[Munkey Boy]

Want to be in a Rock Band (who doesn't right)? Does this make you feel like you are? Or just another beat matching game that's not really worth the outlay? Once you've played the game enough to judge, please leave a vote in the poll and a few comments in this thread.

An 'Outstanding' should only be given for a landmark game that sets new rules, an 'Excellent' for a truly excellent game without a fundamental flaw, and an average game that does things right but nothing special should get an 'Average', not a higher like some reviews would have you believe.

[Pooon]

I've voted a 9 based on the Guitar experiance as i dont have the drums, and dont do singing. But the experience with the Guitar is similar to that of GHII in that the setlist is very very good and the difficulty curve is just that, its a curve and not a massive cliff like GHIII. With the addition of the drums i could score it a 10, but the lack of online band tour mode might still cost it that last point

[artefx]

no online world tour is a bugbear with me as well. I've gotta say that as a single player game this is good, but when you get a band together the game hits a 9. Quality. The drums are quality though the learning curb is steep as it simulates the real instrument so well.

[edwardtickle]

It is an easy ten for me, i have been able to do everything i wanted so far and i have loved every minute of it!

[sdb123]

I voted Excellent. There are a couple of improvements that could be made, i.e. Bass player career.

The drums are really enjoyable and a good challenge, the guitar playing is a lot easier than GH3 IMHO (which is a good thing) and the mic career is a lot more fun than I thought it would be.

All in all, a solid package.

[Slyboy]

I am having so much fun with the drums I have had to go Outstanding. I can still see me playing this in 6 months time, so eventually I will get my value for money!!

[Mattk84]

hasnt got the 'wow' for me that i thought it would have.

have given it a 7. would score higher but for £140 i expect value for money from the equipment. one broken bass pedal and a £40 replacement later and i dont feel i have.

[shagaboopon]

I gave it a 10 because the game is so fun and the longevity is there. The only slight doubts in my mind over deducting to a 9 were the lower difficulty on guitar and the poor bass pedal. I offset this by the drums being really challenging and I gave GH3 a 10 which it fully deserved despite that being packaged with what in my experience was a flawed design peripheral.

I can see this scoring a lot of 8's and 9's rather than the 10's it could have got because of the issues with the drums.

[Greasychipbutty]

It's an 8 for me due to the variety of instruments and ways you can play the game.
Coming from Expert on the Guitar Hero franchise i find Rock Band a little unchallenging but for multiplayer and fun with ya mates it's up at the top.

[Chrispyphillips]

I've given the game a 9 (possibly quite surprisingly given how much i lurrrrve it) and would love to have marked it down to maybe an 8, based on factors unrelated to the game itself (ridiculously steep price point, the disregard for European and 'other territory' consumers for 6 months and lack of comminucation from Harmonix during the 6 month wait) but that wouldnt be fair, as its a relection on the whole Rock Band release fiasco, rather than the game itself, which is pretty much in my mind flawless!

The Good

Well, right from the get go, it is clear to see that the game heads in the direction many wanted Guitar Hero 3 to head in, and I'm not necessarily talking about new equipment. The forumla hasnt changed at all with other games of a similar ilk, but this one certainly breaks the mould. Instead of simple 'difficulty levels' you now have the option playing various cities around the world (songs being automatically separated into difficulty categories according to the song, and the instrument its being played on). Its refreshing to see the song selection screen take a different twist, although it certainly doesnt do anything revolutionary. A marked improvement is the in game music store, where you can buy tracks without having to direct to the dashboard and marketplace. Tracks can be previewed before buying, and the prices are competative. Not all songs are to everyones tastes, but with over 200 of them, there cant be many complaints on the whole about the DLC Harmonix promised before the games release, and the amount they have delivered.

