Tegra's Profile

Rock Band

Published: Mon 23 Jun, 2008 | On:

Based on previous Harmonix games Guitar Hero and Karaoke Revolution, Rock Band is a blessing for those of us who dream of rock stardom but have no actual musical talent. Combining singing, guitars and drums, Rock Band now allows up to four players to make fools of themselves instead of only two at a time. Although it has not been released in New Zealand at this time, some of us are so obsessed with fake plastic rock we imported our own sets (twice).

The game:
Anyone who has played Guitar Hero or Karaoke Revolution/Singstar will recognise the different elements of Rock Band. The vocalist must sing the song in time while matching the changes in pitch as the lyrics scroll across screen. The guitarists and drummer must match the notes scrolling down the screen using their respective instruments, either with the frets and strum bar for guitar or the drum pads and foot pedal for the drums. Keep in time and your Band Meter climbs and the crowd will go wild, miss too many notes or lyrics and you will fail and be booed off stage.

The solo player mode follows the same format as the Guitar Hero games. You can pick any instrument, and complete a set of songs. When you complete a set, a new venue and set of songs is unlocked. You also earn cash for use in customising your character with new outfits and hairstyles. Although solo player mode is quite amusing, multi-player is where the fun really begins.

The multi-player mode is called Band World Tour, where you perform at different venues around the world. Each venue has a number of different performances to complete, ranging from prescribed sets, your own choices and random selections, culminating with the 58 song Endless Setlist. Completing setlists gives you stars and fans which are used to unlock more songs, venues and cities. You can fly around the world completing performances in any order you like instead of having to do them in a set order. The actual game in multi-player mode involves two or more of you playing instruments at the same time. However, a nice band dynamic will start to develop as you keep playing. At harder difficulties, you will have to keep an eye on how your bandmates are doing and co-ordinate when to use your Overdrive (equivalent to star power) at the right time to help them through tricky bits and preventing them from failing. Or you can be a glory hog and use Overdrive to boost your own score. This leads to bickering and in-fighting, just like a real band!

The song list:
The song list features 45 songs plus 13 bonus songs. Most of these are master tracks by the original artists, and cover a wide range from classics by The Rolling Stones and The Who through to newer stuff by Nine Inch Nails and The Killers. There are only two or three songs that I despise, and I would rate it ahead of the Guitar Hero 2 and 3 song lists despite having Enter Sandman as the token Metallica song. Owners of GH3 may feel a bit short-changed though as the setlist has six songs in common with GH3.

The guitar:
The Stratocaster guitar has a much different feel to the Guitar Hero Les Paul, and takes a bit of getting used to. There are two sets of fret buttons on the neck, with the lower set being designed for use in guitar solos or for short people. It’s a bit of a gimmick as I found it easier to stick with the one set instead of trying to switch between sets. The fret buttons are flush with the neck and the strum bar doesn’t have the annoying clicker. The buttons and strum bar are softer and don’t have to be pressed very hard at all. On the downside, the tilt switch is useless and doesn’t activate reliably and the build quality is not that great with the fret buttons only lasting a few weeks before needing repair (and the Strat is not designed to be easily opened either). This has been a common complaint and EA have been happy to replace broken instruments in the US. Out here though, it is easier to fix it yourself despite voiding the warranty.

The gameplay has a few differences to Guitar Hero. Most noticeable is that Rock Band guitar parts are easier than GH2 and much easier than GH3, with easier chords and shorter Overdrive sequences. I managed to play halfway through expert difficulty with my eyes closed before I had to start paying attention. New players will find it easier to get started but experienced GH players will be disappointed. It does make things easier when you progress to singing and playing guitar though. Other differences are a smaller timing window, and hammer-on notes must be hit in time instead of being able to held down.

The drums:
The drums are similar to an electric drum kit, and features four drums pads and a foot pedal. The drum kit is very stable and responds well to being hit with the drum sticks. The only quibble is the thuds from the sticks hitting the pads is a bit loud, but this can be fixed with some foam padding. Our resident drummer says it simulates a real drum kit pretty well and real drummers will be wailing away on expert in no time.

Playing the drums is similar to the guitar. You just hit the correct drum pad as the notes come down the screen. It takes a while to co-ordinate both hands with the foot pedal, but I found it the most fun instrument to play. It also has the advantage of still being playable after a few drinks, whereas my guitar co-ordination quickly disappears after a few beers.

The vocals:
The microphone is just a standard USB microphone, it does a good job but I can't really get too excited about a microphone. Any USB microphone will work though so you can use a Singstar microphone or USB headset if you already have one. I found singing easier than Singstar as there is an indicator that shows the notes you are singing compared to what notes you should be singing. I’m crap at singing and can’t hold a note but still found it fun. Singing while playing guitar or drumming is also heaps of fun if you don’t have any bandmates handy.

Online play:
Online play is not much fun. You can't play the World Tour with online players, so you are limited to just playing single songs. There is no chat function like the XBox360, so you may as well be playing with yourself. The DLC was not available through the NZ store and I couldn't figure out if was possible to buy from the US store.

Value for money:
While Rock Band is undeniably fun, the $350 price tag of importing is a bit steep. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like being any cheaper when released here if the European pricing is any example. And unlike the PS2 or XBox360, none of the Rock Band gear or Guitar Hero gear is compatible with each other so if you have already invested in GH3 or want to buy GH:Aerosmith, GH:World Tour or GH:Metallica then you will need two sets of fake instruments. When Rock Band was the only music band game on the market it was a good buy and worth importing. Since it still has not been released in NZ with GH:World Tour being released later this year, it may be worth holding off for a few more months.