![]() ![]() One misstep and you'll be cursing that you didn't save your game sooner.īecause you're the manager, you have to deal with a plethora of issues such as internal conflicts, booking dates, organizing world tours, designing album covers, scoring interviews, dealing with shady characters, etc. (I'm sure if you're in the industry you might some in-jokes.) Frustration is abundant though. But "fun" - with all its broad definitions - seems to be in short supply. There are a few amusing moments - most of these stem from the cartoony characters that like to work in profanity. Sure, they get into trouble often enough but all of them sport cartoony looks and this does not work in Rock Manager's favor. Forget about cleavage, forget about Britney Spears eye candy, forget the haze of smoke, forget the thunder, forget everything associated with real-life music personalities - Rock Manager churns out a few bland rocker stereotypes from grunge to bluesy characters with varying personality quirks: some nasty, some nice, some clueless. (And I spent a lot of time mixing them.) This can also be applied to the characters found in the game. Rock Manager provides a bunch of limp tunes that, even when mixed, are utterly lifeless and boring. You'd think a game titled "Rock Manager" would want to imbue itself with rocking tunes. Rock Manager allows you to mix some pre-fab tunes and actually save that work to your hard drive to listen to later - although why you'd want to is beyond me. If there's a rhyme or reason to the music, I'm obviously missing it. I produced two drastically different recordings on one mission, and the music producer loved both.Īttempting the same style using two different songs resulted in a split - he loved one, and not the other. (The same can be said of all the other in-game menus.)Īn essential part of Rock Manager is the recording studio - which is much hyped but as far as I can tell has no bearing on the progression of the game. This is all straightforward and no one should have problems grasping what's available. It's a cartoony landscape with a few animated touches here and there and it's how you travel to the music studio, your concert venues, etc. The game takes place in Rock City, which is apparently the nexus for everything music and acts as the main interface. (This knocks a few points right off the top.) With a game like Rock Manager you'd expect to have a sandbox mode at the outset to allow you to start from the bottom and work your way to the top. ![]() The first direct kick to the crotch is the lack of menu options. So why is Rock Manager thin on fun and short on entertainment? Given the circus that music production is - remember Milli Vanilli? - the possibilities are wide-open. Rock Manager is an interesting concept, it gives you the chance to take a bunch of no-talent, tone-deaf "musicians" and make them rockstars, dealing with all the headaches that come along with the job. Additionally, players will hire (and fire) musicians, shoot music videos, design record covers, buy gifts to keep the bandmembers happy, and eventually, embark on a world tour. Between all that, they'll need to name their band and record a song demo, which can be mixed in real-time by adding echo effects, adjusting volume, and selecting variations of the standard guitar, bass, and drum sections. ![]() Spanning eight original scenarios, players will need to do whatever it takes, from bribing the media to buying their own records, in order to make it to the top. Each of the scenarios presented task the player with completing specific objectives, such as making the daughter of the local mafia boss a star. Record executives must be pleased and relationships must be maintained between the various members of the band, among a host of other trials and tribulations. ![]() The various musicians encountered will be rated in categories such as Star Quality, and each will have a different cost associated with them based upon their abilities.Ī god-sim in the vein of Theme Hospital and Dungeon Keeper, Rock Manager requires players to balance various factors in order to create a successful band. The game takes place in the fictional world of Rock City, where players begin by assembling a motley collection of musicians needed to fill the necessary slots in their band. A tongue-in-cheek take on the music business, Rock Manager puts players in the role of a band manager and tasks them with creating the ultimate rock band. ![]()
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