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Rock Band 2
More of the Same... and That's a Good Thing!
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What can you say about Rock Band 2? It’s really the exact same game with a couple new tweaks and a whole lot of new content. The tweaks I speak of, however, are sweet. It’s hard to give them credit for them, though, because clearly these are features that were intended to be in the first, and frankly should have been. But, what do I know about marketing... Not much..
What features do I speak of? Well, the best one is absolutely the ability to go through tour mode solo, with friends locally, or with friends online. You get to make a band, design all the members, and jump into any role you want. Want a friend to guest spot in your band for a night while you work through your tour? You can do it. This was supposed to be in the first, though, as is pretty obvious by the fact that you could add and remove friends to your band from the option menu but mysteriously could never do anything with it. That really does sum up the Rock Band 2 experience; It really is more like Rock Band 2.0.
Another amazing new feature is the weekly competitions. Not only can you put together a band online with your friends, but you can actually compete in weekly battle of the band competitions. How fucking cool is that?! There are solo competitions as well. I’ve been too addicted to Spore to play much of these since the game came out, but if I ever get 4 friends that own Rock Band 2 we are putting a band together and competing every week. Think that’s geeky? Fuck you. It sounds crazy fun.
They’ve really cleaned up the interface in this one a lot. The quick-play mode has the same song selection screen as the online store, which is a great interface. Browsing through your songs is MUCH easier than before. The only complaint I have about the new interface is that I should be able to select any band that a user is currently logged in for. I hate having to pick up my joystick, log out, and log in on the guitar just to select my band. It’s lame enough that the 360 has this batshit insane login system, the least the makers of the game could do is work around it.
Finally, you can import all your songs from the first (except for 3) which effectively makes you original Rock Band disc useless and can be used to trade in, which I really appreciate. Sure I only got $7 for it, but that’s better than it sitting on my shelf collecting dust. |
Graphics
Yeah, I like the graphics and presentation in Rock Band, but compared to what is see is coming in Guitar Hero: World Tour it pales in comparison. We should really be seeing custom graphics and performances specific to the band, like GH:WT is offering.
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7.5 |
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Sound
If you have a surround sound system playing Rock Band 2 is fucking sweet...
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10.0 |
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Gameplay
If Rock Band was guitar only I would still prefer it to the Guitar Hero interface.
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9.5 |
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Originality
Really, not enough has changed from the first version, and the features that are cool should have been in the original. Compared to some of the new stuff coming in GH:WT Rock Band 2 will be behind the times, for sure...
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7.5 |
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Interface
Really great job cleaning up the interface for this version. I just wish I could select any band for a logged in user and not have to re-login with my guitar.
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9.0 |
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Fun
I love music games. I've played guitar since I was 16 and I can honestly say that if you want to know what it feels like to rock out without the years and years of study, you gotta try this genre of game.
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10.0 |
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Lasting Appeal
The only thing I see replacing Rock Band 2 is Rock Band 3. Sure I'm excited about Guitar Hero: World Tour, but I will play both games heavily, depending on what I feel like playing.
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9.0 |
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Overall
It’s a great game if you liked the first, as it cleans up all the little things that should have been done in the first release. Trade away away your old disc (after you’ve transferred the songs) because Rock Band 2 is all you need.
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8.9 |
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