Rockband

Review by Slater45

After the success of Guitar Hero, Harmonix decided to expand and create a whole new game Rock Band, Can this game beat Guitar Hero 3 and become the no.1 rhythm game on the market.

Gameplay

The Gameplay on Rock Band is utterly brilliant. To begin with you have a choice of Instruments to play with. Firstly there is the drum set when put together is surprisingly sturdy, secondly there is the guitar which I found wasn't as well made as the guitar hero 2 or 3 guitar and I disliked the strum which felt very stiff. With the Guitar you could either play Bass or lead, finally you can sing with the microphone. With all the Instruments you can choose from four difficulties Easy, Medium, Hard and Expert. The range of those difficulties are just right, easy is great for new members to the genre where expert is still challenging for the veterans. If you are on your own you can play a solo tour with any instrument, which consist of playing at different venues around the world till you have completed every song on each setlist. You can also play solo quickplay where you can choose any song you want and play it or you can pick training where you can choose certain section and even change the speed it you are struggling.

They have also included some play mechanics into this rhythm game. Firstly you have star power which can be activated differently by each instrument. Earning star power will boost your score by doubling the combo. There is also the ending bonus where you can bash as many buttons on to gain points but to earn then you have hit the ending notes. When you are playing as lead guitar you also have solos to contend with. You can do these two ways, you can use the conventional way with the top buttons and strum or you can use the small bottom buttons and tap then accordingly with the notes on the screen without strumming. These additions make the gameplay much enjoyable.

Graphics and Sound

With a game such as this you are never going to get Gears of war or Call of duty 4 graphics; however they are good in general. As in Harmonix's Guitar hero they continued with the cartoon styling. The characters look smooth and general the whole set looks great. During songs you can see the lead vocals lips syncing near perfect with the words he is singing, this is also the same for the guitarist where he will hold a note if you are too. Also there are different effects during the songs so during solos for example there will be a black and white affect to add to the atmosphere. There is also fireworks and explosions that also create a great atmosphere even if they can be a bit off putting sometimes.

Sound is what this game is all about. The game has an fantastic setlist which includes classics such as run to the hills and enter sandman, and others song that you never heard of but you will find yourself singing away to then after a through playthroughs. Whenever a chorus is playing most of the time you can hear the crowd singing along which is a brilliant little addition to the game and make the atmosphere so much impressive.

Multiplayer

With Rock band there are various modes you can play on multiplayer. You can choose online quick band play, which you can hook up with your friends or anyway online and your then able to play the setlist available. If you have DLC you can only play them online if everyone else have them too which I a little annoying. With Score Duel mode you and your opponent will have to play a song and who ever finishes with the highest score wins the game. Tug of war goes back to the "Guitar hero face off" mode. Each player will play different sections of a song with a meter in the middle, whoever have the meter swinging towards them at the end of the song wins the game. Both modes are easy to understand and fun.

The main attraction to rock band is the World tour mode. You and 3 friends can become the ultimate rock band. You start with a small selection of venues around the world to play at, but once you start completing songs you start to unlock more venues to play at. You also earn money and fans for completing the song, the money can use in the rock shop and the fans unlock more venues. There are also special events, where you can unlock transport or groupies to expand your band. World tour however is not available online which is a disappointment, but overall this is the best of the game modes in rock band. When playing online I didn't experience any lag or glitches.

Conclusion

Rock band is the best rhythm game to date, the games modes are brilliant, the setlist is fantastic and the weekly DLC never makes the game old. Playing with friends online is a great laugh. The lighting and effects are great and the animation looks wonderful. The price maybe the only downfall of this game but I would say this game is worth the 150 pound price tag.