My top 10 games of the last generation: 8. Rock Band

All over the world, thousands of plastic instruments lay in closets and living room corners collecting dust, but there was a time when that wasn't the case. 

I still remember the huge Guitar Hero craze, I was part of it. The great thing about Guitar Hero was that it really made you feel like you were a rock star. Then, I heard about a game called Rock Band. At first I thought it was just a Guitar Hero rip off, but then I heard about the concept. What if you weren't the only person in the band. What if you and your friends could play with you. One person plays guitar, one person sings, one person on drums. I thought that it was an insane idea and would never work, never mind the outrageous price tag of the full kit. 

Well Christmas rolls around for me that year and my parents generously bought my sister and I the full Rock Band set and apparently, so did everyone else. Within the next few years Rock Band became the biggest craze in videogames. No matter where you went, everyone was playing. I can't remember how many fun Rock Band parties I went to. Rocking out to your favorite songs with your friends was one of the most fun experiences I have ever had in my life. It didn't matter if you were a horrible singer, the fun experience of singing your favorite songs made up for it. It was like having Guitar Hero, a karaoke machine and a drum teaching tool all in one. 

While Guitar Hero made you feel like a star, Rock Band took it one step further by truly making you feel like a Rockstar. Guitar Hero simply had you playing songs in a playlist to unlock new ones. While Rock Band's first game did the same thing, they also added the ability to customize your entire band. You could customize each member of the band, the band name, a logo, and even customize set lists to play whenever you want. Rock Band's career style mode was also great for the way you advance through it. You start off in a garage with very little fans. Beating songs allowed your band to travel all over the country, gain thousands of fans, and eventually you are traveling the globe, performing in front of tens of thousands.

Did you get bored of the songs that was included with the game? No problem. For years you were able to add to your bands set let through an amazing selection of downloadable songs. I think after all three games and DLC, I have over 300 songs I can play in the game. 

Many years have passed and many of the those bands have since retired. I still hear the cheers to this day and every once and a while "Skull Crushing Finale" will come out of retirement for a reunion tour. Maybe a new generation of gamers can take to the stage and live their fantasies in this new generation of game consoles, but for a short period of time, we were all Rock Stars.