Games for Lunch: Rock Band 2
In a nutshell: Rockier and Bandier.
9/15/2008 6:02 PM | 0 Comments | Page 1 of 3
Developer: Harmonix
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Release Date: Sept. 14, 2008
Systems: Xbox 360 (reviewed), PS3, Wii (later release)
ESRB Rating: T
Official Web site
0:00 Considering I played the original game for at least 100 hours, the "more than an hour" verdict at the end of this is almost a foregone conclusion.
0:10 I'm not counting the 10 minutes or so that it took to import my original
Rock Band songs to my hard drive, but I am counting the roughly 10 minutes it took to unbox and assemble the new wireless drums and guitar, so it's really a wash.
0:11 An intro movie plays with a beat-up car driving down a dusty road with a full band playing on top. Another, bigger car comes barreling down in the other direction. This one also has a band, including a big, fat, shirtless singer swinging a mace at the end of his microphone cord. They're both singing
Cheap Trick's "Hello There". The cars swerve to barely avoid hitting each other and the singer with the mace dives forward. Some ill-advised riding on the undercarriage of the nearly sideways car follows as the cars turn around and bash into each other. In the end they all fly through a
Rock Band 2 billboard, leaving cartoon silhouettes in their wake. ROCK!
0:13 Creating save files and we're to a mostly nondescript menu screen. "Did you check out the impossible Battle yet?" asks a message at the bottom. "Prove you are worthy of owning the game early." Heh.
0:14 I know this game is meant to be played with a large group, but no one is around, so I guess it's a solo tour for me. I start with the drums, of course.
0:15 Game suggests Elijah as a name for my character, and I like it so much I decide to run with it (plus, I'm not feeling that original right now). He's a New Yorker with a rock attitude, black sideburns and a pompadour. Actually, now that I've outfitted him, I think I'll rename him Elvis.
0:18 I name my band "Italicized Space." It's an inside joke, but also a good name for a rock band, don't you think?
0:20 "Congratulations! Your band has been offered a gig at Heebie Jeebies! Welcome to the wonderful world of touring." I know three of the first four available songs -- "Float On" by Modest Mouse is by far the best. I choose medium difficulty as a warm up. This shouldn't be too hard.
0:26 Actually, it was a bit too easy. I score five stars with 98 percent and a 122-note streak. I got $25, a city shirt, 70 fans, two new gigs and 10 Gamerscore points. That was easy!
0:27 The gameplay is very familiar, but the new drums are not. The pads are a bit softer than the old original
Rock Band drums, but a lot of that comes from the fact that you don't have to hit them as hard because of the nice, springy bounce-back. I like how the game recognizes how hard you hit the pads during the solos, but it doesn't seem to affect the rest of the game. Overall, a real joy to play so far.
