What happens when the jilted creators of a highly popular music/rhythm video game franchise get picked up by one of the biggest names in the music media industry? You get Rock Band . Developed by Harmonix Music Systems, creators of the Guitar Hero franchise under publisher Red Octane (now an Activision company), Rock Band is a music/rhythm game that incorporates not only guitars as lead and rhythm/bass, but drums and vocals as well.

Rock Band has no story. Sure, there's the band starting off in their local town and getting bigger and better modes of transportation as they progress through the game, but compared to any of the games in the Guitar Hero franchise, and I'll be doing a lot of that, Rock Band is just pick up and play. Aside from the insane intro video of a band riding on top of various vehicles, which get larger as they continue on the “road to success”, while playing Deep Purple's Highway Star , there is no other mention of such types of things, other than the previously mentioned bigger and better modes of transportation.

Gameplay

Undeniably one of the most important aspects of a music/rhythm game, aside from sound, are the controllers you play the game with. I would like to say that EA did a great job with all of the Rock Band peripherals, but I'd be lying. Don't get me wrong, the design is great aesthetically pleasing, but the way the controllers function, or rather, the frequency with with they function properly right out of the box, is low. I'll start with the microphone, as it the least of my worries. I consider Logitech, which designed the Rock Band microphone, to be an excellent peripheral company, especially when it comes to their audio equipment. However, the Rock Band microphone just doesn't live up to the manufacturer's usual standards. Its ability to pick up a wide range of voices is quite poor, especially when compared to the microphones that come with some other karaoke style video games, like SingStar .

I can't get enough of playing on the Rock Band drum kit, but the pads don't have the proper kickback when struck, and things like drum rolls very difficult to perform. Worse yet, it makes things even harder when trying to play faster songs. The worst part of the drum kit is yet to come though, as the kick pedal gets that prize. Lacking in cord length, thus disallowing for higher pad placement, and highly prone to breaking (in various places), the pedal for the Rock Band drum kit feels like its made of cheap plastic, and it simply cannot handle regular use. I have, thankfully, only had to replace one pedal so far, but so many people have had problems with the official pedal, even replacements, that there is now a dedicated Rock Band drum kit pedal modification community making all kinds of different, and better pedals or pedals mods, like this simple one from epilepticgaming.com .

Finally, the peripheral that has given me the most trouble of all, the Rock Band guitar. Based on the Fender Stratocaster, this guitar controller features comfortably sized fret buttons embedded into the bridge, as well as miniature solo buttons at the bottom of the bridge, a tone switcher, a whammy bar and a smooth strum bar. I absolutely adore the design of the Rock Band guitar. I find the the embedded buttons easier to use than the Guitar Hero guitar, and the smooth strum bar feels much more like real strumming to me than the clicking strum bar on the Guitar Hero guitar. I know many people who I have discussed this with who prefer the clicking strum bar because it helps them keep the beat, but after playing Rock Band , the Guitar Hero guitar just doesn't cut it for me anymore.

The only problem with the Rock Band guitar is that I haven't had a single one that worked completely right out of the box. The one that came in my Rock Band Special Edition box didn't go into Overdrive (the Rock Band version of Star Power) properly, if at all. My second guitar had a blue button that always stuck, making it almost impossible to play on any difficulty higher than Easy. My third guitar has a strum bar that doesn't work. I have not yet ordered my next replacement guitar.

All of the problems with the peripherals aside, if you have a fully working copy of Rock Band with fully functioning peripherals, this game blows Guitar Hero out of the water. Essentially modeled after Guitar Hero, Rock Band has a constantly moving series of coloured “note” icons moving toward you as you play. As the “notes” arrive at your instrument, you either strum or hit the drum pad that corresponds with that “note”, depending on which instrument you are playing, of course. If you're singing, a line is your guide for singing higher or lower notes and, when you are playing on higher difficulties, the game scrutinizes how well you are to hitting the notes much more closely. Activating Overdrive works the same way for the Rock Band guitars as the Guitar Hero guitars, but since you can't pick up your drums, you do a freestyle fill and hit the green crash at the end of it. For the microphone, you just sing or say something when a big gold area comes up.

Some of the most notable differences between Guitar Hero and Rock Band are the ability to still collect Overdrive energy while in Overdrive, a great addition, the creation of your own custom designed and named rocker (not available for the Playstation 2 and upcoming Wii version), the Big Rock Ending and the ability to keep track of your star rating while playing the song. While these differences might not seem like much, they add a lot to the gameplay, especially when in multiplayer.

Multiplayer and Online

Guitar duel

The multiplayer modes are really the core gameplay in Rock Band . Sure, you can play the game by yourself, but what's the point in having a whole band if you aren't going to get a bunch of people in the same room and rock out together? Sure, the game has your standard quickplay multiplayer, where up to four people can play together, picking tracks single by single, or two people can take each other on in a Score Duel or Tug of War (if you've got two of the same instrument), but there's something much better. Multiplayer is the area where Rock Band shines brightest, as you can play through the entire career mode as a band in Band World Tour mode (not available for the Playstation 2 or soon to be released Wii version).

My only issue with the Band World Tour is that you've got no choice but to make your own rocker before you can actually begin playing. It's true that you can just say Create and then go with the base rocker that it gives you to design, but it would have been even better if there was just a Quick Band Create function that let you jump in faster, because the bigger the band, the longer it takes and, inevitably, somebody ends up wanting to seriously customize their character before everybody can continue. Then you've got to pick your home city, and you can finally begin playing.

