WHAT IS IT?
Rock Band 2 is the current craze in a long running series of music rhythm games. In the instance of the Rock Band franchise, these are played using plastic "toy" replicas of the real instruments you are supposed to be playing. This "rock rhythm" genre began with just guitars but has spread to include drum kits, and vocals with the debut of "Rock Band". Rock Band 2 allows you to tap notes on your guitar (while "strumming" the "strum bar") to either bass or electric, to sing in correct pitch to the music using a microphone or play drums using a drum kit and sticks. Up to four players can play at once, offline on one console, or online with people around the world.
WHO MADE IT?
Rock Band 2 (and the previous Rock Band) were made by the development group that created Guitar Hero 1, 2 and The 80s, Harmonix Music System. They were bought and moved to make games for MTV Games (and distributed by Electronic Arts) while the Guitar Hero name and franchise was given to the former creators of the Tony Hawk skateboarding series, Neversoft, and they have made the switch from extreme sport simulation to music games fairly well.
WHICH VERSION and COMPATIBILITY?
It's for XBox 360 (currently), and is upcoming on Playstation 3 and Nintendo Wii. A Playstation 2 release is also very likely. A bundle pack is coming with all the instruments or you can buy them separately with or without the game. The game is fully compatible with the older Rock Band instruments that were packed with Rock Band 1. If you already own those, there is little reason to upgrade to the new instruments, unless you really want that $300 ION Drum Kit (that's a beginner step to playing real electronic drums as well as being Rock Band accessible).
Also of import, is that there is a title update for Rock Band that allows users to export the game's setlist to the XBox 360 or Playstation 3 harddrive and stored as individual files. A small fee of $4.99 is required to export the entire setlist (minus four songs). After this is done, you will have no reason to own the first Rock Band disc whatsoever and can offer it in a sacrificial burning or to your garbage can at your choice.
WHAT'S NEW?
Most notably, the biggest change in Rock Band 2 is the menu interfaces and the ability to play the Touring mode by yourself. In the previous game, you had to have 2 or more people (either online or in your house) to do this part of the game, which was the main mode and frustrating for those who wanted to progress through the game by themselves and didn't have a person handy at all times to meet the requirements. There is also a Challenge mode where you finish various song sets and you can unlock the songs this way or through the Tour. While playing Tour, there are more venues and the slight strategic edge of being able to hire staff as you complete more of the game. This can increase your visibility on the East Coast, help to get record deals, or whatever your current personal goal is in that mode of the game. Of course there is also the 80 new songs available to unlock and play too...
THE SONGS
Rock Band and Rock Band 2 allow you to go online through the game's store to purchase new songs online. These cost around $1.99 a piece. Rock Band 2 has over 80 songs with another 20 promised to be available for free download in the future (this winter supposedly). It's more cost effective to just buy the game than to buy more songs for your current version. Plus you get the little extra upgrades the game has mentioned in the what's new section here.
The song selection however, leaves alot to be desired, even if the sheer number is impressive (with 84 songs including bonus songs).
I have seen many people say it has something for everyone, but I truly believe they went out on an extreme limb to try and cater to every audience. When you think of the name "Rock Band" you usually have images of AC/DC, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Led Zeppelin (who they could not get for the game, though they did try) and others. It doesn't conjure images of Elvis Costello. Or Squeeze's "Cool for Cats" song (it's... New Wave...which is not...rock.) It's just horrible when you need to progress through the game and you are forced to play something inane like this or truly wretchedly horrible (Beck's "E-Pro").
However, for every wince worthy track there's something good, including "Souls of Black" by Testament, "Round and Round" by Ratt, "Peace Sells" by Megadeth, "White Wedding" by Billy Idol, "Our Truth" by Lacuna Coil, "Pinball Wizard" by The Who and more. The songs that surprised me the most were those from new acts that I normally would not be listening to such as The Donnas and Paramore.
Of course you also have to acknowledge the inclusion of Guns N Roses "Shackler's Revenge" from their upcoming and forever rumored "Chinese Democracy" album. It's the first glimpse of anything from that album, and thus deserves a mention as this being its debut platform. AC/DC's first foray into video gamedom is in Rock Band 2 and they are represented with "Let There Be Rock".
A handful of these songs are also set to appear on Rock Band 2's rival Guitar Hero IV: World Tour. This to me is inexcusable. With the sheer number of bands and songs available in the broad "rock genre", there should *never* be a repeat of songs.
In addition, *every* song is a master recording. Previous music games were known for their cover versions of songs (this extends to Karaoke Revolution, first 2 Guitar Hero games and the Guitar Freaks series even before that). However, Rock Band 2 has nothing but the real artists to play along with. This comes as a pleasantly shocking revelation after puzzling over some of the vocal choices for previous music games.
THE DOWNSIDE
Putting aside the songs, and minor tweakings here and there, Rock Band 2 offers no gigantic leap over its predecessor. It's essentially still the same game but with a new song list. Your in-game model "avatar" that you can deck out in rock attire as you see fit, has only a handful of facial choices, (five per gender I believe) with four of those being astoundingly freakish. The graphics have not recieved an overhaul, its still the same engine as before, so anyone hoping for more mindblowing graphical upgrades are going to be disappointed.
However, it's still a vast preference over the "puppet" look of the characters in Guitar Hero thus far. Some songs are downright boring to play with your chosen instrument because they are included due to their challenge and "fun" factor for other instruments. Then again, its nice having an option to do something besides play guitar. The whole drumming factor makes this seem like an entirely different game. The karaoke "singing" portions are not nearly as fleshed out, but the more options, the better, making it feel more like a complete band package.
IS IT ANY FUN?
Absolutely, and if you like music games, definitely worth your $60 cover charge. It's still basically the same game as Guitar Hero 1, but it's a solid foundation to build a music game on, and anyone who wishes to feel like a guitar hero (or vocal god, or drum master or bass slayer) for a few hours will find it a pleasant and fun diversion. After you have worked your way through most of the song list and opened up more songs to play, it becomes vastly more fun as you can avoid the drivel like Squeeze easily. The game really does make you feel like some kind of guitar hero, despite the fact if you give it some serious thought, the whole thing probably looks rather silly, but it is a fine way to spend your time when there's nothing else better to do.
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