Rock Band

"A wonderful game, but not geared towards single players"

The Guitar Hero franchise got a ride awakening when this game was released. Rock Band delivers a massive upset in the genre, taking the metal-centric theme of its predecessor and throwing it to the wind. The game offers up what it promises: the ability to play in a band on rock songs, and boy does it do its job well.

Song Selection: 9/10

While Guitar Hero focused mainly on metal songs, Rock Band goes back to an earlier day where songs weren't just repetitive notes with a bunch of long-haired maniacs yelling into microphones. It actually has a stunning complement of rock songs from better musical days. You can play the Rolling Stones, you can play The Who, you can play some classic Weezer (still no Jethro Tull on the setlist.. darn). In short, Rock Band makes up for where I feel the Guitar Hero franchise fell short. There was never a setlist that I actually didn't want top play, unlike in Guitar Hero's installments. Even the metal songs were few, far-between, and genuinely good to listen to and play. It may be your parents' music, but Rock Band has something for everybody to enjoy.

Controls/Gameplay: 9/10

I am not reviewing the bundle version of the game; I just bought the disc and used my good old Guitar Hero II controller. However, I did try a demo in a store, and I definitely recommend the old guitar over the Fender Stratocaster that is provided. The old guitar helps you keep time on long stretches of fast notes, which is probably why every set will seem so easy if you play it with an old controller. The Strat was by no means bad, but I wouldn't call it good either.

Aside from the controller itself, RB plays just fine. It borrows heavily from its predecessor's formula: you hit notes, get a score multiplier as you hit consecutive notes without messing up, and you have a special power (Overdrive) which you can deploy to double your multiplier. The developers also made the wise decision of allowing you to get more Overdrive while you are in Overdrive mode, allowing you to strategically activate your power to achieve the maximum multiplier for the longest time. It also encourages the player to play and learn the songs in order to remember the optimal points to use this power.

Multiplayer Component: 6/10

In the MP arena, Rock Band falls short. You can do a generic score duel or tug-of war, and you can throw together a band online and go at it for a few songs, but the most disappointing and crushing aspect about the game is that you cannot create a persistent band and take it online in the feature-rich Band World Tour mode (which I have yet to see since I have just one disc and one instrument). I was crushed to realize that the best feature of the game was only available to those rich enough to shell out $170US for the bundle. In short, Rock Band was a complete and utter disappointment to those without enough people or cash to make a band in the comfort of their own home.

Graphics/Customization: 9/10

Rock Band is nothing special in the graphics department. Like Guitar Hero, it has a cartoonish look to it, but it never detracts from the gameplay. It has its moments too, like when the camera cuts away to a crazy angle or adds psychedelic or black and white elements to accentuate the theme of the song you're playing.

As for the customization department, the options are crazy. You can outfit your custom character(s) with hundreds of accessories sorted interestingly by what type of musical artists wear the styles, or you can deck out your face with all sorts of crazy face paints. You can pile on the layers to make your face look inhumanly insane or just a little bit warped. Rock Band doesn't skimpy my any measure on the ways you can personalize your experience.

Overall: 8/10

Even though one part of Rock Band was a complete and utter disappointment, the rest of it is pure enjoyment, Other than the fact that you can't team up with people around the world to do your world tour, the songs and the smooth gameplay make this one of the best rhythm games to ever exist on a console.

Special section: Achievements (not counted towards review score)
Difficulty: 6/10 (10 being the hardest)
Enjoyability: 8/10 (10 being the most enjoyable)

The achievements on this game are easy as long as you just keep playing (which you don't need much incentive to do in the first place). However, many of the points come from the Band World Tour, which is inaccessible unless you have a group of people at your place, ready to rock. If you do, then this game is, for the most part, quick and easy pickings. The ones that do not come from the Solo or BW Tours are hard though, requiring you to pull off inhuman feats such as scoring 100% of notes on Expert difficulty. Good luck with that.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/03/08

Game Release: Rock Band (US, 11/20/07)