Rocksmith 2014 Edition Remastered (for PC) Review

In the mid- to late- aughts, Guitar Hero, and its evolutionary spin off, Rock Band, gave nerds, normies, frat boys, and Wall Street's self-proclaimed Masters of the Universe the opportunity to realize their musical dreams by playing instrument-based karaoke with plastic axes.

It was an unquestionably fun experience, but one that some musicians claimed downplayed the skill required to finger the strings.

Ubisoft silenced those naysayers by taking the Guitar Hero model to its next logical stage with 2011's Rocksmith, an instructional tool that taught people how to play a real guitar on PC and consoles.

The "game" has seen several updates since 2011, and the latest version, Rocksmith 2014 Edition Remastered, is currently available for Steam, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

If you're looking for instruction, Rocksmith's numerous tools, videos, and activities make it an excellent introduction for potential bass, lead, or rhythm guitar players, though a human tutor may teach you things that the game does not.

Before I detail Rocksmith's intricacies, allow me to state that I've never had formal instrument instruction outside of playing the recorder in elementary school during the early 1980s.

So, when I decided to learn bass, I turned to Rocksmith for guidance, as I remembered playing it at an Ubisoft event years ago.

My initial goal was to learn the bass basics and then quickly move on to a human tutor.

That said, I've discovered that Rocksmith packs a lot into its $39.99 package, so much so that I've delayed human lessons.

Tutoring is still in my future, because a human would provide much-needed instruction in regards to avoiding bad playing habits, properly gripping the guitar, and positioning your fingers.

Still, Rocksmith does a lot of things right.

Grabbing the Axe

Though Rocksmith itself is just $40, that isn't the full extent of its cost.

In order to use a real electric guitar or bass, you must purchase a male 0.25-inch to USB guitar cable.

Further, Ubisoft requires that people use its own Rocksmith Real Tone Cable ($24.99 at Amazon) , which cost roughly $30 to $40 dollars, so the game really costs about $70 to $80 before taxes.

The setup process is effortless.

I simply plugged the 0.25-inch section of the Real Tone Cable into my Sterling by Music Man S.U.B Ray4 ( at Amazon) electric bass and the USB port into my Origin PC gaming desktop.

Rocksmith quickly recognized the instrument and prompted me to log in using my Ubisoft credentials, so that it could track my progress.

However, if you fancy learning an acoustic guitar or bass, Rocksmith includes a mode that lets you point a mic at your instrument instead of using the direct plug-in method.

In terms of specs, Rocksmith 2014 Edition Remastered isn't a very resource-heavy Steam game.

Ubisoft suggests that your gaming desktop or gaming laptop features at least a 2.66 GHz Intel Core2 Duo E6750 CPU, a Nvidia GeForce 8600 GT GPU, 12GB of storage, and the Windows Vista operating system.

The resolution options start at 640 by 480 and top out at 1440 by 900.

Once you're all set, it's time for instruction.

Progress is the heart of the Rocksmith experience.

The game gently holds your hand during your initial guitar baby steps and guides you toward expertise though the use of live-action videos that teach about frets, strings, and how to correctly attach a guitar strap.

Rocksmith even has a built-in tuner, so that you can adjust your guitar's sound to suit certain songs.

Rock & Roll All Nite

Rocksmith's gameplay, on its most basic level, is not unlike Guitar Hero or Rock Band's.

Music markers scroll toward an on-screen guitar neck, and you must time your guitar inputs to match their positions.

That said, Rocksmith requires far more finger dexterity than its predecessors.

Those guitar games of yesteryear simply tasked you with simultaneously pressing the strum bar and appropriate fret button.

Rocksmith, on the other hand, requires you to strum the appropriate string and fret combo, which demands greater guitar familiarity and skill.

If you're a guitar newcomer like me, the fingerwork may prove a bit jarring, but Rocksmith has numerous features and exercises to acquaint you with the strings and frets.

For example, the dynamic difficulty increases or decreases depending on your guitar-playing proficiency.

If you struggle playing, say, Rick James' "Super Freak," Rocksmith removes notes so that you aren't overwhelmed.

Once you master the basics, it adds more notes.

Conversely, should you excel in playing Rick James' funk opus, Rocksmith increases the notes until you're playing the song as it was written.

I quickly realized that even songs with relatively straightforward basslines are more complex than they appear on the surface, which led to a deeper music appreciation.

Besides basic playing, Rocksmith also teaches advanced techniques, such as hammer on, hammer off, and slide.

