Rock Band 2

The most notable addition to Rock Band 2 is the addition of Xbox Live enabled Band World Tour. Most people missed out on this mode in Rock Band simply because they couldn’t find enough friends locally to play through it. Now you can form a band on Xbox Live and have your buddies join your band and get a step closer to rock immortality.  If you are completely antisocial you can even play the tour by yourself on the instrument of your choice. The mode is laid out very nicely and easy to navigate around. Your band plays at different venues around the country and eventually around the world, each venue having different set lists. Also many venues allow you to create your on set list of unlocked songs or try your luck with a random set list. As your band gets more recognition you unlock bigger and better venues that reflect the rise of your band from unknown to world wide superstar. My personal favorite thing about BWT is the fact that you don’t need to play every song or venue in order to get through the game. Most of the venues unlock due to the amount of stars you get when a song is completed. A few venues are required to be completed before you can travel to different venues. An example of this being the fact that you must complete a set that gives you a jet so you can travel over seas. Overall this mode is one of the highlights of the game and is something that a majority of the Rock Band fans were really wanting after the first game.

Another big upgrade in the sequel is the strength of Rock Band 2’s song list. The first game had a lot of songs but was not as diverse as most music fans wanted to see. Rock Band 2 has even more songs and has large selection of different styles. Metal has definitely made a strong appearance in the game with defining tracks such as Ace of Spades by Motorhead, Painkiller by Judas Priest, Battery by Metallica, and many more. Tracks like this add a new level of difficulty that will challenge even the Rock Band elite. Don’t think the game has been made too difficult or anything because there are still many mid level to just ridiculously easy songs.  Another great idea Harmonix implemented is that songs that shipped with Rock Band are transferrable to Rock Band 2 for a small fee. Also the great catalogue of download content is compatible with Rock Band 2 and will grow even larger.

Harmonix has also expanded the online gameplay with new modes. There are several new challenges that are accessible through BWT that test both individual and band skill. The challenges vary from streak competitions, high score battles, and many more rules. As stated previously some of these competitions require a different number of band members and instruments. For instance, some challenges are individual guitar battles and some may require a drummer and guitarist for scoring supremacy. All of the challenges are shown on the leaderboards and are comparable to friends. As well as the challenges there is a new mode called Battle of the Bands. This mode features band to band combat as each battle for high scores. This means that you and your band mates play cooperatively to take on rival bands. This exemplifies the games party game feel that is what makes the series so much fun.

The game does look better but it isn’t exactly a huge leap. The characters look good and have many more “moves” this time around. The characters will do whole new antics while on screen that will at times make you laugh and other times make it look even more realistic.  I was somewhat disappointed by the games lack of new apparel for you created character. Sure there are some new threads but overall it’s really just a lot of the same.  Also the game seems to lean more towards outrageous costumes instead of more realistic and normal clothing. I know rock stars aren’t exactly known for their ability to be normal but when is the last time you have seen some one prancing around in a cape, sparkling shirts, and in platform boots. I guess maybe if you have attended a Kiss show recently you may have seen this coming.

Overall, Rock Band 2 is a great sequel and one of the defining games in the genre.  Games that will follow in it’s path like Guitar Hero World Tour will have a big challenge ahead of them to even be on the same level as Rock Band 2. Also every developer that is planning on making a sequel to a successful game should follow the framework laid out by Harmonix. They didn’t set out to make drastic changes but rather build upon the previous game to make the sequel even better.  If you are into music, love rhythm games, or enjoyed the first Rock Band game this is easily the most recommendable game and is a must buy.