Cheap Rock Manager (Software) (Windows Me, Windows 98, Windows 95) Price

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Customer Reviews of Rock Manager

Fun, easy to learn and reasonably priced
This game was fun and as the other gamer said, its easy to learn. The concept is great and dreamcatcher did a good job setting it up so the concept and the actual game would both be good. the different missions are fun, some hard some easy, but i like mixing the songs the most. so heres the overview of the game- hire band members, buy a licsense to a song, record it any of 4 recording studios (of course you have to make your way up in order to record in the best studio) make an album cover, you may make a video as you go through the missions, and you advertise. you eventually play to the grand capitol, new york by going on a tour. a tour is fun because theres all kinds of different equipment you can use...example-small medium or big lights. small medium or large speakers. tv screens behind the stage. smoke makers, laser designs, or even fire! its really a good game until you beat it, then you just go back to your favorite level and do it all over again! i suggest this item for ages 14/15-any age!

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Very fun game!!
The most fun PC game I have played in a long time! The characters are very humorous (some cuss a lot, this is not for kids) and being able to mix songs in the studio is a definite plus. It has every aspect of the rock music business, from choosing band members, recording and mixing songs, album cover design, public relations, marketing, booking concerts, band interaction, touring, scandals and rehab. My only complaint with this game is that the eight different scenarios are a little too easy. I really hope someone creates another game like this involving the rap or country music business. I highly recommend this!

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Great while it lasts, but it doesn't last.
I finished this game the same day that I started it. This was not a day of dedicated gameplay either, although it was a day that involved too much goofing off. This is a short, short game, based around a few simple missions. The missions are a load of fun while they last - I was left wanting more rather than feeling that I had wasted my time. However, once they are done, there is not much point in replaying them. In a way, I was looking forward to finishing the missions so that I could go on to what I thought of as the "real game" - building up a band from rags to riches. However, it quickly became clear that this was a pretty mechanical process requiring few real choices on my part, so that quickly grew dull.

What is good about the game:

The missions are a load of fun. There was as many twists on the basic "build up a band" plot as I could think of.
The various characters have loads of personality and are very funny. The satire is cuts right to the bone.
You get to play around in a virtual recording studio. There isn't much game effect that I could see (apart from whether you decide to use session musicians or not), but its a toy.

What is not good about the game:

Put simply, there are too few choices, which leaves the game somewhat mechanical. For instance, there are only 25 musicians to choose from (fewer the scenarios). The game would easily be much better if the player could make up new ones or audition randomly generated ones. Obviously, such new characters would not the voiceclips and background information that are provided for the characers that come with the game, but replayability counts more than style. Similarly, there is only a limited selection of songs to choose from. Your band can't write their own and if they manage to record all of the genre-appropriate songs on the market, they can never get new ones. Of course, an invented song could not be toyed with in the studio in the same way that the preset songs can, but again, replayability counts more than style. You can design your own album covers, which is fun. I don't like the fact that the game rewards flashier designs over simpler ones because it discourages variety in album covers, but that may be a fair representation of the way conformity trumps innovation in the music business. Apart from choosing the songs and album covered, you can't set an image for the band - it would be nice to have the option of dressing them up like Kiss or down like The Clash and seeing what effect it had on sales.
Once you have your band and your record, there is a mechanical process of playing gigs and paying for advertising. There are very few random events to break up this process, and the way the player should respond to them tends to be very simple. A band member gets bored? But them a present. A media type asks for an interview? Click "Yes". It doesn't require deep thought.

In short, the game would benefit a lot from less flash and more substance. How about random shifting musical trends to chase, at the risk of losing your loyal fanbase? How about competing bands and managers to war with? Even some very simple routines along these lines could make the game so much more interesting.

If Rock Manager 2 ever comes out, then I will want to play it, although I might be wary of paying full price for it. After all, Rock manager *was* a lot of fun while it lasted. The premise is a great one and one that a number of shareware games have worked with with varying degrees of success. One day, there will be a great rock n' roll sim. I have been waiting for it for a long time. I'm still waiting.