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Rock Band 2 Review (X360)

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Rock Band 2 Review (X360)EA/MTV
On the surface it seems like not too terribly much has changed from Rock Band 1 to Rock Band 2 other than the track listing, but when you dig a little deeper you find a sequel that is far and away better than the original. It offers a lengthy and deep single-player experience. It is more challenging for skilled players. It has a no fail mode so multiplayer sessions aren’t interrupted no matter how terrible your family and friends are at the game. And it offers up the hugest track listing of any music game ever. You need Rock Band 2.
Quick Hits

  • Title: Rock Band 2
  • Platform: Xbox 360
  • Publisher: EA / MTV
  • Developer: Harmonix
  • ESRB Rating: “T” for Teen
  • Genre: Music / Rhythm
  • Pros: Tons of songs; deep single-player experience; amazingly fun multiplayer; more challenging than RB1; no fail mode
  • Cons: Some songs sort of suck; navigating 200 songs is kind of overwhelming

The big question with the original Rock Band was whether it was worth the $170 for the full kit so I reviewed the game as well as the instruments. With Rock Band 2, I think it is pretty safe to say that most people already have a pile of guitars as well as a drum kit, so this review will only cover the game itself. The new instruments will be covered in a separate article. Also, for the basics of how the game works, our Rock Band 1 review does a pretty good job of explaining everything. Now onto Rock Band 2 specifically.

The first thing that needs to be said is that the single-player experience is surprisingly deep in Rock Band 2. In the Guitar Hero games and in the first Rock Band, you were pretty much limited to just playing through the track list once to unlock everything and then replaying songs to beat your high scores. In RB2 you can play the previously multiplayer-only World Tour mode by yourself, or you can play through challenges that unlock new songs, or you can participate in Battle of the Bands scenarios. And when you consider that you can do all of these things with all four instruments, there is a ton of stuff to do here. You can also, of course, play all of the modes in multiplayer as well.

Gameplay

EA/MTV
In addition to the new and improved modes list, the gameplay has seen a few tweaks as well. For guitar veterans, you’ll be happy to know that Rock Band 2 is a little bit more challenging than RB1. The note charts on expert are much better this time around and might actually make you break a sweat. The window for playing notes also seems to be slightly different from RB1, which will take you a few songs to get used to. I’d say the game overall is still easier than Guitar Hero, but some songs are really quite difficult. With that said, it also seems sort of inconsistent. Some songs will be hard as hell and other songs (in particular songs we have seen in previous guitar games) are way, way easier than they were before so it really throws you off. Singing also appears to be slightly tweaked to be a little easier, but once again, if you know the songs already it is pretty easy anyway. Drumming is comparable to the first game and I don’t really notice a difference.

One of the smartest things Harmonix did in RB2 is include a no fail mode. This means that no matter how terrible your band is you can get to the end of the song. This is such a good idea since there isn’t any worry of failing out early anymore and it encourages novice players to move up in difficulty and try to learn how to play better rather than being embarrassed.

Graphics and Sound

Graphically, Rock Band 2 is a little cleaner looking than the first game, but it all looks pretty familiar. It isn’t like you really notice the background graphics while you are playing anyway, though, so I have no complaints. Well, just one. In World Tour or Challenge mode, the game doesn’t switch the gender of your lead singer if/when the songs switch. So if you start out with a male singer and the second song you play has a female singer, your man from the first song is still singing. Pretty strange, but it does lead to some funny moments.

The sound overall is very good. You know it is good and realistic when you are playing multiplayer and a drummer or bassist that is slightly off tempo can mess up the other players.

I do have a few comments on the track listing. It is good overall, certainly, but there are a few songs (one that immediately comes to mind is the Beastie Boys’ “So Whatcha Want”) that just don’t fit in and aren’t fun to play that you’ll literally play once and then never touch again. Also, if you have a lot of DLC, plus you import the Rock Band 1 tracks over, plus you unlock all 85 songs in RB2, that is an overwhelming number of songs to have to navigate through. It is too much, to be honest. I would recommend that unless you have friends that just have to play the RB1 stuff right away, that you don’t import the tracks until you have seen all of the new tracks first. It is easy to get lost when you have 200 tracks to sort through and easy to get stuck in a rut where you only play familiar songs rather than new ones particularly in multiplayer.

Bottom Line

EA/MTV
In the end, Rock Band 2 delivers pretty much exactly what you would want from a sequel. There are more modes, a huge track list, and gameplay and presentation tweaks that make this an undeniable improvement over the first game. No fail mode all on its own make Rock Band 2 worth picking up if you spend a lot of time playing multiplayer with friends and family. And there is also a much deeper single-player game here as well that will keep you playing new stuff for quite a while rather than beating the game once and then replaying songs for high scores. It is a great single-player experience and the ultimate party game. Rock Band 2 is a great game overall that is highly recommended.

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