There is a small print notice on the bottom of the package box and on the DVD case, but it might have been helpful to include the need to go online and the Steamworks info in the system requirements section.

Before the installation proper began, the Steam platform needed to be installed and updated, and then a user account created. For instance, though the Rocksmith package I was sent included a setup DVD, I found myself unable to load up the game unless I had an active internet connection. I actually found much of the install process somewhat cumbersome and drawn out. Though I had been sent the French PC/Mac version of the game for review, I was offered the option to choose English as the default language during install, which I did. The package includes stickers to mark fret positions on the top of a guitar neck As an aide mémoire these are great, but the pointy edges do have a tendency to come away and stick to palms as you slide up the neck. The package also includes two sets of stickers marked 1 - 15 that can be placed at the appropriate fret along the top of the neck. Ubisoft says that only the proprietary cable works with the software, so even if you have a guitar interface kicking around, you'll need the proprietary cable to rock this game. Rocksmith 2014 is available for PC, Mac, Xbox 360, or PlayStation 3, and comes with or without an instrument interface called the Real Tone cable, which has a USB 2.0 connector at one end and a 0.25-in instrument jack at the other. The platform has now been refreshed for 2014, and Gizmag has spent some considerable time in the company of Rocksmtih's infinitely patient, always available virtual guitar teacher on Ubisoft's note highway to callus hell.

When Rocksmith was released in 2011, it had all the ingredients of a gaming pie capable of satisfying kings of Guitar Hero and Rock Band controllers wanting to learn how to play a real instrument in a familiar digital environment and new six-string slingers looking for an entertaining, full-featured learning package.

Rocksmith audio engine settings