Video: microphone jamming highlights in Rock Band

If jamming on a virtual guitar isn’t your thing nor is beating a tune on the drums, don’t despair because there still might be hope for you. In a video from IGN, we give musically inclined gamers an insider look at the mechanics of how you can properly belt out a tune on that microphone peripheral in Harmonix Music Systems’ Rock Band.

While other games that rely on singing out lyrics in time with the music aren’t always all that accurate in terms of the actual words, the same holds true for Rock Band. However, some approximation is still required in terms of pitch and catching up to the words while they flash across the screen.

This can especially become a challenge when you have to follow the lyrics to fast-paced songs from bands like OK Go or from the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The game however gives you the option to choose other slower, yet more technical, songs like Bon Jovi‘s “Wanted Dead or Alive” and Sound Garden’s “Black Hole Sun.”

One of the biggest perks when taking the role of the singer, though, is playing to the crowd. You can actually motivate the audience during the lyrical breaks in the song to raise your Overdrive meter. Once you gain the audience’s support, there’s a chance you’ll even get to hear them sing along with you. It’s times like these that makes you feel like you’re a (virtual) rock star.

Rock Band is set to be released this November 23 by MTV Games on the Xbox 360, PS2, and PS3. In the meantime, check out this video of what it’s like to jam on a mike and sing your heart out.

If jamming on a virtual guitar isn’t your thing nor is beating a tune on the drums, don’t despair because there still might be hope for you. In a video from IGN, we give musically inclined gamers an insider look at the mechanics of how you can properly belt out a tune on that microphone peripheral in Harmonix Music Systems’ Rock Band.

While other games that rely on singing out lyrics in time with the music aren’t always all that accurate in terms of the actual words, the same holds true for Rock Band. However, some approximation is still required in terms of pitch and catching up to the words while they flash across the screen.

This can especially become a challenge when you have to follow the lyrics to fast-paced songs from bands like OK Go or from the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The game however gives you the option to choose other slower, yet more technical, songs like Bon Jovi‘s “Wanted Dead or Alive” and Sound Garden’s “Black Hole Sun.”

One of the biggest perks when taking the role of the singer, though, is playing to the crowd. You can actually motivate the audience during the lyrical breaks in the song to raise your Overdrive meter. Once you gain the audience’s support, there’s a chance you’ll even get to hear them sing along with you. It’s times like these that makes you feel like you’re a (virtual) rock star.

Rock Band is set to be released this November 23 by MTV Games on the Xbox 360, PS2, and PS3. In the meantime, check out this video of what it’s like to jam on a mike and sing your heart out.