Once you get into the Band World Tour you can pick whatever tracks are available to play from your local venues and start on your way to bigger and better venues, collecting fans and cash along the way. On your way toAs a band, you've got a lot of advantages over solo gigs. You can sometimes get bonuses for playing portions of

Singing duel

songs in perfect unison, you can combine your Overdrive energy to max out your point score and, best of all, if a band mate fails, you can save them and bring them back into the performance. Three strikes and you're out though. A cool trick we've learned here while playing in the Band World Tour is if one of your band mates is having trouble keeping up in a particular song, you can stagger your Overdrive usage to constantly keep them from failing (as long as they're at least decent enough to manage through some parts). If one of your band mates is not as skilled though, they don't have to worry, as Rock Band doesn't require everybody to play at the same difficulty level. As you continue in the Band World Tour, it will begin cutting off the easier difficulties for some of the venues, but overall, you'll be able to play through on whatever difficulty level you please.

The Band World Tour mode also includes a particular new feature that is, simply put, awesome – set lists! This isn't amateur night at the lounge! You're a band looking to hit the big time. So why wouldn't you get to play more than one song at your own concert, right? It's an ingenious addition, and it really brings together the whole experience.

You can't talk about the Rock Band multiplayer experience without mentioning online play. The setup for online play in Rock Band may be simple, but it works well. Head into Multiplayer and select either Score Duel or Tug of War, and choose whether you'd like to play a Ranked Match (from which the results will be posted on the leaderboards) or a regular Player Match. Once the game finds someone to play against, one of the two players gets to select the songs and the difficulty, and you play. The game also gives you the option of searching by difficulty, allowing you to find other players in your skill set, or be a jerk and kick a newbie's butt.

Once you're playing online, the service works beautifully, with no lag to speak of. You can also chat with your opponents over Xbox Live if you want, though it seems there are very few, to no people who do. There is also the rampant problem of players quitting before the match ends. A shame really, but it has nothing to do with the game itself, just people unwilling to lose.

There is one feature missing from online play that I really would have liked to see, but has already been addressed as something that was very difficult to accomplish because of data synchronization across multiple players' console. That feature is Band

Music Store

World Tour mode online. Playing as a band online when the band can't get together in person would put this game over the top, but was unfortunately considered to be too difficult to pull off for this release. It's something I hope to see in future releases of the game.

But wait, there's more. Rock Band includes an entire Community area, where you can access behind the scenes videos and check out the leaderboards. Plus, there is a massive list of extra downloadable songs available for purchase online. EA even recently updated the game so players can easily search the Music Store, preview tracks, purchase single songs or track packs and view track difficulties from inside the game. There will even be full albums available for download soon.

Environment and Graphics

The menu interface in Rock Band is clear, smooth and simple to navigate. Everything is laid out in all the right places and it's all pleasing to the eye. The menus are also somewhat of an introduction to what the gameplay backgrounds will look like, as there is a very classic music video/live-recorded concert grainy look to everything.

The actual in-game interface is also quite simple, and that makes it easy to read. The score appears in the top right, with however many stars you've got under it, the energy meter is located at the bottom centre, with the multiplier meter embedded just under it, also centred. Your Crowd Meter, located at the left of the screen, tells you how well you're doing, and the instrument track is centred in the middle of the screen, taking up most of the viewing space, as it should. One of the more interesting aspects of the instrument track is that it glows with energy when you're in Overdrive.

Behind the in-game user interface is everything that's happening at your band's concerts. Everything you've come to expect from Guitar Hero venues is there, but in a much more realistic way. Some of the venues do look rather odd, like the arcade for instance, but none of them look like they wouldn't be able to be duplicated in real life. The concert look is yet another area where Rock Band excels compared to Guitar Hero . Not only does everything look realistic, but all of the player avatars actually play in time to the music, including the drummer!

This brings me back to what I was saying about the classic music video/live-recorded concert grainy look I mentioned before. Everything that goes on in the background while you play Rock Band is an almost perfectly choreographed rock show, where your avatars play to the the audience, interact with each other, and play for the cameras. Yes, I know all of these animation patterns are preset, but it all looks so real, and it's like you're watching a rock concert as you play. They actually get into the music and, if you fail, they get annoyed, knock over mic stands, the drummer throws his/her sticks, etc. If it was possible to have someone play the game on one screen and have the background stuff appear on its own on a separate screen, it would be like watching an animated concert, complete with fireworks, laser lights, the works! It sucks you into the music and the show, and amps up the fun.

Sound

Without a doubt, the second most important aspect of a music/rhythm game, the sound in Rock Band is no disappointment. Far from it. Every sound in the game, except for cheering and vocals obviously, is like its own form of music, as every sound is instrumental. Even something like moving up and down or selecting options in the menus is accompanied by the strum of a guitar.

The track selection for Rock Band is nothing but hits in my book. Even if you do have to play some of the songs over and over again to make your way through the Band World Tour mode, they're still great, even after the hundredth time. Okay, I admit, I am starting to dislike Bon Jovi's Wanted Dead or Alive just a bit. Take a second to realize that I'm not including the bonus tracks as part of the regular track selection though, as I have not played through all of them.

The sound is pure and the quality is clear. This is enhanced by the fact that none of the instruments overpowers any of the others, or the voice. The mix is solid for each of the songs, and that makes things easier for players, as they can properly hear their part.

Conclusion

Rock Band brings together many of the aspects of music/rhythm games before it, especially Guitar Hero , and then kicks them up a notch. Aside from some occasional problems with the game's controllers, Rock Band produces a music/rhythm gaming experience that goes far beyond coloured “notes” moving on a track. It's a full fledged laser lights rock show.

Gameplay: 8.5
Environment and Graphics: 9
Sound: 10
Story: N/A
Fun: 10

Verdict: Buy It