Rock Band 2 - Review

Added September 19th, 2008 by Hellrazr360

When a band plays a concert and the audience cheers and chants for an encore it’s usually rewarded with an extra song or two.  Games, on the other hand, have sequels that offer any number of extra hours of new content for fans of the previous game.  But, when it comes to games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band, the main difference between encores and sequels is the number of songs that will be played.  This little fact is the driving force behind Rock Band 2, the sequel to last year’s highly successful Rock Band which, like Guitar Hero, managed to be a surprisingly good investment for those wanting to rock with their friends.  The game disc has been released for the Xbox 360 a month before the bundle and other versions, but is this encore enough to keep its audience rocking?

Those familiar with the first Rock Band will find there really isn’t much new to Rock Band 2.  With the deletion of the regular Solo mode for each instrument, players will have to progress through the game’s Band Tour mode in order to unlock songs.  This can make the experience more interesting; especially for those who like the Band Tour mode and since you can now participate in the Band Tour with others online.  However, those who want to rush through and quickly unlock all the songs will be in for a rude awakening since it’ll be a good while before you unlock every single song, especially since you need to beat the song to play it in Quick Play.  

Those who aren’t familiar with Rock Band’s Tour modes will find it a surprisingly involved experience.  Sets of songs (most of which are at least 4 songs long) need to be completed in order to advance and unlock more songs, hiring managers and staff members will assist whether by finding new locals, acquiring more fans or earning more cash.  As you play more songs and sets you’ll gain more cash and fans, but the game will often times give you the option to play songs for fans and no cash or vice versa.  There are plenty of other options the game will offer the player and for those who didn’t get a taste of this from the first game; it’ll be a big surprise.

Of course the real treat of the game isn’t acting like a hotshot businessman for a rock group, it’s the songs which ultimately make or break a game like Rock Band 2.  While the first Rock Band didn’t have very many songs on disc it had a very solid set list with almost every song being a master recording.  Additionally, every week from the game’s release date brought new songs for people to download for a reasonable $2 per song.  This time around Rock Band has plenty of songs on the disc, bringing 84 new tracks for gamers to rock out to.  Not only that, but every song downloaded for the first Rock Band will play on Rock Band 2.  Add to that the option to transfer 55 of the 58 songs from Rock Band to Rock Band 2 for a mere $5 and you’re already set for a large number of songs from the get-go (with over 300 available as of now between the games and downloadable content).  

Even though Rock Band had a great set of songs on its own, Rock Band 2 takes it to the next level, adding a bigger variety of genres to the mix with some songs that many people have been dying to see in a music/rhythm game.  There are plenty of great, famous songs in the game also a few nice new ones such as “Shackler’s Revenge” off Guns ‘n’ Roses new album Chinese Democracy.  AC/DC make their debut on a Guitar Hero/Rock Band-style game with “Let There Be Rock” and hits such as “Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor along with clever re-recordings of “Ace of Spades” by Motorhead and “Souls of Black” by Testament are welcome additions as well.  And the best part of all these songs: they’re all master recordings.  Also, included with Rock Band 2 is an access code that will allow those who purchase the game to download twenty free songs in the future.

Perhaps the biggest debate about Rock Band was how the songs just weren’t as tough as some might’ve expected, with songs that appeared in both Rock Band and Guitar Hero 3 being easier in Rock Band.  While some people liked having less challenge so they could have a better shot at passing and doing well on their favorite songs, many were disappointed by the lack of challenging songs.  Well, those who have wanted to see their favorite songs given justice by difficulty need not fret, because Rock Band 2 has more than just a few tough songs.  From “Battery” to “Panic Attack” to “Painkiller” and “Visions”-arguably the game’s toughest songs-there’s more than enough challenge here to keep some of the top Rock Band players returning to do better.

Gameplay-wise very little, if anything at all has changed from Rock Band to Rock Band 2.  One nice adjustment is that hammer-ons and pull-offs are very easy to see with the size difference more obvious and the notes having a white glow to make them distinguishable.  As mentioned, the songs are tougher this time around but just like its predecessor only a few of them are frustrating.  Even songs such as “Painkiller” and “Souls of Black” might surprise people with how fun they are, in spite of their difficulty.  Plus, when playing through the Tour mode it can be tough to put the game down; our first sitting through the game went on for over eleven hours and the only thing that kept us from coming back after turning it off was how tired our hands were.  

This isn’t to say that songs are the only new additions brought out in Rock Band 2 though, as there are a couple things added to the game.  For starters, there’s a new Drum Trainer mode which is intended to help the less experienced drummers.  The Drum Trainer mode has two means of practice: a Beat Trainer and Fill Trainer.  When in the Beat Trainer you’re given over seventy drum beats of which you can also speed up or slow down so that you can become acquainted with the more complicated parts of songs.  As for the Fill Trainer, you’ll be given a few regular beats and then a fill section which gives you some different beats that will flow well with the beat given in the non-fill sections.  This way when you play parts just like those or similar you’ll know what beats will flow with the song the best when you’re in a drum fill part.  The Drum Trainer is definitely a great addition and will do well for those who need something other than just a Practice mode for pre-set songs.

There’s also a Modify Game sub-menu in the Extras menu of the game which will allow you to manipulate the game to your desire, just without any of the benefits of playing normally.  While you can enter cheats through this, the game provides you with perhaps the only two you’ll ever need to or want to use: Breakneck Speed and No Fail Mode.  Activating Breakneck Speed is basically the game’s equivalent to Hyperspeed from Guitar Hero, so you can go even faster on the drum beats if you want to or can even handle it.  And the No Fail Mode is pretty self-explanatory; it lets you play through songs without failing.  This, like the Drum Trainer is a very nice, welcoming addition since you can finally play through whatever song you want on any difficulty without having to worry about failing.  While activating No Fail Mode gets rid of Achievements, game saves and any other benefits of playing the game the regular way, it’s still the perfect option if you just want to have fun and mess around.

There were a number of things that made people come back to Rock Band over and over again.  First off, the game was just fun to play so even replaying the same songs was a blast.  Second, there were multiple ways to play and tackle each song, with the option to play guitar, bass, vocals and the then-new drum sections of songs.  And finally, with weekly downloadable content it was even easier to get your money’s worth for both the game and each song released afterwards.  While we didn’t get to test out any of the new instruments with our copy of the game (we’ll bring you a report on the improvements for the new instruments soon) your instruments from Rock Band will work just fine.  And the 84 on-disc songs along with downloadable content still coming every week will be more than enough to keep you coming back again and again just like before.

Rock Band 2 goes by the most common gaming philosophies when it comes to sequels: “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”  While the game doesn’t bring anything new to the table, it really doesn’t need to with an amazing soundtrack, still solid gameplay and enough upcoming content to keep fans of the first returning for more.  The game’s still plenty of fun, offers enough challenge without being unbearable, has a couple great additions and will still bring out the inner rocker within you.  Have fun and rock on!