Drum Games

Drums have just began making their way into games in the past few years. If you remember, Guitar Hero and Rock Band made their debut just a few short years ago, which started the world off on bringing the video gaming world to meet the music world.

Being a drummer of my own style, I found it extremely difficult at first to cover some of the songs on harder levels. When I play a cover song, I do it my own way, adding my own fills, twists, and adventures, whereas drum games like these force you to play it exactly as it was. This isn’t a bad thing, if you’re going for trying to teach people the basics of playing the drums with the game, but there should be an option for advanced drummers to play it your own way.. (just make sure it’s on beat and such). I suppose this wouldn’t work either, since Some drummers (myself guilty too) will play things offbeat on purpose. So do me a favor and leave your comments on what you think they should do with the games, if anything.

Drums for the famous "ROCK BAND" game

The drums usually seem to be the most precise of the instruments in these kinds of games, partially because of the guitars with buttons? really? I know there’s a new Rock Band out that supports real instruments, but up to this point, the guitars, bass, and even vocals were nothing like actually playing the original instrument. The singing can be done by actually just humming in the right note. As I recall, in American Idol, the number one thing is to remember the words! Not in the games though!

As far as the precision goes, as far as the songs you have to play are concerned, the precision of the drums are pretty good. I’ve never played any kind of “freestyle” mode or anything, which would help me with this decision, but as for what they have you playing on the kit provided, it seems to be alright. I once owned an electronic drum kit that the cymbals (especially on the hi-hats) wouldn’t keep up with some of the little triplets, and other exotic beats and measures I would throw in, so I had to scrap it. If there was a freestyle mode with these drum games, I’m sure the same would be true, however, if you’re spending 200 on the entire game/instruments pack, what could you expect out of the drum triggers? Nothing more than what the game itself can handle I suppose.

All in all, for what it’s worth, they did a great job designing the drum games they have, and incorperating the kick, hihats, and a few toms and cymbals, is a plus, though in future versions, I’d like to see the hihat pedal, and maybe a more customizable kit (such as mounting some cheapo pads on a cheapo rack), then you can move the drums around to fit your preferences.

Give me your input below, and let me know what you think of the current drum games available on the gaming market. Do you like them, hate them, or want to see something change? Let me know!