Rock Band is developed by Harmonix the guys behind Guitar Hero. This
year the guys took it one step forward and introduced not only the
guitar, but also drums and singing into the mix. This leads to one of
the best family and friends experiences I have ever had playing a video
game.
Rock Band's set up is very nice. It is set-up well and plays out well.
First lets talk about the instruments themselves. The guitar control,
which can also be a bass, is very much the same as the Guitar Hero
controller. It has five buttons that are all color coordinated with the
button you are supposed to press. The drums work the very much the same
way, but you have to hit the drum set according to color as well, and
use the foot-petal too. Singing is very much like a karaoke game. The
words scroll across and you have to match the pitch. Playing all these
together you can become a great band.
Rock Band features two playing modes: a solo tour and Band World Tour.
Solo tour is essentially Guitar Hero. You can play this mode with any
of the instruments. Solo tour is nice, but you really want to play Rock
Band with someone else. Band World Tour is what Rock Band is all about.
You and up three other friends can create a band and start touring the
world. You each can create a custom character and even name your band.
You start out as a little band playing in your home city, which you
select. As you play more and more you unlock new cities. Eventually you
will be prompted to play in a concert to unlock new traveling means
such as a van or bus. This allows to play in even more cities and more
places. World Tour does have it's problems. You can not play World Tour
online with anyone. A major setback. You also have to move up in
difficulty as you progress through World Tour. (Note: As I went through
Band World Tour this was still a problem, but I believe a new patch
fixed this.)
Rock Band does feature a "battle mode" called Tug-of-War, where you can
face off against someone playing the same instrument. When doing this
you each play a part of song and push each meter down. Once the song is
over and the person who has the other person pushed all the way down is
the winner. It is an interesting battle thing, but more would be nice.
You can't help but to talk about the track list in Rock Band. Rock Band
features a lot of great songs already included with the game. The does
feature a in game music store that allows you to buy more songs to play
in Rock Band. Many great songs are available for download at reasonable
prices.
Fans of Guitar Hero will find themselves at home with this one. But
Rock Band does have limitations. As I mentioned no online World Tour is
possible at the moment of this review. Rock Band's imitation
instruments do have their limitations. The drums do not always respond
and the foot petal is frail, so people with lead feet be warned.
These are only minor problems, all of which can be fixed. I recommend this to all.
