Rock Band
Far be it for me to deny gamers their inalienable right to rock out as they see fit. Likewise, the rockers of the world might now likely want to game. Harmonix and Red Octane broke incredibly fertile grounds when they married the rock star fantasy with a video gaming nation when Guitar Hero was born. Its two sequels have likewise been popular, gaining bigger and better songs, graphics and gameplay. When Harmonix decided to break off and bed with MTV, something magical happened. Drums happened. A microphone happened. Rock Band happened.
I can’t say anything a-foul about the ‘Hero’ franchise, but Rock Band takes players to the next level, not only by getting up to 4 people in on the jam sessions with two more instruments (drums and vocals), but improving everything about the relatively young genre of rythm based games. Choose solo tour and pick one of the included peripherals, a sleek new Fender Stratocaster, drum kit or microphone. The character creation gives you some basic tools to pick your rocker’s wardrobe, tatoos and attitude like goth, metal, punk or rock. As you jump from city to city you’ll unlock additional tracks and earn cash to spend in the store for more elaborate outfits and instruments.
Solo touring is fun and all, but hardly representative of this game’s draw. Band World Tour (BWT) is really where things get started. BWT requires at least 2 players, up to four (second guitar controller, sold seperately). As a newly formed band, you’ll take just about any gig you can. Individual songs can be played, depending on the real locales, but many sets are chosen for you. Since BWT is more of a simulation, don’t expect to get by with just single song sets and certainly expect to play any given song several times as you travel the world, just like a real band. Earn stars for the quality of your performance, gain fans and rake in yet more cash to customize yourself and your bandmates.
It’s without much question, this game is truly an immersive experience, since you and your bandmates aren’t simply manipulating an amorphous controller, but instead very closely mimicking a performer you would normally see on stage. The strongest evidence to this can be seen as many popular karaoke bars across the country are dedicating whole weekends and more to Rock Band. It’s about the music and it’s about playing together.
I imagine many gamers are going to be turned off by the unusually heavy price tag, but break it down by the hours you’re going to get out of your investment and it’s pretty clear that you’re getting a good deal for your money. Forget 140 bucks for a 2 hour concert at the Coliseum…rock your living room for dozens of hours anytime you feel like it. Pay a few extra bucks for gobs of new content, coming out almost weekly as single tracks or triple packs and the game won’t stay stale any time soon.
It’s time to let your inner Hetfield come out and play.
UPDATE: (1/24/08)
EA has confirmed that the game and individual instruments will be sold seperately starting mid-February 08 so you can ease into your rock career without wearing out your wallet. Expect the guitars to go for $59 and the drums for $79. Any USB microphone (or the headset on the 360) are easy to come by, so probly won’t be availble seperately. Still no word on a Wii version of the hit title, but an earlier phone interview with Harmonix gave us hope.
