A review for Shady O’Grady’s Rising Star could be introduced much like an episode VH1’s Behind the Music: “Rising Star started out with a great and innovative concept, allowing players to take on the role of a rock star starting out modestly and working their way up to fame and excess. However, things would take a tragic turn of frustrating and repetitive gameplay elements, when VH1’s Behind the Music continues…” Ok, that sounded a little drastic, but stays true for the game.

Rising Star is a fun concept for a hybrid RPG-simulation game; who wouldn’t want to start up their own band, getting started writing songs, recruiting bandmates, writing songs, playing gigs and eventually getting signed and becoming famous? Sadly, while it looks good on paper, it loses quite a bit in execution. A lot of the elements in the game feel very repetitious and frustrating, and it might be tough for players who fell in love with the original concept might not stick with the game for very long.

You begin by creating your character’s avatar. You can edit your character’s initial appearance (you’re able to change your image as you play the game), choosing through some truly fugly outfits (bright red T-Shirts and boots being among the worst offenders). You also choose your character’s instrument and dole out ten starting skill points. Like in a typical RPG, you can upgrade your character in certain aspects, like songwriting ability, stage presence, and playing ability.

The next step is to pick up some bandmates and some instruments. By going to the nearby music store, you can recruit people to be in your band depending on how well they get along with you as well as instruments and extras like amps, guitar strings and drumsticks that could even give you an added boost in some of your stats.

Songwriting involves a game of Concentration (where you have to flip over cards and match the musical instruments on them), Depending on your current inspiration level (which will wax and wane as you practice, work, watch other bands play, etc.), you’ll be able to play the mini-game longer. Also the grid will change depending on the number of bandmates that you have writing a song together, as well as their relationship and how well they get along. Songwriting is an interesting idea, but the structure can be a royal pain. Even if you max out your inspiration (which works as a time gauge for how long you play the game), it’s still easy to come up short in quality when making a song, meaning that you’ll then have to rebuild your inspiration to get another crack at it.

Songwriting is one, but not the only, repetitive endeavor in the game. You’ll also have to perform odd jobs in order to keep the cash flow coming (until you become a star, that is) and the mission design is pretty poor and mundane. Even when you become a touring musician the game feels a little too redundant. Plus you know there’s a problem when trashing a hotel room isn’t really that fun.

The game offers a pretty barebones presentation. The low-poly graphics look like they could’ve been done a decade ago, and the character models are pretty ugly compared to most modern games. The cities all look pretty similar as well, so this won’t be a game that flexes your PC’s graphical muscle by any means.

The music is pretty interesting. The soundtrack is composed of dozens of unsigned artists spanning several different genres. Some of the songs feel right in place with the game, and could lead to gamers offering their support to these bands. However, the soundtrack does spread itself too thin, and some of the tracks feel juxtaposed and out of place, leading the good ones to get lost in the shuffle.

Shady O’Grady’s Rising Star is a bit of a missed opportunity. The game’s idea is gold, but the gameplay gets stale very quickly. Hopefully the next title in the RPG cum Rock Simulation genre will deliver the goods.

Gameplay: 6.0
The idea of a rock-simulation is an awesome one and Shady O’Grady’s RPG elements are pretty sound, but the game’s execution loses a lot, due to frustrating mini-games and overall repetitive gameplay.

Graphics: 4.0
Not much to see here. Weak character models and low poly-counts make this a game that could’ve easily been done 10 years ago.

Sound: 7.0
The game offers a diverse blend of unsigned artists, but the soundtrack spreads itself a little too thin by trying to encompass too many genres.

Difficulty: Medium

Concept: 7.5
A good idea for a game, but the execution suffers.

Overall: 6.0
An interesting debut, but one that falls prey to weak production and more repetition than a Ramones album.