A STORY IN TWO PARTS Coop: Sean and myself had a chance to play Rockband. So, is it everything we have ever dreamt of and more? Oh hell yes. After failing miserably (13% completed!) to the Stone Temple Pilot's Vasoline, I grabbed the drum sticks and Sean picked up the microphone and we blasted out to easy mode on Nirvana’s In Bloom. The drums were awesome. At first I couldn’t hit a single note (the guy setting us up said it has a learning curve) but as the song went on I started to pick it up. You feel like you are actually playing the song more than you do with the guitar. Keeping to the beat and nailing the song has a very satisfying feeling. The singing portion was also very cool. Sean claims it was very responsive, but he might just be happy he scored 100% (to my 66%, bastard!). We obviously were not able to grab any images or videos of us playing except for the one cell phone shot I wrangled below. This game seems to be all it is promised…now only if it will come out already. Sean: Alright, first of all, my vocals were tight on Vasoline. Twas not me that was to blame for the 13% (I'm looking at you random PAX attendee who decided to play on EXPERT!) That being said, I have been a bit leery about the price attached to Rock Band. I mean, after spending many dollars on Guitar Hero, I was a bit put out that Harmonix would have the gall to charge us $200 for a game; even if it is a game with a full musical accompaniment. I said it was too expensive. I was wrong. In the six minutes that we were on that stage, the four of us became a band. We were joking with each other, we were trying to get the crowd pumped up (no luck... turns out people waiting in a line are not ready to rock...) and we played. Since I was the singer, the guy from Harmonix suggested that I pick the track. And being in Seattle, I said Nirvana. The microphone picked up really well, and we sounded good. I was a bit concerned that having four different music tracks on the screen would become overly confusing, but the fact is that since each player needs to focus on his own section of the song, there was no problem. And now that I know that you can play this on-line, I think I may have to rethink. I will most likely own Rockband.