Gaming Confession: I Still Play Rock Band

For most people, the days of plastic axes and broken kick pedals are long gone. The sticky keys and non-silencing silence pads have either been sold or are gathering dust in the attic. Not for me though, I've spent the last couple of years regularly paying Rock Band 3 with my friends, and I think there's still life in the old dog.

Guitar Hero and Rock Band, not to mention the array of spin off franchises like ... ugh ... DJ Hero, were huge hits in their time. Which was what? 2007-2009, perhaps? No gaming collection was seemingly complete without an array of plastic instruments, and no gaming event was in full swing without an awkward Rock Band stage session. Times have changed, however, and the music genre has taken a bit of a tumble as of late. People grew tired of the lack of development and the novelty for the casual players wore off.

My story with Rock Band is quite different. As a big gamer I'd played Guitar Hero when it was big, I enjoyed it, but never pegged it as my kind of game. After getting really into it during a party at my friend's house, this was in 2010 mind you, I had a compulsive urge to get stuck into the heavily declining music genre. It was largely inspired by the hope of playing with friends, but I suppose a little bit of myself always fancied being a Hendrix-esque guitar player.

So in July of 2010 I scoured eBay for the right set to launch my new beginning. Turns out buying things second hand, years after they're released, makes them really cheap. Who'd have thought it? So I got hold of the three Rock Band games, two guitars and a set of drums for just £40, which is an incredible bargain looking back. Rock Band 3 became the primary 'play with friends' game and I even had a couple of sessions by myself (sshh). Plus, it was the first game I got my girlfriend to play with me regularly, so that was a win.

Three years on from then, and I've had a lot of good times with the game and spent a fair bit of money on additional songs. My friend and I once spent practically a whole day taking our band Rice and Bread (I know) around the virtual world; being the drummer he had a lot of blisters on his hands the next day. Even when I got to uni last year the set was still a flat favourite, and probably will be again this year. The fact is, I'm still playing Rock Band fairly regularly and am still loving it.

It's a testament to the original concept that EA are still making money from me via Rock Band. It's just so different to everything else out there and so much more accessible to those who don't regularly play games. The worldwide fame of Guitar Hero only makes the games even more accessible to this day, as they're more an iconic 'toy' than a mysterious 'fake-guitar'. I know a lot of people are very much over the Guitar Hero phase, but I don't see myself stopping anytime soon.

There are sure to be others out there who still play it regularly, or failing that every so often with the right mates. So it's nice to know I'm not alone. I get a feeling that this'll be a timeless game and if it wasn't for the once outrageously expensive peripherals, it would've been a staple in every household. Still, I hope this article inspires people to dig out the old kit and party like it's 2008.