Unfortunately, it doesn't do a great job of teaching you how to properly position your fingers on the guitar neck.

Human instruction would likely do the trick there.

Rocksmith 2014 uses colors to teach you how to play the strings: Red is the E string, Yellow is the A string, Blue is the D string, and Orange is the G string (at least when you use a four-string bass like I do).

Unfortunately, your guitar's strings aren't colored to match the on-screen strings, which may cause some confusion when you begin practicing.

To eliminate some of the learning curve, you may want to purchase DR String's Neon Multi-Color Strings ($9.95 at Amazon) .

It's just one of many Rocksmith tips that I've come up with to help you improve your guitar playing.

You receive a grade after each lesson, so you can get a sense of how well you performed a particular song.

Rocksmith can even identify song sections that cause you to struggle and prep specific exercises that lead you toward mastery.

The game also tasks you with optional Missions, such as achieving a certain score or breaking a successful note streak, to keep you on your toes.

Sing With Me

One would naturally expect that a game entitled Rocksmith to have significant rock-and-roll tracks, and the title doesn't disappoint.

Aerosmith's "Walk This Way," Def Leppard's "Pour Some Sugar on Me," and The Ramones' "Blitzkrieg Bop" are just a few of the 66 bundled songs.

That sounds like a significant number, but depending on your tastes, perhaps only a few will appeal to you.

For instance, there's a disturbing dearth of funk, which is a glaring omission for a tool designed to teach you bass.

Fortunately, Rocksmith has a ridiculous amount of DLC—more than 1,000 tracks, in fact.

The DLC listing in the Steam store is a mess, as there's no way to sort the content.

You must click through page after page of song names.

To alleviate the tedium, I suggest visiting Ubisoft's Rocksmith DLC page to see all the offerings.

There, you can sort songs by Song Packs, genre, or year.

Once you find the content you want, you can then return to Steam to purchase your desired tracks.

Song Packs are themed bundles that cost between $7.99 and $15.99, depending on the number of songs in the pack.

Naturally, individual songs cost far less, typically $2.99 a pop.

Scrolling lyrics appear on the screen as you pratice a track, which is a nice touch.

Like Guitar Hero and Rock Band, Rocksmith supports multiplayer jamming.

You and a partner can plug in your guitars, log into your seperate Ubisoft accounts, and play songs togther—and learn at your own pace.

You cannot, however, boot up seperate songs for each guitarist.

Jam Sessions

If you simply want to apply what you've learned in a non-structured, informal setting, take a dip into Sessions.

There, you can select a drum kit, accompanying guitar, or keyboard, so that you can participate in a virtual jam session with the artificial intelligence-powered virtual musicians.

The AI dynamically alters the instruments' play styles depending on your fingers work.

For example, when I sped up my bass playing, the drummer's beats per minute increased.

Though Sessions is a non-structured mode, you can learn from it.

It offer video feedback via a harmonicity meter and scale notes.

There are numerous audio options, too.

You can select the music tempo, instrument volume, where the instruments exist in the soundscape, and more.

By tinkering with the settings, you can recreate the audio of playing in a massive arena or with a human-sounding band (warts and all).

Sadly, you can't record your Session mode jams.

Game Theory

Repetition is a key to learning, but if you walk the same path too often, boredom sets in.

Thankfully, Rocksmith includes a handful of mini-games that let you practice in different environments.

In one, you guide a ninja across a series of platforms by performing fret slides.

In another, you maneuver a car through an obstacle-filled road by switching fret-and-string combinations.

Playing mini-games has a secondary benefit, much like undertaking Missions.

Playing through the various modes lets you unlock equipment skins, bonus music arrangements, and other goodies.

For example, giving your amps a fresh design or upgrading the venue lets you liven up the rather monotonous main gameplay visuals.

Radio-Friendly Unit Shifter

Learning an instrument requires practice, practice, and more practice, as you make the journey from novice to veteran.

Rocksmith 2014 Edition Remastered gives you the tools to learn guitar or bass, courtesy of its many lessons and mini-games.

Now, I'm no bass-playing dynamo, but I've begun to absorb the concepts after playing approximately a dozen hours.

The combination of learning the frets and strings in the main lesson modes, and practicing in Session mode, has enabled me to form my own simplistic grooves.

I'm not ready to stream my bass playing to the world via Twitch anytime soon, but I'm confident that Rocksmith, with some dedication on my part and human instruction, will give me the confidence to do so.