LEGO Rock Band

LEGO Rock Band is a strange mash-up of two venerable franchises.  On the one side, you have Rock Band, one of the seminal rhythm game series in existence with many excellent releases.  On the other side, you have LEGO, which has adapted numerous classic movie licenses into simple but memorable gaming experiences.  The combination of the two seems unusual in premise, and at first glance it proves awkward in practice.  The game is standard Rock Band mechanics, but with a LEGO theme for the character creation and outfitting, band space, and even the standard scrolling music track has been LEGO-ized.  The whole thing seems weird and out-of-place.   I was left with the feeling that this was an uninspired cash-in with a LEGO skin put on last generation's Rock Band game.
 
At least, that's what I thought until my 5-year old son walked into the room while I was playing.  He's seen me playing Rock Band before, and showed little interest.  But, with the LEGO characters on screen, he suddenly became interested.  When I asked him if he'd like to try to play, he eagerly picked up a set of drum sticks.  When I put him through the drum tutorials, I started to realize the focus and genius behind LEGO Rock Band, and the whole thing fell into place as a natural extension of the genre.  Soon, both he and my seven year old daughter were jamming with their old man and begging to play more.
 
LEGO Rock Band has an expanded set of modes, tutorials, and free-play modes tailor-made to be friendly to the super-beginner...and by super-beginner, I mean five year olds.   The tutorial modes start off very simplified, and the LEGO-inspired graphics immediately appeal to children.   The track selection, which seems scattered, actually appeals well to children.  Moreover, the track selection for the DLC has been specifically filtered to eliminate objectionable tracks, making parental oversight easier and the DLC much more appealing.  The song modes include a new Super Easy mode that, in addition to standard No Fail mode, also adds in relaxed scoring so the very young can feel like they are accomplishing things.  The relaxed scoring does not eliminate skill, but rather simplifies the skills even more; for example, for the drums only the rhythm matters--the actual drum pad struck is unimportant for scoring, although it still shows you the drum pad struck to help kids know what they are doing.  For singing mode, pitch is unimportant so long as the cadence is right, which is essential for enthusiastic seven year old girl singers.  Guitar/bass mode only requires strumming in time for scoring.  All of these modes help ease the super young new players into the Rock Band experience, while preventing them from just going crazy and still doing well.  The Super Easy modes are far too easy for even novice adults, but it is perfectly balanced for children still developing their motor skills.  The LEGO avatars and bonuses are highly appealing to children, as well, and draw them into the game perfectly.
 
LEGO Rock Band is not a game for you...it's a game for you to play with your kids to introduce them to the genre.  Viewed in this light, the design choices make perfect sense and work beautifully, appealing to both male and female children of varying interests.  I do wish that the tour experience had been done a little better with some more depth, but overall LEGO Rock Band accomplishes what it set out to do--it's just a different goal from mainstream Rock Band releases.  If you want to get your young kids (say 10 and under) into Rock Band, this should be your first stop.