Recently, I had the chance to attend a night of game previews from MTV Games in NYC, where I saw two highly anticipated games: Rock Band 3 and Dance Central.

We’ve talked about Rock Band 3 a lot lately, especially with the news of all the music the game is going to feature, so let me tell you more about my thoughts on the game. Admittedly I was a bit apprehensive regarding the idea of a more realistic guitar in Rock Band 3. However, after watching it in action at the event, I do have to say that I’m much less skeptical and I think it’s a bold move for the controllers to go in that direction. I was very glad to hear that some comprehensive tutorials will be in the game to help players get the hang of the new and fancy guitar.

I did have a chance to get my hands on with the keyboard (channeling my inner Fleck to play some “Du Hast”) and had a lot of fun, even though I almost failed out several times. I think the keyboard is going to be my new personal favorite and I’m going to try to really hone my skills on it once the game comes out. As an added bonus, there are guitar strap loops on the back so you CAN turn it into a keytar to rock out in extra awesome style. I was also happy to hear that all previous Rock Band DLC will be transferable to Rock Band 3. Now, my remaining hope is that they can make Rush’s Moving Pictures also compatible with the keyboard.

As for Dance Central, I definitely thought looked cool when I saw it demoed during E3. But again had concerns on how the game might play. And again, actually seeing how it works in person, not to mention getting a chance to play it, eased my concerns. I was also able to see why so many people (like our very own Trina) could get addicted to such a game!

Kinect for the Xbox 360 is pretty responsive and is able to keep track of your full body movements easily. The game also really does make you get up, move around and learn some dance moves. The music library for the game is going to be good and I’m sure will be expanded upon accordingly. Of what I got to try out, my favorite feature is the ‘Dance Battle’ to be played with another person.

Dance Central is definitely going to make a great party game as well as good game that families can spend time at home playing together!

Thanks so much to MTV Games for having us out to their great event!