One of the best parties you can throw
There’s a moment (of one of many) where I somehow nailed a groove on the drums on Hard that was near flawless for awhile that the crowd started to chant along to the song. Granted they do that anyway regardless of instrument but to be able to actually do it and make the crowd go nuts is one of the many smile-inducing moments found in Rock Band. To be honest, I never cared for Rock Band’s direct competition, that of the Guitar Hero series, mainly because I always felt they were more about one-upping themselves all the time without the refinements needed and despite the ever-popular Guitar Hero 3, I always had a love for Rock Band. While there’s some gripes of course, it’s one of those kind of games where the fun can really come in from all sides and not a lame single player, short length or laggy multiplayer.

The first instrument many will probably will gravitate towards to is the drums since not only does it seem the most fun to play, but it seems to closest to feeling like you’re actually rocking out. The drum kit itself is pretty sturdy and the pads are fine though occasionally some adjustments have to be made but my biggest problem is 2 things, both addressed in the follow-up’s kit: one is that the pads are quite clacky and I literally had to either crank the sound (not good for apartment or fascist music-hating parents) or put on headphones just to drown out all the noise, noise, noise! found on the pads. The other is the kick drum pedal which yes, it can break but also it never really felt comfortable and whether the heel was up or down, the hits never felt like I was doing them but rather a “I hope they register” feeling. Also, during more spirited sessions, it’s quite easy, for me anyway, to hit the buttons for the 360 controller itself and many occasions I’ll be attempting the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s “Maps” on expert which of course requires that triple hit on the blue pad only to end up getting a dashboard menu. Bah!

The guitar itself is fine though since I got Guitar Hero 3 at the same time due to a nice business venture (read: traded this and that for one of my things, lucrative deal indeed) I just used the GH3 guitar. I mean, it is shaped like an Explorer and it’s pretty efficient though the size is smaller than my actual guitar so I felt somewhat…cramped, like a tall guy getting into a small guy. But the Rock Band controller is also pretty usable but if you ever try a GH guitar well, it just feels a lot smoother. Also the strum bar is the same as other guitar peripherals and for the heavy fast stuff, of course you do alternate picking style but when it gets really fast, it just feels like a lot more exertion is required and for the first bit you start thinking that lever’s gonna rip off one day.

Now for the singing. Anyway who’s ever played Sing It or American Idol will know the drill. Words spelled out according to syllables will show up with a scrolling bar where you have to match a pitch with the arrow pointing to if you’re higher or lower. Naturally it’s also the most embarassing since you can either be a warbler or be a bunch of dudes about to tackle something like “Maps”, “Celebrity Skin” or “I Think I’m Paranoid” and it’s like aww crap. On occasion, a circle will show up, indicating that the microphone needs to be hit which of course you just slap against your palm which gets a big workout during “Don’t Fear the Reaper”. More cowbell!

As for the modes themselves, they work but they’re could’ve been improvements. Of course the sequel has it but Band World Tour isn’t online, songs have to be unlocked so naturally if you’re in a household and your shiny new Rock Band is being assembled and you want to Quickplay, imagine the surprise when half of the soundtrack has to be unlocked. Even though you have to assign profiles lest you become generic rocker #1. Why couldn’t I just make one profile/rocker and have him or her be a multi-instrumentalist and tackle all solo tours by themselves? Hell if Trent Reznor can make an album on his own, then so can I…on here at least.

But the big plus comes from downloadable songs which range from track packs usually according to a theme or just whatever, an album pack like The Who or Red Hot Chili Peppers or individual songs. Prices are within reasonable limits so a song costs 160 MSP while highest is 1200 to 1600 depending on how big the track. But here’s the thing: if you have this one as well as Rock Band 2, you can import the songs from here onto 2 for a small MSP balance. So instead of having 2 games with 2 setlists, just transfer em over which is good because these songs get old fast and there’s only so many times one can play “Paranoid” before it grates.

If you haven’t picked up Rock Band 2 already, I suggest you do so but considering the price of this one, hard to pass up. It’s fun and addicting as hell, fulfills that fantasy of having fans praise your awesomeness and the songs will just keep coming and that’s a good reason to pick it up…unless it’s more awful “who the hell are these guys?” releases.