The track list is pretty solid in my opinion, and the songs are widely well known, unlike some other games. They are certainly fun to play, and the difficulty of the guitar parts is somewhat easier than we're used to, making it more a 'pick up and play' game. The only real gripe is that during earlier, easier songs, you do seem to be strumming chords and fingering basic arpeggio's, as opposed to the quick fingered solos and riffs were used to in GH games. However, this changes as you progress, with more solo focused songs appearing in the latter stages of the game. The Big Band Endings are an inspiration and really add something to the songs that feature them. Some tracks are arguably not noted perfectly (ie some keyboard parts are played on guitar) but I'd assume this is Harmonix's way of keeping gamers entertained and doing something, instead of standing there aimlessley while the game plays itself out. The drums are mapped spot on, and the difficulties and learning curves are challenging, rewarding, and very fun to learn and play. Again, the download tracks vary, so there will be something for everyone out there.

The instruments are just okay, which is where I have possibly marked them down. The guitar, although good looking and stylish, and of course iconic, being modelled on the Fender Stratocaster, feels very lightweigt, flimsy and comes with a wire, which is so last year!! The buttons take some getting used to, as instead of being raised like GH controllers, they are built into the fret board. The additional buttons for solos and 'showing off' are a great idea, but practise to use them is essential, and since they are not necessary, many will ignore them. Due to this, many will also chose 'old faithful' and use their current GH controllers. The drums are an innovation, or at least they were. Since the game is over 6 months old, before we even received it in this country, we've already had a sniff of the new improved GH drums, putting a dampener on Rock bands. And speaking of dampeners, as fun as they are to play, the 'clack clack' noise they make is very annoying. During a drum solo tour they're fine, as you very rarely notice them since your lost in the music, but other band members hear them all too well and they can be off-putting. The fact that Harmoniox have developed their own 'Drum pad silencers' and are selling them for $19.99 is the biggest joke ever. Why they dont incorporate them onto new kits in an effort to win more fans is beyond me, but people are buying them, so they're doing something right! The pads are also very temperamental, some are known to break, there is the clacking noise, sometimes they rattle, and a lot of the time they dont register notes (see 'coin mod') which again, requires a DIY fix, at the expense of the consumer. The pedal is also known to break, although touch wood mine is okay. Some people are 'blinging' their kit out and adding metal pedals, and where these arent necessarily required to make the pedal more stable, it again is another expense that some are going to, to ensure their £130 kit doesnt break on them out of warranty. The mic is a mic, and does nothing fantastic, although some reports are that it too is easy to break.

The tutorial modes and practise modes are basically the same as in other games, and offer nothing new. The best feature however would be the Band World Tour. Only fun really if you have 3 or 4 players all playing together, as the real experience comes from the closeness of other players, creating the true 'band experience'. The games main story has been criticised for only being able to be played as a 2-4 local multiplayer, and many have cried for online world tour, which may be possible in RB2. The mode itself though is pretty amazing, where you start off with small setlists playing in small clubs, building fans and acclaim, eventually playing for managers, buses, and planes. From here you can play bigger sets, touring the globe as you go.

You also have the ability to now custom create player models and instrument designs, as well as band logos. This sort of creation is a great inclusion, although for a pick up and play game, it may take too long to mess around with all the costumes and designs available to you, unless your playing on your own.

The Bad

The main sticking points about the game are few and far between to be honest. The instruments are not as ground breaking maybe as we once thought, and although its not fair to review a game based on what peripherals are to be released in the future, for a different video game series, it is very difficult not to, as the two are so similar and are in direct competition with one another. Taking the Rock Band drums, if what you wanted from a game would be to replicate a drummers role in a band, then they do the job perfectly, but they are not without their faults, which has been well documeted in the states. As I've already said, the fact that Harmonix offer a fix for the drums, at more cost, I find completely intolerable, and again, although this has no bearing on the actual game and the way it plays, I find it a very underhanded way of making more money from people. I cant say I have a problem with the set list, and the fact that you can chose your songs and download more is a great option to have, but one gripe is that in BWT, during some sessions such as random songs or gigs to win a bus etc, since the tracks are random, you could end up playing some of the awful German or French stuff on the disc. If one of the members of the band is a singer, and you need 5 stars to win more money and fans, this is likely to be a problem, as the words, and also rhythm of songs will be completely unknown. But as I say, the bad points are minor and certainly dont take anything away from a great mulitplayer game.

