Go go Pop’n Music. This was the first video I saw that introduced me to the series:

You’d think that either of these would be a no brainer launch day pick up for me. I was given the gift of an amazingly generous EB gift card so I can get whichever I want with no actual cost to myself. I have every plastic instrument known to man, tracing the evolution of the genre from DDR (yes, it counts) to Taiko Drum Master(the Japanese versions had cooler songs) to Beatmania (great video of the game. Shows you everything minus the great music video!) to the present day with Guitar Hero and Rock Band. I haven’t forgotten Pop’nMusic, either. I love Pop’n'Music but I have to get me a modded PS2 so I can play all the games first. I’m still trying to talk my brother into trading his old school unit for my slim so I go the easy hard drive route but there may be easier ways these days. I should look that up. And now back to our original topic, already in progress.

I love most of the Lego games, as I have made perfectly clear in the past, but I think Lego Rock Band will only be a rental for me. Let’s face it, these games are way more fun with people in the room and I presently have a dearth of local gaming friends. I’m not sure how much enjoyment I’ll be able to get out of it once I got through the career mode. I might even break down and join one of those game rental services so I can play more games as they come out instead of waiting for a price drop. Lego Rock Band has the Ghostbusters theme so you know I absolutely have to play it even a little just for that. Repeatedly. Neighbours may end up complaining :)

Then there’s DJ Hero. I’ve been a beatmania fan for ages and ages so this seemed like another instant purchase. I’ve seen all the videos, I love selections from the soundtrack (it’s the least annoying video of it I could find. The good ones get deleted), and I’m more likely to play this at a friend’s house than pick up my own. For some reason I enjoy the simon-says gameplay of the older music games but I’m not interested in new instruments to add to my collection. Probably down the line for posterity purposes but I’d like to think that we can do better these days than the simon-says mechanic. My fun isn’t broken as rocking out is still fun, don’t get me wrong, and if you are throwing a party and rock band shows up then you know how to reach me. Yet I can’t bring myself to be excited about these new games. It is entirely possible that I will snap and pick them up if I play them in a store or something. I wasn’t initially going to get Rock Band but the combination of living in residence with tons of friends, all asking me every day if I bought it yet, and the endless complaints of online friends asking the same thing, well… I can be weak. Glad I got it though!

note: I know I am ignoring many many different types of music games in this post, from DJ Max (<3) to Elite Beat Agents to any number of console music creation games but if I keep going I’m going to write a book on the whole genre. Heck, I might end up doing that one day.