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 Despite a stripped-down feel, Rock Band is still spectacular |
| Review Date: December 29, 2007 |
| Reviewer: N. Durham, Philadelphia, PA |
| We all knew that we'd be getting a stripped-down version of Rock Band for the PS2, but let it be said that despite it's last-gen flaws and missing options, Rock Band still manages to be a spectacular rhythm game. As one could guess, Rock Band is best enjoyed as a party game with others, as the instruments included in the Special Edition work wonderfully to their purpose. The 58 included songs here, including cuts from Weezer, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica, Jet, and the Ramones among others; are all implemented well, and the in-game screen is flawless as you perform these tunes. While nearly everything about the PS2 version of Rock Band is spot-on, there are moments where you will notice just how stripped-down this conversion is. Most notably is the fact that you will not be able to download new content, and an incredibly stripped-down Band World Tour mode is what really hurts the PS2 version of Rock Band, but this was expected to begin with, which doesn't make these lackings a surprise. What is surprising is how spot-on spectacular the PS2 version of Rock Band ends up being, as there are still a variety of options to explore and modes to play, whether it be alone or as a party game as intended. All in all, if Guitar Hero got you into rhythm gaming and a PS2 is your only option, Rock Band is an essential pickup. |
Great party game, certainly better than Guitar Hero!!
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| Review Date: January 1, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Tina, Tampa, FL |
A few weeks ago I was invited over a friend's house to play Rock Band on his Xbox 360. I absolutely fell in love with the game and just had to have it for myself. Only I didn't have a 360 and I knew it would be extremely difficult to find one for the PS2. I was about to go all crazy and buy a 360 just to play Rock Band when one day I managed to find a PS2 version just by chance. So of course I bought it and set it up as soon as I got home.
Setup isn't all that simple. Unless you want to take 5 minutes to set everything up everytime you play, I suggest leaving everything assembled (that is, if you have room to store everything). Initial setup obviously takes longer. First you must setup every instrument. The mic requires no assembly. Easy enough. For the guitar, you need to snap the end of the guitar into the other piece, then put on the strap, then unscrew the plate on the back of the guitar and insert the batteries (which are included). The drums have several different pieces. This is what takes the longest to set up. After the instruments are assembled, you hook them up to a usb hub which then hooks up to the usb port on your PS2.
In terms of the actual game, you are allowed to have 4 people playing at one time (one singer, one drummer, and 2 guitarists-bass and electric). If you only have a couple of people or if you just want to play by yourself, you have that option as well and you can choose any instrument to play. Just want to sing? That's fine. One of you wants to play guitar while the other plays the drums? That's fine too. The additional guitar is not included with this bundle but if you have a Guitar Hero guitar, that'll work.
What's great about this game is that anyone can play. I played this on New Year's Eve with my 20 year old sister, my 22 year old sister, my 13 year old male cousin, my 15 year old female cousin, and my 40 year old uncle and everyone enjoyed it. I probably wouldn't recommend this for younger kids because even the easy levels can be difficult for adults. There are 4 different levels to choose from-easy, medium, hard, and expert. Each player can choose which level they want to play on. If your singer doesn't know the words to a certain song, you can put him/her on easy while your awesome bassist can play on hard or expert.
For those who don't have Guitar Hero and/or don't know how to play the game, it's pretty simple. The singer sings the lyrics (obviously). The drums and guitars have 4 and 5 "buttons" (respectively). Each is colored. Every player has their own "chart". Different colored circles come in varying speeds down the "chart" and the player must hit the correct colored buttons as they come to the end of the "chart". When done correctly, notes are hit in tune, and music is produced. You play as a band and when one person fails, you must "save" them (or bring them back into the game) by playing really well and hitting every note.
If you have someone in your group that is a good singer and can hit the notes and/or is not all that great at playing the guitars and drums, this is your singer. If you have someone who has good rhythm and doesn't mind playing at an obnoxiously fast speed, this is your drummer. If you have two people who are quick with their fingers and can multitask, these are your guitarists. Other reviewers pointed out that this game is hard and yeah, it can be. Not everyone is going to be good at every instrument. I'm good on guitar but can't play the drums on easy without failing. This is why I think this game is better suited for teens and adults.
