Rocksmith

Pros: RockSmith was a Great purchase. My son and I "went in together" for the PC version and an extra cable so we can play at the same time. We each have our own profile and we switch between guitar and base. We play together along with the band and if you miss a note or cord you can hear it. We have purchased many additional songs from Steam DLC. There are skill games and lessons on techniques to help you learn how to play. We bought it around Christmas and I bought another copy for my computer a few weeks ago because it was so much fun. It is a real challenge. Starts you off easy and automatically increases notes and cords as you get better. If you stumble too much it cuts back to get you going smoothly. New songs are added to Steam each week that can be purchased and downloaded for $2.99 each or in sets for a slight discount. During the holiday special a lot of the songs were 1/2 price. Since this is a fairly new software the familiar song list is not as large as RockBand or Guitar Hero but they are coming. Remember that you are playing real instruments and building rhythm and skills not just pushing buttons. Each song has its own distortion and amp mix that is simulated so your guitar or base sounds like the actual song. It is not an easy road though. You must hit the note. make the bends and stay on beat, you are actually playing the song and it takes practice. Once you get started hours will go by and you will want to get back to the challenge as soon as you get home.

Cons: Sometimes it will freeze up or not recognize when you check your tuning but not a big deal or very often. I want more songs, not just hits or new bands.

Other Thoughts: My son would look at my guitars but never tried to play until we got RockSmith. He has only been playing about a month and a half and is already much better than me. We went the other day and bought him a Les Paul for his birthday, he likes playing so much. I was listening to him play a Santana song and could not believe how well he could play and how close he was to the real song. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced player this is an excellent innovation. (I refuse to call it a game but what do you call something that teaches you and you have fun doing it?) Buy it and join the band! You will have a great time.

Pros: Fun, easy to use, and getting me back into playing guitar.

Cons: A bit pricey in my opinion..

Other Thoughts: I'm a beginner guitar player. I've had an acoustic in the past, got bored, and quit. I got an electric guitar a while back and got a little bit more into playing, and figured I'd by rocksmith to check it out. As a result, I've learned a few new techniques, gotten a bit faster in my fingering, and in general had a good time playing. I can sit and play for hours and stay entertained. I'm not sure however if this "game" if you can call it that, will translate into better skill when detached from my computer. Time will tell I guess.

Regardless of whether or not my Rocksmith accomplishments will translate into real life guitar skills, I'd highly recommend this game, as its a fun way to get engaged with a guitar.

Pros: Lots of fun.
Works great with the Stratocaster and an Acoustic with built-in pickup. Uses real instruments.

Cons: Cable is long but i would like a few extra feet in length. i'll try a USB extender cable so it might reach the couch.
:)

Other Thoughts: Installs and works perfectly on XP-sp3.
Using on a HTPC ( 3ghz Core2duo 4gig-mem, 550ti video )with a 6-foot projector image and high end sound system. Can go as loud as my guitar amp.

Pros: Great game / teaching aid. Looking forward to playing this for years to come. The game is very deep with technique challenges, minigames, great song list. Extensive DLC song selection available as well.

Cons: Not a replacement for a real instructor.

Other Thoughts: I've seen reviews on other sites complaining of the fact that Steam is required to play this game. I have no problem with this personally b/c I've made many purchase in the past without issues.