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Rock BandReviewed by
Chris Hori
At the end of 2005, Harmonix Music Systems finished work and launched the Guitar Hero series, with Red Octane owning the rights to the series. Sadly after the second version of the game, Red Octane went to Activision and Harmonix went to MTV and as a result, the Guitar Hero license went to a new development team. Luckily for us, Harmonix was ok as it had something bigger and better in store. Harmoinx losing the Guitar Hero license was the best thing to happen to music gaming, as it opened the way for the development of Rock Band. To give you an idea, take all that is great about Guitar Hero.... plus Drum Mania... and throw in Karaoke Revolution... and then give the game the music licensing power of MTV Games. Rock Band has both single player and multiplayer elements to it so no matter what style you feel like playing, you don't actually need to drag 3 of your friends over to have a wonderful experience on this game. The world tour can be played from the Guitar, Drums or Vocal parts. A wide variety of songs are available with the standard varying levels of difficulty. There are a few key differences however. First, Rock Band has a true “Create a Character”. This is important as if you create a drummer, then he won't be playing the guitar and you will have to create a separate character. Not a huge gripe, but there are times that I wish my awesome guitarist could pick up some sticks or the mic. Still this is a step up from Guitar Hero where you can't create a unique character and name them. From there, you get all the standard options you would want; guitars, drums, clothes, tattoo's, hair cuts and colors, and more accessories than you will know what to do with. The result is that you can create a totally unique character that fits your style. But the true glory of Rock Band isn't playing by yourself. It’s getting together with friends and having a group experience, and this is where the game truly shines. 4 players are definitely better than 2 and with multiple styles for people to play (guitar, bass, drums, and vocal) there is something for everyone. There are 2 ways to play with your friends. The first is the Band mode, where you get 3 friends and everyone plays a different instrument, then you all proceed to rock out as hard as you can to a video game. You can play in this mode offline on one console, or online by inviting friends to your party. In this mode, if all the band members are on the same console, then you can Create-a-Band. This gives you access to the Band Leader boards, as well as go on tour in the game as a band. While in this mode, you also gain money so your created character can buy more clothes and items, as well as gain fans. The second is the competitive mode, where you pick your instrument of choice and battle others online to see who is superior. However, I have one major complaint about the online function. In competitive mode, you can't hit "search for next match". Instead you are pushed back to the character select screen where you have to pick your character again. Normally, this extra step isn't enough for complaint; HOWEVER it leads to my second complaint. When in multiplayer online band mode, you CANNOT change your character without leaving the party! The alternative is that we can leave the online party and then rejoin, however the hassle is there and is annoying. Because of this I can't give this game a perfect score. Considering this is my only complaint however, I recommend that everyone I know (and don't know) go and get this game. I do realize that it comes with a hefty price tag (200$), but if you consider that you get 1 guitar (with 10 frets, 5 set high and 5 set low for two hand rocking out), 1 electric drum set (with drum sticks) and a mic (which has a nice weight and feel to it) its not really all that bad. The other thing to remember is the amount of Downloadable Content available for this game. The number of extra songs you can purchase is HUGE. Also the process is quick and easy (on the 360) with an online music store built into the game (via a patch that was released in March). Through this you can sample songs and then download them one at a time or in discounted packs if you happen to want them all.
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Overall, with one exception of the way selecting characters works online, this is a great game. I have heard stories of it being played at homes, office parties, anime conventions, and just about anywhere else that people might gather to have a good time. Instead of trying to bring a game that has a defined victory condition, what Harmonix has done is bring a musical experience that is accessible to people of all musical skill level. I have yet to see anyone disappointed after playing this game, with peoples biggest complaint is that it simply needs more songs. With Download Content being made available on a regular basis, it is only a matter of time before people are satisfied. Or perhaps not... there are a lot of songs out there that really should be on this game.
