The Return of the Rock - Rock Band 2
Written: Jan 01 '09
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Product Rating:
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Pros: 100 songs for $60?! A steal
Cons: You're really only buying the sequel for these 100 songs
The Bottom Line: It's a good thing the Endless Setlist is based only on the 84 tracks on the disc...or I'd never get the Bladder of Steel trophy.
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| awoolcott's Full Review: Rock Band 2 for PlayStation 3 |
When Rock Band was announced, Harmonix Music Systems touted it as more than just a mere game, but instead a platform on its own, where you constantly could buy new “games” for it, only in this case they meant a weekly stream of downloadable songs to keep the game fresh and new. In reality, this is still the case; all new downloadable tracks will work, and the game is still supported and sold. However, that didn't stop Harmonix from working on a “sequel” in Rock Band 2. Designed with a host of improvements and revamps, RB2 does not really eclipse what the first game offered – if you consider it an elaborate track pack of roughly 100 songs if you count the 20 free bonus tracks available for download, along with a new take on the tiered career mode, it's a good deal to upgrade to a superior experience. Rock Band 2 is not necessary to keep up with the DLC barrage, but die-hard fans should upgrade, even if it's only for a huge new collection of songs for a mere $60. For those who are avid players, it's a no-brainer.
Like Rock Band 1, the game comes in two packages – the standalone software, and a “special edition” that ships with brand-new instruments, namely an improved guitar and wireless drums. However, PS3 owners should be happy that Sony has helped assure cross-compatibility with instruments – the Guitar Hero 3 and Guitar Hero World Tour instruments work flawlessly, the drums only via a recent patch, however. The new RB2 instruments are supposed to be pretty good, but since I just bought the disc, there's not much else to say. Regardless, thanks to improved compatibility it's much easier for someone to jump in, especially if they just want to play guitar. Owners of Rock Band shouldn't yet toss their discs, however. For a mere $5, you can buy an Export key on the PlayStation Store, which exports 55 of the 58 tracks for use in Rock Band 2. The omitted songs are a pair of covers and, sadly, Enter Sandman, likely due to Metallica's new partnership with the Guitar Hero brand...though RB2 does have it's own Metallica track.
For players that spent much of their time in the single-player career last time around, Rock Band 2 is a vastly different beast. The World Tour mode that was exclusively for multiplayer gaming has been expanded as the core single-player experience. You create your character(s), name the band, and get on the road with the ultimate goal of getting millions of fans and annoying groupies. This change does pose some issues – without a tiered career akin to the basically every Guitar Hero offshoot since the beginning, it's much more challenging to unlock new songs, and if you don't have a vast DLC selection you're going to see the same songs a lot when doing the numerous “mystery setlists” the game throws at you. Even with a lot of DLC, I was playing the same songs frequently in the beginning, which is likely to drive some people insane. It gets better, but it's a long climb up the hill for the first few hours. That said, the World Tour is still fun, and it's relative lack of linear structure means you can tackle challenges in any order, whether it's playing a single song or a massive setlist...to the much-ballyhooed Endless Setlist. Due to its structure, it can be played alone of course, but it can also be played seamlessly with other players offline. World Tour is also available online, which'll make fans of the first game quite happy.
A new inclusion to the single-player game are Challenges, a collection of specific tests tied to genres, eras, challenge, instruments, specific DLC packages you've downloaded, to bands themselves if you have enough tunes. It's dynamic in design – if you have, say, a Foo Fighters challenge, it'll adjust as you buy more Foo tracks. Once you get three tracks for a band, a challenge is instantly generated, keeping things fresh. Same if you download a particular track pack; they often add a challenge for it as well. It's also secretly a better way to unlock more songs for World Tour, meaning less repetitive tracks. Best of all, you can stop and save during a challenge, picking up where you left off later. Finally, Harmonix has an online-only Battle of the Bands – if you're connected to PSN, you can tackle weekly challenges where you or your band can compete with other players (passively, time-trial style, there's no head-to-head competition) for the highest score. There's a wide variety of events, some tied down to specific songs, difficulty levels, even instruments.
All of these changes and additions to Rock Band 2 does a decent enough job of covering the reality that there's not much new here. The game looks and plays the same, with only some minor tweaks...if you've played any Guitar Hero game or especially RB1, you know the routine here – plastic instruments, playing the notes at the right time in rhythm, etc. It all feels great regardless of which instrument you use; a simple calibration tool also helps offset any lag making for a pristine gaming experience. Because RB2 feels more like an expansion than a full game, the lack of a total overhaul can be forgiven, especially when the music itself is the star of the show, not the presentation or graphics, for that matter. Might as well not fix what isn't broken. Character creation is the same though, with some new clothes and a couple additions but you could effectively create the same band members again, which begs the question of why there was no character importing to reduce time screwing around in character creation. And pretty much all the venues are ripped right out of Rock Band 1. In other words, if you're looking for a completely fresh experience, it won't be here...but if you want 100 new songs to play, you're in luck.
Speaking of, obviously a music game is only as strong as its soundtrack, and Rock Band 2 delivers. Now with zero covers, RB2 offers a vast selection from all kinds of different rock music; loud metal from Metallica, Megadeth, Judas Priest, and the like. Classic grunge from Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, and Pearl Jam. Modern alternative from Silversun Pickups, Linkin Park, and Paramore. Even classics from Bon Jovi, The Who, Jethro Tull, AC/DC (the completely rocking Let There Be Rock, a perfect “mascot” for the franchise), and even a brand new Guns N Roses song from Chinese Democracy (which actually released, causing Hell to freeze over and then explode upon impact). The core setlist is 84 songs deep, and the free download pack adding 20 more songs from lesser-known artists (only if you buy the game new, unless the previous owner didn't use his code), including Japanese metal legends X Japan (in English, don't worry crooners), which serves as something of a tease to the oft-rumored Rock Band Japan which may or may not exist anymore. Combined with DLC, Rock Band 1 tracks, the AC/DC Live package, and Rock Band 2, there's over 500 songs available, which would cost over $1000 to own all of them. That kinda scares me when you put it that way, since I've got about 250 songs to play.
Closing Argument
If you're in the market for a Rock Band to leap into, Rock Band 2 is the way to go, long as you don't mind missing out on 55 songs from the original game, though one could get around this by renting a copy of the first game. Rock Band 2 on its own is a complete package with a ton of music, strong gameplay that needs little fixing right now, and plenty of things to do, whether you play alone or with friends via PSN. For fans of the first game, yeah it's a glorified expansion, but given the goal of Rock Band being a “platform”, it's expected that changes would be minor and not game-changing. The DLC has to work between both games, after all. Even as an expansion, $60 for 100 songs and a bunch of new gameplay modes is a deal and a half. At this stage, Rock Band 2 is the ultimate form of the franchise; whether or not Harmonix will release Rock Band 3 in the coming year is unknown (though likely), but for now, this is the music game to get, whether you're a veteran or a first-timer looking for a solid entry point.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
awoolcott
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Location: Arizona
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2009 was a pretty good year for games, but next year, wow.
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