A few other noteworthy things to point out. First, this version is different from the 360 version. Obviously with the 360, you can play "online" with other people and you can't with the PS2 version. Also the tour options are different. With the 360 version, you can constantly work up to harder difficulties and new songs whereas the PS2 version is very straightforward-you get new songs after playing the other songs no matter what difficulty level you're on. I've played every song and from here I can only try to beat the harder levels. After I've accomplished that, there isn't much else to do.
There are different options as well. You can configure your game so that there isn't a lag with the song. If your guitarist is a lefty, you can choose Lefty Mode. You can change the volume levels for each instrument so that mom isn't yelling at the kiddos that the drums are too loud. Song-wise, there are only a few songs that the younger generations will know. I'm 20 years old and of the 58 songs, I've probably only heard of 15 or 20. And some of the songs have me questioning why the heck they were chosen for this game. But overall the songs aren't terrible.
Would I recommend this game? For sure. Keep in mind that younger kids might have a really tough time getting the hang of it. Replayability isn't as great as I'd like it to be but I'm hoping there will be new Rock Band games released in the future. |
Bought the ps2 (game only) and I Love IT!!!
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| Review Date: December 28, 2007 |
| Reviewer: B. Frawley, Syracuse, NY United States |
| This game is awesome. I can't stop playing. All I had was two Guitar hero guitars and a usb mic from a karaoke game and it works like a champ. Alot of the songs have replay value. I've heard that the ps3 drums work with the ps2 version so I can't wait to pick up that to complete the band and we're rolling!!! |
Rock Band
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| Review Date: March 25, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Nicholas D. Taylor, Baghbad Iraq |
| I am a deployed soldier, and when I finaly got the game in the mail. pretty much my whole company got excited... even the people who really don't like Rock music came to watch those of us who knew the songs play and sing. We all had a blast for the few short hours that he have for some down time. There where some things that I noticed that could have been improved on... but when I looked over as saw just how much fun everyone was having pretending to be their fav. rock star, all that didn't matter... I would like to give a special thanks to the makers of that game, it really brigntened up our lives a little bit. |
All About the Drums
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| Review Date: November 21, 2007 |
| Reviewer: J. Finkel, Hoboken, NJ |
I've only had Rock Band for XBox 360 one day, but I can easily recommend it to any and all. This special edition comes with everything you need to play the game - a guitar, mic, drum set and the game. There is a fourth instrument however - bass, which is played using the guitar. If you want to play guitar and bass at the same time, a second guitar is needed. Fortunately, the guitar hero guitars work well if you have them. If not, I recommend buying Guitar Hero 3 bundle for xbox360, which comes with a wireless guitar. The instruments for rock band are all wired (to USB ports on xbox 360), which can be annoying, but on the plus side, they don't require any batteries!
Thanks to Karaoke Revolution and Guitar Hero, singing and playing faux-guitar are nothing new for video games. They've been done, and done well. In fact, you should check them out too.
What hasn't been done before is the drum set. The set you receive is made from mostly aluminum and hard molded plastic, extremely durable. Gaming magazines have reported the drum set as taking tons of abuse without being worse for the wear. The 4 well-sized drum pads are on a ~30° tilt, are adjustable in height and have a good, rubbery spring to them. The foot pedal is awkward at first and could be more responsive, but certainly does the job. Everyone in the family will be eager to give it a try, and once won't be enough. One word of caution - unless you're a percussionist, start off with Easy and expect to make plenty of mistakes. It will probably take a LOT of practice to make it up to Hard, but then again, being a good drummer takes a lot of practice too. And perhaps the best feature of Rock Band, unlike other music video games, is by the time you hit Expert, you'll actually be able to play drums.
The special edition bundle may be pricey, but if you and/or your family are at all musically inclined, you'll get more than your money's worth. Just one note of caution - although far from the volume or noise of a real drum set, between the drums and singing, you may want to set this one up in the basement. |
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