Where to begin with Rock Band, a game which has so thoroughly consumed
my life at the time of writing this review? Let's get some obvious
bullet points out of the way: Rock Band is an extremely fun rhythm game
for up to four players. Rock Band expands upon Harmonix's ingenious
Guitar Hero formula with the addition of drums and vocals. Rock Band
retains a similar, diverse blend of relevant music that you've come to
expect. But you knew all that, didn't you?
Rock Band may require a bit more devotion, not to mention cash, than some gamers may be willing to give, in order to get the most out of it. As much as it may seem like an overblown marketing strategy; a technicality, a selling point, I truly believe in Harmonix's goal to make Rock Band less of a game, and more of an alternative way to experience the songs you love, while discovering new music in the process. Gone is a fair amount of the cartoonish, tongue-in-cheek referential vibe the Guitar Hero series had. It's still there, but you can tell that the emphasis here is placed on sleekness and functionality. The venues planted firmly in modest realism, the likes of Axel Steel and Johnny Napalm replaced by significantly less threatening customizable characters, and a feeling of non-linearity. It's a clean slate, risk-free presentation of a very risky move for Harmonix -- abandonment of what got them where they are in the name of further innovation.
Unfortunately, a willingness to take risks is what made Guitar Hero II so highly-regarded in one pivotal area -- the song list. Whereas Guitar Hero II employed a lot of obscure bands and oddball track choices to build a setlist in which nearly every song provided a different experience gameplay-wise, and adequate difficulty, Rock Band's main setlist tends to play it safe, reading like a greatest hits compilation for the most part, and remaining laughably easy until the final tier to the veteran plastic guitar player (although Green Grass & High Tides might still kick your ass.) The problem is simply that the "note charts" themselves, on guitar, tend to be extremely bland, utilizing the same old chord changes you've had mastered since Guitar Hero 1 Hard mode, and way too many songs with no real guitar solos to speak of.
If drums are what's on your mind, you have it better -- Rock Band's setlist provides a great difficulty curve in that respect, providing easy yet rewarding-to-play drum tracks like Say It Ain't So by Weezer, all the way to relentless tests of endurance such as Blue Öyster Cult's (Don't Fear) The Reaper, and Iron Maiden's Run to the Hills. If bass is your instrument of choice, you might be out of luck, as there is no single player campaign for bass (you can play them in Quickplay, but the on-disc songs tend to be quite boring with only a handful of stand-outs, again.) And if you're simply looking for a fun-filled party game for four players, well, you might actually find every song to feel right at home -- it's a shining example of Harmonix's new philosophy with Rock Band. Emphasis fully on accessibility and band dynamics.
Fortunately, no matter what you value in a fun Rock Band song, you should be able to whet your whistle with the perfectly-implemented DLC system, with a track library that's growing at a seemingly-exponential rate these days. These songs tend to be more interesting on the whole, from the excruciating full-band workouts like Blackened by Metallica, and Thrasher by Evile, to the mellow intricacies of the Grateful Dead pack. The week in which Jimmy Buffett tracks were released alongside Disturbed tracks really showcases the direction Harmonix enjoys taking with this DLC -- it's an exciting, totally-unpredictable grab bag, and likely only a matter of time before your favorite band makes it in.
But the songs are only as fun as the game they're played on, so let's talk about the engine. Visually, Rock Band's crisp, rectangular notes get the job done, and although it took some getting used to, I now greatly prefer this look to Guitar Hero's circular gems. A big gameplay difference between Rock Band and Guitar Hero is that Rock Band lets you continue to receive additional overdrive (read: star power) from designated sections, even while you have it activated to save yourself or boost your score. This makes plotting out the perfect paths for the highest score possible a lot more fun and interesting. Also of note, when in overdrive mode, gone is the "feature" from Guitar Hero that turns every on-screen note an electric blue. Instead, the bottom of the fretboard simply turns a stylistic, transparent yellow. It's a great touch, but admittedly, between that and the occasional stage lighting effects the game can get very taxing on the eyes.
If you've been playing a lot of Guitar Hero III or Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, you may be shocked at how many notes you're missing in Rock Band at first; the game's window of opportunity for hitting each note is much smaller, requiring you to be about as precise as in Guitar Hero II. A surprising omission in Rock Band is any sort of optional speed modification (hyper speed) in single player mode, a feature most rhythm game players find helpful, as it spaces the notes out further, making them easier to interpret once you've honed your reflexes enough.
