What can I possibly say about Rock Band 2 that hasn't already been said? We know that it's going to have roughly 80 songs, including classic tracks from AC/DC and Bob Dylan. We also know that all of the downloadable content will be compatible with this new game, giving you a music library that will top 500 songs by the end of the year. We also know that you will be able to export "almost all" of the songs from Rock Band 1, meaning that even if you didn't buy a single piece of DLC you would still have more than 140 individual songs. These are all things that we knew going in, so there's really no point in repeating them.
But Rock Band 2 isn't about reinventing the wheel. Rock Band 2 is about perfecting what they've been doing, polishing everything up and making it the best game they possibly can. And boy have they delivered, both with a great soundtrack, a bunch of new online modes and a fantastic new single-player game. But don't be too concerned by all of these changes, because at its core Rock Band still offers a fantastic music experience that the whole family can enjoy.
The biggest difference between Rock Band and Rock Band 2 comes in the interface, which is now a lot cleaner and more welcoming. Take the "quick play" as an example, now it is set-up like the Rock Band store, showing you the difficulty, album cover and information about the song. And that's just the tip of the iceberg, now you will have daily goals to meet (song scores, notes hit, etc.), online battle of the bands modes and much, much more.
They have also gone ahead and retrofitted the drums and guitar. The new guitar looks cooler, but is still a little too difficult to use. The fret buttons still don't feel right and I yearned to go back and play the game with my Guitar Hero III guitar. The new drums feel nice, but it's hard to care about the standard Rock Band drums when there's a $300 drum set sitting there waiting for me to embrace it. Either way, it's nice to see that Rock Band will give you options, especially if you are the kind of person that wants to take drumming seriously.
Rock Band 2 is exactly what you expect it to be, it's a better looking version of Rock Band with different game modes. Is that a bad thing? Of course not, but those looking for a revolutionary experience will be sorely disappointed. No matter how you slice it Rock Band 2 is going to be a fantastic game, so keep downloading that weekly DLC and prepare to have Harmonix rock your socks off!
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E3 2008 :: Blog :: E3 Hands On - Rock Band 2 (Xbox 360)
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July 17, 2008
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Rockband two sounds ok. I never really got into Rockband's first version of the game becasue I could never find enough folks that would want to compete for me to even buy the game. Never-the-less I won't knock the game. I am the kind of guy that thinks if you wanna play an instrument, just play it. For the amount of money being spent on accessories for the game, just buy the real thing.
Thank you for the report Cyril !!!
M.
Uggh. I hate it when people say that I should just buy the real thing. I'm sorry, but it's NOT the same thing. I play real guitar, so it's not an either/or sort of thing as far as I'm concerned. I love playing these guitar games just as much as I love to play real guitar. But they are different things. I don't suggest people just play real football instead of buying Madden, and I think the same applies here.
Also, I mostly play Rock Band by myself, I think it's just as much fun either way. And there's a much more robust single-player component to Rock Band 2.