Want to see the whiniest place on the internet? Drop by the Rock Band forums this week to witness the shrill cry of outraged fans discovering their favorite game’s become an entirely new beast. Comfort zones have been shattered. The familiar’s been bulldozed. Cash no longer exists, everything’s restructured and (shock) playing a real keyboard is haaaaaarrrrrrrrrd.

I’m siding with the optimistic voters: Rock Band 3 is incredible. It’s as fun-and-breezy or as back-breakingly demanding as you want it to be. Want to keep it a pure video game and play in the original five-button style? Click here. Want to take some classes and learn to play “Roundabout” on keyboard for real? Head this way.

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After struggling through a period of shrinking audiences and product glut, the two major music game franchises have chosen very different roads.

2010 will be remembered as the year Rock Band got real and Guitar Hero went Looney Tunes. And that’s a good thing for both: They need to be as different from each another as possible for both to survive. (more…)