Rocksmith hasn’t reinvented the riff, but they’ve reinvented the way you learn how to play guitar. In Rocksmith 2014, players are given all of the best from the original Rocksmith, along with new features to help with faster and more well-rounded learning. The game is teaching oriented, allowing for guitarists of various learning levels to jump in at a point best suited for them. Even if you’re a skilled musician, you’ll need to spend a little time learning some of the game basics. This means making new connections, such as learning to identify strings by color instead of their names. The game also offers a colorblind mode. Due to the open way that Rocksmith addresses all skill types simultaneously, learning comes in a myriad of combinations. Rocksmith provides the tools, and each individual player can create their own learning structure.

Rocksmith’s gentle guiding nature is evident from the start, given their short and sweet introduction even for beginners. Lessons on basics such as how to hold a guitar and how to pick, the most basic of the basic, are not something forced upon the player. Instead, Rocksmith “recommends” which areas to focus on, but leaves the player free to decide what they will ultimately do. The player can also switch between lead guitar, rhythm guitar, and bass guitar. Each learning mode places emphasis on different things to focus on a specific, non-linear playing path. This means that if you have no idea where to start, you’re best off having some outside guidance from other sources. Rocksmith is a valuable tool in learning guitar, but it should not be your only method.

While the original note recognition interface from Rocksmith is still the core of 2014, almost every aspect of the game has been upgraded in some way. The new menu, with access to all of the game options at any time, is the first thing you’ll notice. The new song selections are chosen to display a broad range of music types and skill sets. It’s even possible to import the original Rocksmith library for a one time fee. When learning and playing songs, the display is clean and concise, keeping the player from feeling overwhelmed by all that is happening on the screen. And if you’re having trouble with a particular riff in a song, the Riff Repeater is back to help you fine-tune your playing. Simply pause a song and have it ready to go at a moment’s notice while playing a song. The difficultly of notes in each song increases along with the player’s mastery within the game. This way, players can learn the entire song by small steps and repetition.

Need to focus on certain skills, but tired of playing songs and looking at lessons? A Chord Book is available to focus on learning and reviewing those specifically. Or you can hop on over to the Guitarcade, which features even more challenging arcade-style games for guitarists. Each game lets you know which skill you can improve by playing it. The games are built on arcade basics, such as racing, fighting, and shooting. The Guitarcade is an excellent way to improve upon chords, scales, harmonics, etc without needing to worry about learning a full song. The games are engaging and also offer a leaderboard. Since the game is from Ubisoft, it also features certain parts of the game that are accessible through signing up for free through their Uplay rewards program.

On the technical side, I did have a few minor response issues from time to time, but the 2014 version seemed to sync up better and have better responsiveness than the original overall. It’s also important to note that if you encounter any lag or response issues, the game provides examples of better set-ups for your hardware to improve upon this. Tonality and amplification are impressive, due to the advanced amp features provided by Marshall and other amp manufacturers. These can be best experienced in the brand new Session Mode. This is an addition that allows the player to set up multiple digital instruments in various play styles. You can then adjust the tempo and scale. After that, you just jam. The other instruments will adjust according to your play style, allowing you to practice your improvisation or write your own tunes. Unfortunately, recording through the game is not a feature, but Session Mode is still an amazing and useful component that engenders maximum creativity.

Rocksmith 2014 improved upon a great foundation, increasing accesiblity, flexibility, and even the general sound production. The game goes beyond its educational merits and also offers fun practice options through the Guitarcade and Session Mode. This game is highly recommended to those who play guitar or are interested in learning.

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