Rock Band 2

Are you ready to rock, again?

Posted 4 years ago By - Jay Acevedo

Released back in November 2007, Rock Band took the gaming world by storm and redefined the music/rhythm genre by presenting an audacious product that everyone dreamt about but no one actually had the balls to do it. Almost a year after the phenomenal success that was the first game, Harmonix has just released Rock Band 2 and even if it doesn’t re-invent the core gameplay, this sequel presents an interesting line-up of changes and additions that makes it even better than the first.


Gameplay

When you think Rock Band, the first thing that comes to mind is the humongous track list available in-game and through downloadable content. Rock Band 2 features 84 songs, 30 more than the original game, the possibility to download a 20 song track pack later this Fall for free (see back of the manual for our unique code) and the ability to rip 55 of your 58 Rock Band 1 tracks to your hard drive for a mere 5$ fee. 130+ songs… that’s a long list of songs. Would it be difficult to find what you want? Fear not, with a simple button push, you can now sort your songs by genre, year, group, difficulty and even create three simple lists: DLC, Rock Band 1 and Rock Band 2. And since they have promised a grand total of 500 downloadable songs by the end of the year… the sorting option will become very useful if you download songs a lot.

The sad part is that you don’t have all the 84 Rock Band 2 songs unlocked when you just want to play for the fun of it…there’s a cheat code to unlocks them all for your party purposes but you will have to unlock them all by playing World Tour. Personally, I don’t really see any problems but I would’ve loved to see them at least available in Quickplay. But I guess the developers want to challenge you, and that’s a good thing. And yes, not only all the downloadable tracks that you downloaded for the first Rock Band will be compatible with Rock Band 2 but they will also be available during your World Tour mode, which has received a make-over.

If you played the first Rock Band, you surely noticed that once you started a band with a friend, you couldn’t play unless your friend was around and that your character was tied to the specific instrument without having the chance to switch instruments. Luckily in Rock Band 2, everything has been changed. Band characters are no longer tied to one instrument so players can switch instruments whenever they feel like it. Not only that, bands (in my case The No-Homers) are now free standing entities, which means that you can play solo and if your friends want rock with you later on, they can join your band! Also, your same offline band can be taken online through Xbox Live. Either your friends or perfect strangers through the matchmaking system can join your band. Speaking of online functionalities, during your offline sessions you can now find people to play with for the online part of the game (World Tour, Quickplay, Tug of War and Score Battle) by pressing one single button. New venues have also been added, and as I proud Canadian and Quebecer, it was cool to see Montréal in there! Finally a game other than hockey features Montréal. But in general, World Tour hasn’t changed that much. You will be rocking from city to city, earning upgrades like a bus or a plane, playing mystery setlists, and increasing the popularity of your band up by earning fans, money, and stars for performing. Also, you’ll have the ability to hire staff members, which can give you different bonus like the number of fans you get, or give you more special opportunities, like charity shows or music video shoots.


Rock Band 2 features three new modes. The first is called Battle of the Bands, where your band will be asked to compete in daily and weekly challenges, each one having their own unique theme that can range from competing against a team of Harmonix developers or racking the most points by playing pre-chosen playlist. This mode is only for bragging rights but sure gives more depth to the game experience. The second mode called No Fail will let you rock with your friends without worrying about the song stopping. How many times you have played with your non-gamer friends and had to restart because the song stopped? The option is of course only available during local sessions but it’s definitely nice to see the developers caring more this time around about the casual gamer who just want to have fun without worrying about their scores and stars. The third mode added is a Drum Trainer, who will teach you how to play drums correctly not only in the game but also in real life. From drum beats to fillers, the trainer is not part of the game at all; it’s just an extension to your drumming experience.

Rock Band is and will always be about bands so the developers have added some customization features like creating your band logo, band quote and you can even choose your own stand-ins when your friends aren’t playing with you. For the most part, character creation has the same features but has been expanded a bit with new clothing, make-ups, accessories and everything else your rocker will need to look cool.

And of course, Rock Band 2 features the use of guitars, drums and the microphone so you will be rocking with your buddies just like in the previous game. Even if Harmonix has released new wireless and updated instruments (all worth picking up by the way), you’ll still be able to use your old instruments without any problems. As of today, the new instruments are sold separately (around 90$ for the drums and 70$ for the guitar) and a bundle, just like last year, will be hitting stores sometime in October for around 190$. If you’re looking to upgrade one of the instruments, I would suggest upgrading the drums for three reasons. First, its wireless! Second, the drum has velocity-sensitive less-noisy and rebound pads and a metal-reinforced kick pedal. Lastly, the new drums include two additional jacks, one that will be used for a cymbal expansion while the usage of the second one is still unannounced. While people are talking about a second kick pedal, Harmonix hasn’t spoken yet so it will remain to be seen. As for the guitar, it does feature a sturdier strum bar, some built-in tools for auto-calibration and nicer wooden-like finish but if you had to choose, I would go with the drums.

Technically speaking, we could label Rock Band 2 as an update more than a true sequel and frankly it’s not a bad thing. Definitely, the development team has listened to what the community had to say weeks after the first game got released and we can definitely thank them for all that listening.

Graphics & Sounds

In this department, the game doesn’t feature any huge advancement. Visually, Rock Band 2 does have some new slick character animations, a revamped menu and new band member introductions just before you start rocking. But for the most part, you’ll be treated with the same visual experience. As for sounds, once again, it’s the same. Except the game tracklist of course, which is much better and more interesting to play to. Beyond that, no notable changes.


Value

To experience Rock Band 2 to the max, a minimum of 200$ will be required if you haven’t bought the instruments last year. But no one can question the value of the game. If Monopoly, karaoke and card games were your family and/or party activity up until now, I can guarantee that Rock Band 2 will give you as much fun as they do and even more. The game’s fun level and replay value are very high even if it’s expensive, but it’s worth every dollar! If you bought the whole thing last year, you won’t need to buy another bundle, unless you really want to upgrade to wireless. And if you’re still asking yourself if buying the software only is worth it, I hope that if you made it this far into the review, you won’t hesitate anymore.

Conclusion

Even if I wanted to, I can’t find anything negative to say about Rock Band 2…well maybe the fact that there’s some tracks and bands I would love to see in the game and that some things have been promised (Metallica, Nirvana albums…) but when you’re dealing with licensing, things like that are expected and understandable. To experience Rock Band 2 sure means for you to invest some precious dollars but when you see the whole picture, you can’t go wrong. I can’t finish my review without saying that if you never experienced Rock Band, you’re definitely missing something really special. If the first game was a success on so many levels, the sequel brings the same success back but pushes it so high that at this point it will be hard for anyone to catch it up. Rock Band 2 is a must own for everyone who hasn’t got the Rock Band Fever yet or a must upgrade for people, like me, who enjoyed the first game and wants more!


Verdict: A must buy for every fan of the music/rhythm genre. If you don’t want to buy the new instruments, you should strongly consider buying the software and pay the extra 5$ to rip your whole Rock Band 1 disc to your hard drive.

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