The vocals portion of the game takes the biggest hit from game engine flaws, as it's plagued by what are now known as "broken talkies." Talkies are the words with no distinctive pitch; you're not required sing them so much as say them. The problem is, the game's logic for scoring you on these talkies is seemingly random; you'll be getting "awesome"s on certain words just by mumbling into the mic, but for others, such as a notorious "Ow!" in Next to You, any method you use will be an exercise in futility. Beastie Boys' "Sabotage" becomes extremely cumbersome under this system, as it's made up of talkies exclusively, many semi-broken.
As a casual drummer, I see no problem with the drumming portion of the software itself, but the drummer's frustration will be due to the existing peripherals. They're not unusable by any means, and it should be noted that EA/Harmonix has a very lenient and stress-free return system in place, but if you're one of those players that has to hit every note on a drums song, you may have a long road ahead. Many versions of the drum pads tend to "drop" notes, especially during fast drum rolls (simply placing socks on the pads and holding them in place with rubber bands may fix this problem), and the stock drum pedals will break unless reinforced.
Once you learn the ins and out, however, Rock Band runs proficiently, making for an enjoyable experience no matter what instrument you're playing on.
Not directly pertinent to the gameplay, Rock Band is bothered by some miscellaneous inconveniences. The cooperative "Band World Tour" mode is rather stale, as it mostly involves you playing the same songs ad infinitum, albeit in slightly different groupings. Every time I've played with friends or family, Band World Tour quickly gets the boot in favor of standard Quickplay. Why not just pick the songs you want to play each time?
Online play with random opponents is quite flimsy, with no option to play with others who may have the same DLC as you, and no penalty for quitting during a score duel if it's not going in your favor. Thankfully it plays mostly lag and glitch free though, which is crucial.
Relatively slow scrolling speed in menus can make finding your song a hassle, no system in place to keep track of which songs you've 100%ed, the gold star rating cannot be attained on certain songs, no "more stats" screen showing you exactly where you missed, long load times with no "restart" option after you've finished a song (you have to go through the menu again)... it's minor annoyances like these which add up after a while.
Everything aside, Rock Band still may be the best time you ever have with a video game if you love music. It's greatly rewarding and inspirational to play, and the ability to experience a song from multiple interactive perspectives is worth the price of admission alone. Whether you enjoy cooperative, directly competitive, or solo games, Rock Band has the potential to provide seemingly unlimited, rewarding enjoyment. Harmonix's philosophy is to "innovate, then perfect." Even if, at times, Rock Band seems like one large step forward but a small step back, Rock Band 2 is looking to iron out all the kinks.
Rock Band may require a bit more devotion, not to mention cash, than some gamers may be willing to give, in order to get the most out of it. As much as it may seem like an overblown marketing strategy; a technicality, a selling point, I truly believe in Harmonix's goal to make Rock Band less of a game, and more of an alternative way to experience the songs you love, while discovering new music in the process. Gone is a fair amount of the cartoonish, tongue-in-cheek referential vibe the Guitar Hero series had. It's still there, but you can tell that the emphasis here is placed on sleekness and functionality. The venues planted firmly in modest realism, the likes of Axel Steel and Johnny Napalm replaced by significantly less threatening customizable characters, and a feeling of non-linearity. It's a clean slate, risk-free presentation of a very risky move for Harmonix -- abandonment of what got them where they are in the name of further innovation.
Unfortunately, a willingness to take risks is what made Guitar Hero II so highly-regarded in one pivotal area -- the song list. Whereas Guitar Hero II employed a lot of obscure bands and oddball track choices to build a setlist in which nearly every song provided a different experience gameplay-wise, and adequate difficulty, Rock Band's main setlist tends to play it safe, reading like a greatest hits compilation for the most part, and remaining laughably easy until the final tier to the veteran plastic guitar player (although Green Grass & High Tides might still kick your ass.) The problem is simply that the "note charts" themselves, on guitar, tend to be extremely bland, utilizing the same old chord changes you've had mastered since Guitar Hero 1 Hard mode, and way too many songs with no real guitar solos to speak of.
If drums are what's on your mind, you have it better -- Rock Band's setlist provides a great difficulty curve in that respect, providing easy yet rewarding-to-play drum tracks like Say It Ain't So by Weezer, all the way to relentless tests of endurance such as Blue Öyster Cult's (Don't Fear) The Reaper, and Iron Maiden's Run to the Hills. If bass is your instrument of choice, you might be out of luck, as there is no single player campaign for bass (you can play them in Quickplay, but the on-disc songs tend to be quite boring with only a handful of stand-outs, again.) And if you're simply looking for a fun-filled party game for four players, well, you might actually find every song to feel right at home -- it's a shining example of Harmonix's new philosophy with Rock Band. Emphasis fully on accessibility and band dynamics.
