Preview by: Justin Amirkhani

Learning how to play guitar is a tricky proposition; trust me, I know. Having taken years of lessons in my youth, my parents were always disappointed with the fact I could barely strum out even the simplest tunes around the campfire. After bombing on an acoustic for so long, I thought it would be a good idea to upgrade to an electric because perhaps my style was just more hardcore and I needed an axe that could match my totally awesome self. As I look over to my first and last electric Gibson, sitting in the corner of my room with broken strings and a thick layer of dust caking it, I am painfully aware of how untrue that assumption was.

When Ubisoft announced Rocksmith I was quick to dismiss it like a lot of folks. With the plastic instrument craze coming to an end and both Guitar Hero and Rock Band winding down production, it felt a little bit like Rocksmith was showing up to the concert with nothing left to see but empty beer cans on the ground and roadies packing up equipment. But then, Rocksmith isn’t a game about guitar fantasy like the others. It’s not content with letting you pretend to be a rock star; it wants to slowly groom you into being a competent guitarist.

Within the short time spent with the demo, stumbling through Satisfaction by The Rolling Stones, I felt my hands getting more comfortable with the instrument – a real Epiphone Les Paul Junior. I can’t say for certain whether it was some latent skill was unlocked or if the game’s incredibly detailed dynamic difficulty system was scaling properly, but I could see – and more importantly, hear – significant improvement by the time the song ended. Even without the use of its many instructional mini games, the natural order of play does a great job of teaching and that’s exactly what I want.

If there’s one thing that’s still up in the air about Rocksmith, it’s just how good its track list will turn out. From what I gleaned during the demo, there’s a strong emphasis on classic rock tracks like Lynard Skynard’s Sweet Home Alabama and Sunshine of Your Love by Cream. However, a few more modern licks have been revealed like Icky Thump by The White Stripes and Next Girl by The Black Keys. There’s still more to be revealed, and Ubisoft has announced they’re betting big on DLC, but only time will tell if the most crucial aspect of this music game will deliver or fall flat. In a game like this you simply need the set list to be a winner.

Possibly the best part of Ubisoft’s system is that it doesn’t need any special hardware; the game works with any guitar via a small ¼ inch to USB adapter. Because the game doesn’t have digital inputs, scoring is based on getting the notes right which is more important than anything when learning to play. When you get good at Rocksmith, you get good at guitar.

I’ve been made a believer and look forward to dusting off and tuning up my long-forgotten Gibson and learning it all over again, this time with a little help.