctively no matter where your fingers lay. My youngest sister who is 10 can already play Nirvana and Blur songs at 100% so I dare say anybody can learn to play guitar, all you need is to play a couple of hours everyday and you will be able to play most of the songs at 100% in a matter of months ( I did it and I don't consider myself that good of a learner ). Now I am moving on and Rocksmith isn't enough for me. Guitar tabs are not a mystery to me anymore so I am now learning songs the game didn't offer!! Trust me, this game is revolutionary and those who give it a bad review are those who can't stand having their little fingers getting hurt for a couple of weeks. A negative review of this game is nonsensical, an amateur like me, a pro like my friend and a little girl aged 10 can play this game and enjoy it. Don't believe the red reviewers!… Expand
  25. faircritic
    Dec 23, 2012
    7
    For guitar players with some level of experience,this is a very entertaining choice and course complement for their daily practice but contrary of the box advertising say,those enthusiasts who don't know anything or too little should be warned.The game itself is somehow hard for newbies and begginers and difficult don't help out,beside you have to watch the tv screen to see the positions when actually is easier to practice while watching the fretboard.In fact if you don't know, learning guitar take sometime and can't be done in the period of time you end playing Skyrim. Beside this game , should be a complement of other courses,there isn't a complete method to learn guitar anyway.Ubisoft noticed this so they have to release a bass adon what is in other words a game to play an easier instrument.
    In my case that I'm beggining to learn but have some basics,I wouldn't waste my money there,because If you find playing guitar difficult,then jump out to bass,then if you found playing bass difficult,then jump out to another instrument until you feel comfortable at the end with a tambourine?Non sense.But like every course that is productive like in this case playing electric guitar should definitively dererve some merit.    … Expand
  26. OlafP
    Dec 17, 2012
    10
    I've tried different ways to learn to play the guitar, but I found this one the best. You can play/learn whenever you want, at your own pace. The dynamic difficulty changes are excellent, and seeying yourself improve on the songs you love is extremely satisfying. My friends couldn't believe what I learned from playing a "video game".
  27. sonicfan7895
    Feb 24, 2013
    10
    Rocksmith combines the simplicity of a music game, with the challenge of learning a real instrument. Using the Rocksmith Real Tone Cable, players can plug their guitar or bass into their favorite game console and jam along to over 50+ songs on the disc, as well as new downloadable content every weak.

    The game does a stellar job of teaching every single technique used for guitarists and     bassists (a separate bass pack must be sold to players for an additional $30, excluding PC users), and you get to jam along to some amazing people! Along with new downloadable content every week, you're bound to see your favorites make the scene! The game's recognition of all the pitches and chords is incredible, and everything is downright amazing.… Expand

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
80 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 27 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 22 out of 27
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 27
  3. Negative: 1 out of 27
  1. GRYOnline.pl
    Nov 19, 2012
    80
    Rocksmith isn't really a game the same way Guitar Hero is. It's more of a complex educational software that uses the look of a video game for better motivation. You could easily use YouTube videos and Guitar Pro tabs instead - and thousands of self-taught guitarists do. Fortunately putting everything in one place and using nice game-like graphics create a product that motivates better than any "usual" software does.
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  2. Strategy Informer
    Oct 26, 2012
    85
    While Ubisoft may have fundamentally failed to grasp the commitment behind learning actual guitar, the product behind it is sound. It may be a steep initial outlay to play, but if you're serious about learning guitar, this one will put you on the right path, while entertaining you in the process.
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  3. Eurogamer Sweden
    Oct 25, 2012
    70
    Those of you who put in the time and effort needed will have a lot to gain from Rocksmith. Not just high scores, but the feeling of actually learning to play an instrument.
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