"Not perfect, but worth your time"

I was wandering around walmart the other day, and i happened to come upon a game called "Rock Manager". I instantly recognized it, from the Pc Gamer review i read of it, 76% if I remember right. I was drawn into the idea: create and manage your own rock band. Although i figured it was worth the cheap $10 bargain bin price.

First lets start with the gameplay

Gameplay: First off, the ability to create your own rock band is quite fun, but the problem is it is overly simplistic. You hire various cartoon characters that play various instruments or sing. You can train them, but all you simply do is schedule a "training session" in your calender. Another gripe is that the music mixer which boasted complete control over the music you get to create is more like a cheap stereo, in which you can change the base and volume. You can change the different riffs and drum rolls, but basically if you change anything other than the volume, the song bombs. The interface is quite attractive, but since days tick by in seconds, it is quite aggravating to pay 150 thousand for 5 days of ads, but unable to find the gigs to want to play at. By the end of the game you begin to know the routine, but early on, it grows tiresome. Also, i still am unable to figure out what makes you money. Ill make a song sometimes and make millions, only to play it again and itll bombs. One of the features that is done somewhat right is the "World Tour". You pick the cities across the globe and choose the type of plan and stage designs, which is quite fun. Unfortunately, you have to remember this is RM, and the stage design tool is completely useless and has no effect on the tour, and it seems that it is completely unbalanced. If your ever in a financial rut, go on a world tour and youll make hundreds of thousands regardless of how bad you suck, everytime. Another great idea, but poorly executed was the "mafia tool" for lack of a better phrase. You can pick scandals, rig jurys, fake deaths, and other cool little features, but unfortunately again, most of them do absolutely nothing. Faking a death, which seems cool at first, does nothing other than cost you money. You could fire them for free, or pay 100,000 for him to send them on the other side of the world, but both have the same effect. Fake fans and tampering the sales charts ive heard helps, but for me never made a huge difference, and most of the time, i completely forgot about it. Even with all the crap this game gives you, it still shines like a jem, but its not flawless.

Sound: The sound is quite nice. It isnt exactly a hollywood score, but is catchy and doesnt make you turn off the volume, but since it takes it off the cd, everytime theres an audio clip of any kind, it takes a 3 second load, regardless of the length of the clip, which is quite annoying when you have to talk to many different people quickly. The voices are well done and sometimes funny. Some though do swear quite a bit, it didnt bother me in the least, and actually helped the games atmosphere.

Graphics: The interface in which you click on the places you wanna go is sorta a myst-esque pre-rendered menu. The people are cartoonish and not greatly rendered, but it is more intentional instead of bad programming.

Closing: So, even though Rock Manager has many flaws, itll keep you entertained for at least a couple weeks, which i find warrants the $10 purchase. It is fun and entertaining, but lacks the depth of a game that will last you and keep you coming back for more.

6 1/2
Suggestion: Buy, but only for $15 or less. If higher, look for a lower price.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 07/12/04