The Ugly

Man, the biggest problem of course is the ludicrous price! Its a wonder European gamers even bothered with this one, after being left in the dark for 6 months, and then stumped with a mark up price of something like 110% on the American version of the game. I believe a lot of people didnt, and never will buy the full game due to these reasons, and in my opinion, those people are missing out by just playing the game using their guitars. The real pull was always going to the druming and full band aspect of the game, but at such a price, its no wonder people arent bothering.

I feel the game as a whole is very worthy of its 9, its one of the most playable games out at the moment, and is great as a multiplayer. Not as much as single player, but it certainly does have its elements. Rock On!

[Slyboy]

Great review Crispy - pretty much spot on, except I'm more generous and gave it a 10! Agree with every point you make though including the bad.

[BD Ashby]

I voted outstanding

Ive had this game since realease day and i just cant stop playing it. Even if i try to play another game im straight back on rb

[virtual22]

I gave it a 7 for a few reasons, it is a really good game and I like the difficulty level which for me is much more realistic than previous GH games I have played. I like the fact that I have got nearly to the bottom of RB on hard and have had to do a couple of songs a few times but generally scraped through where as with GH I would five star most of medium but really really struggled with hard, to the point where the game lost it's appeal because I just could not go any further. What I'm getting at is that the difference between hard and medium was too great where as here it's much better.

The set list is good with a range of song types. However, towards the bottom of hard it does seem to be more just frantic up and down strumming rather than combinations of notes / chords making the songs harder.

DLC wise, excellent, I have not bought too much so far but the fact I can pick and chose songs, they're not a rip off price, and again they seem to be trying to cater to most needs is all good IMO.

I did not buy the guitar or mic so cannot comment on these, and here also comes the reason for such a low score. The price of the equipment is terrible, but not only that, the fact that the equipment is such poor quality and some has to be "modded" out of the box to make it work properly is just poor.

I could understand if we had a release schedule at the same time as the US but 8 - 9 months later and they were still shipping the same cruddy drum sets that have been returned all over the place in the US is just not good enough. If we're paying more, and lets face it, we're not talking about a couple of quid here either, it's significantly more, I expect the teething problems to be ironed out. This has somewhat spoilt it for me as I still have no drums having had to return some at the weekend and I'm not sure I can be bothered to buy them again until I know that the first edition EL's are pretty much out the way. This means I feel I'm missing a big chunk of the game.

Other gripes, no world tour online, that's been done. Also, a lot of the achievements appear to be for bands where as if you have no online world tour, and you don't have local friends to play with you're pretty much stuffed.

That's about it really, good game, would recommend but let down strongly by shoddy peripherals.

[edwardtickle]

Great review Chrispy

[bonobaby]

i voted outstanding it has its faults like some of you have said but when it is the right track and your in the zone im larry mullen jnr from u2 with a groupie wife laughing at me like im some 40yr old geezer playing plastic drums get real women this is rock and roll.

[drskhaled]

WEll RB gets a solid 8/10 from me. The drums are 9/10 on the grounds of innovation, fun and authenticity. It loses a point for being shoddy interms of hardware. The guitar parts are what let it down fro me, the first few teirs are pretty boring with few and far between solo's. Later on the songs get much better, So the guitar mode gets 7/10 giving it a combined score of 8/10. I wont bother rating the vocals as its not my cuppa tea.

Graphically i love the style especially the stage effects and slo mo's. Not too keen on the note chart representions, hopos are hard to see.

The price as oft mentioned also drops the score to an 8 as well. Still its one of my fave games.