Rock Band

"If you're loaded and have at least three friends, this game is for you!"

What do I mean by loaded? On alcohol? On money? Both? You be the judge. Either way, Guitar Hero is a joke once you get into Rock Band. Dude, there's like THREE instruments, and you can sing too!! Who wants to play GH now, huh?

PRESENTATION:
Rock Band... with an emphasis on ROCK. The presentation here is very well done and to-the-point. After witnessing the goofy intro movie, you'll be ready to get right into the thick of things. The menus and overall interface are simple and self-explanatory. Go on a world tour! Play with friends! Honestly, just play the thing and you'll understand my score for its presentation.
PRESENTATION: 10/10

GRAPHICS:
I hate to keep comparing this to Guitar hero, but what else can you do? There is a lot more clutter onscreen since there are up to four instruments (I'm just going to count the vocals as an instrument) that are being played. At the same time, there are of course some onscreen antics going on for the viewers to enjoy. Similar to Guitar Hero 3 for the 360, they are entertaining, but by no means do they push the limits of the system.
GRAPHICS: 7/10

SOUNDS:
The music is what the game is all about, isn't it? While I'd have to confess some of the tracks are pretty crappy, there are definitely stand-outs as well. They've got plenty of classics and newbies, from metal to pop to rock. Unfortunately, the initial tracklist is quite short... hopefully you have Live and will be able to download lots of new tracks every chance you get. Yet you'd expect a music game to have mostly good music, right? When you think about it that way, it succeeds.
SOUNDS: 9/10

GAMEPLAY:
Get your friends together and get ready to have a good ol' time, kids, because there's something here for everyone. First, we'll go over the vocals. You don't have to have a good voice. Hell, you don't even need to say the words. As long as you're in pitch with the lines you'll be fine. It's not easy at first, especially if you don't know the song, but you'll get it. A lot of people may be turned off by the vocals... because you have to sing! But get some chemical substances in your body and you're good to go! Singing in this game is pretty much the same as in Karaoke Revolution and games like that, so it's nothing new.

The bass and guitar are pretty similar to Guitar Hero in that you must match the colored dots that scroll down the screen. There are some differences, however, in that there are more buttons, which give you the opportunity for more rock-outness. It's pretty silly if you ask me, and I'd honestly rather go with what I'm used to--the Guitar Hero guitars. It's obvious they attempted to make RB's guitars different from GH, but they kind of failed.

Finally, the drum is the most unique feature of RB. You may have played games like Donkey Konga, but this is much different. You have four colored pads and a pedal, and are given two sticks. It's quite simple--actually, it's almost identical to playing guitar or bass when you think about it. You simply beat the pads that correspond to the ones scrolling onscreen. What makes this more exciting is the pedal, which you must press down every time you see a yellow line scroll down, serving as the bass drum. It's something I think a lot of us would never have thought of, and provides an extra challenge for the drummers.

Every instrument has its own "Overdrive," or as I like to call it, "Rock Out" mode. Using this can gain more points as well as bring back any players who have failed out of a song. When rocking out, the singer must wait for a silent part and shout... well, whatever he/she wants. For example, you can shout "I touch little boys!" and the crowd will go wild... Please don't shout that, it's pretty disgusting. Guitar and bass, surprise surprise, are pretty similar to GH. The drummer's Overdrive lets you play whatever you want and amplifies it, but you must hit a certain final note at the end or else it would all be a waste. Overdrives are a pretty unique part of the game, especially because they help keep the team alive, but they're still nothing all that different from GH.

As you can see, playing Rock Band is extremely fun and challenging. But you may not be able to tell from what I've said is that this game is meant to be a PARTY game. Playing it alone is completely dull. Hell, playing sober is kind of dull too. The best way to play it is with every instrument occupied and a good audience. The audience isn't necessary, of course, but it really does add a lot more fun to the overall experience.
GAMEPLAY: 9/10

MISCELLANEOUS:
Interesting category, I know, but I thought it was necessary. First of all, this game is damn expensive. It's like half the price of the system you're playing it on, and that's a lot. I'm not saying it's not worth it, but it certainly puts a dent in your wallet. Secondly, there is some set-up for the game. Lots of wires and technical difficulties will ensue when getting ready to play, and it could be quite a buzzkill. The drums also have to be put together when you first buy the game, but luckily they're not very complicated. Another problem with the drums is that... damn! They are loud!! A warning--be careful when playing this in a dorm room at night, or any situation like that where people are most likely trying to sleep, because they'll probably get pretty pissed off at the constant tap-tap-tap of RB's drums. But hey, you'll probably forget about all these gripes once you start playing.
MISCELLANEOUS: 7/10

LASTING APPEAL:
Got friends? Hopefully. Got an empty house? It'd be nice, but it's not necessary. Rock Band's lasting appeal really depends on you, not the game itself. If you've got people to play with then you'll be playing for a long time. If not, then you'll be done pretty quickly and realize you've wasted nearly $200. In either case, the game gets some points for allowing you to download new songs through Live, which is nice because there aren't that many in the core game.
LASTING APPEAL: 8.5/10

OVERALL:
Expensive but really fun if you've got people to play with. Lots of experimenting with the instruments for you and your friends along with an overall feel-good atmosphere makes Rock Band the latest music game to own.
OVERALL: 8.6/10

Thanks for reading =)

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 03/12/08

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