Fortunately, no matter what you value in a fun Rock Band song, you should be able to whet your whistle with the perfectly-implemented DLC system, with a track library that's growing at a seemingly-exponential rate these days. These songs tend to be more interesting on the whole, from the excruciating full-band workouts like Blackened by Metallica, and Thrasher by Evile, to the mellow intricacies of the Grateful Dead pack. The week in which Jimmy Buffett tracks were released alongside Disturbed tracks really showcases the direction Harmonix enjoys taking with this DLC -- it's an exciting, totally-unpredictable grab bag, and likely only a matter of time before your favorite band makes it in.
But the songs are only as fun as the game they're played on, so let's talk about the engine. Visually, Rock Band's crisp, rectangular notes get the job done, and although it took some getting used to, I now greatly prefer this look to Guitar Hero's circular gems. A big gameplay difference between Rock Band and Guitar Hero is that Rock Band lets you continue to receive additional overdrive (read: star power) from designated sections, even while you have it activated to save yourself or boost your score. This makes plotting out the perfect paths for the highest score possible a lot more fun and interesting. Also of note, when in overdrive mode, gone is the "feature" from Guitar Hero that turns every on-screen note an electric blue. Instead, the bottom of the fretboard simply turns a stylistic, transparent yellow. It's a great touch, but admittedly, between that and the occasional stage lighting effects the game can get very taxing on the eyes.
If you've been playing a lot of Guitar Hero III or Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, you may be shocked at how many notes you're missing in Rock Band at first; the game's window of opportunity for hitting each note is much smaller, requiring you to be about as precise as in Guitar Hero II. A surprising omission in Rock Band is any sort of optional speed modification (hyper speed) in single player mode, a feature most rhythm game players find helpful, as it spaces the notes out further, making them easier to interpret once you've honed your reflexes enough.
The vocals portion of the game takes the biggest hit from game engine flaws, as it's plagued by what are now known as "broken talkies." Talkies are the words with no distinctive pitch; you're not required sing them so much as say them. The problem is, the game's logic for scoring you on these talkies is seemingly random; you'll be getting "awesome"s on certain words just by mumbling into the mic, but for others, such as a notorious "Ow!" in Next to You, any method you use will be an exercise in futility. Beastie Boys' "Sabotage" becomes extremely cumbersome under this system, as it's made up of talkies exclusively, many semi-broken.
As a casual drummer, I see no problem with the drumming portion of the software itself, but the drummer's frustration will be due to the existing peripherals. They're not unusable by any means, and it should be noted that EA/Harmonix has a very lenient and stress-free return system in place, but if you're one of those players that has to hit every note on a drums song, you may have a long road ahead. Many versions of the drum pads tend to "drop" notes, especially during fast drum rolls (simply placing socks on the pads and holding them in place with rubber bands may fix this problem), and the stock drum pedals will break unless reinforced.
Once you learn the ins and out, however, Rock Band runs proficiently, making for an enjoyable experience no matter what instrument you're playing on.
Not directly pertinent to the gameplay, Rock Band is bothered by some miscellaneous inconveniences. The cooperative "Band World Tour" mode is rather stale, as it mostly involves you playing the same songs ad infinitum, albeit in slightly different groupings. Every time I've played with friends or family, Band World Tour quickly gets the boot in favor of standard Quickplay. Why not just pick the songs you want to play each time?
Online play with random opponents is quite flimsy, with no option to play with others who may have the same DLC as you, and no penalty for quitting during a score duel if it's not going in your favor. Thankfully it plays mostly lag and glitch free though, which is crucial.
Relatively slow scrolling speed in menus can make finding your song a hassle, no system in place to keep track of which songs you've 100%ed, the gold star rating cannot be attained on certain songs, no "more stats" screen showing you exactly where you missed, long load times with no "restart" option after you've finished a song (you have to go through the menu again)... it's minor annoyances like these which add up after a while.
Everything aside, Rock Band still may be the best time you ever have with a video game if you love music. It's greatly rewarding and inspirational to play, and the ability to experience a song from multiple interactive perspectives is worth the price of admission alone. Whether you enjoy cooperative, directly competitive, or solo games, Rock Band has the potential to provide seemingly unlimited, rewarding enjoyment. Harmonix's philosophy is to "innovate, then perfect." Even if, at times, Rock Band seems like one large step forward but a small step back, Rock Band 2 is looking to iron out all the kinks.