Rock Band 2 review video (Xbox 360)

With the original Rock Band title providing millions of players with a new way to interact with the music and artists they love, Rock Band 2 builds upon its core band foundation to offer an unparalleled, deeper, dynamic gameplay experience.

Rock Band 2 is set to revolutionize music gaming with the ability to export most of the songs from the original Rock Band disc, Online World Tour, daily Battle-Of-The Band Tournaments, Auto-Calibration to eliminate TV lag, wireless drums, quieter, velocity sensitive drum heads, support for up to three cymbals (sold separately), advanced voice detection technology, No Fail Mode, and a real Drum Trainer. Rock Band 2’s massive list of innovations (read below) also includes the ability to export your in-game band avatar to the internet and order custom Rock Band merchandise including apparel and figures.

The loose Rock Band 2 game is out now on Xbox 360 first, along with the new standalone guitar and drums. To get the whole set (in the special edition) you’ll have to wait until October 19th though. PS3, PS2 and Wii gamers will have to wait until the October 19th, November 18th and November 16th, respective release dates.

Bust out your lighter, it’s time for an encore. Find out all about it in this Rock Band 2 video review.


Key Rock Band 2 features in the Xbox 360 version are:
* Local and global online modes to connect the entire Rock Band community.
* World Tour mode, now online, simplifies the best of gameplay from the original Rock Band by fusing Solo Tour and Band World Tour modes and cranks it up a notch with an all new collection of opportunity gigs, challenges, cities, venues and hirable staff.
* Tour Challenges that offer rockers a chance to play through mini-campaigns focused on the best songs by instrument, decade, genre, artist, album and more.
* Battle of the Bands mode challenges players to go head to head against other bands in constantly refreshed contests* created by Harmonix (*internet connection required).
* Quickplay makes it easier than ever to get in and jam without hassle while allowing for new prefab characters or customized characters that can play on any instrument plus lets you make your own set lists and organize your song lists in a variety of categories (genre, era, etc.).
* Customizable Set Lists keep the music rolling and your band rocking in Quickplay mode.
* Drum Trainer mode gives players the fundamentals of different beats and fills, translating gameplay into real drumming skills.
* Character Creator completes your look with all new choices in clothing, accessories, tattoos, hairstyles, instruments and more to keep your unique rock avatar playing the full rock part.
* Backwards compatibility with all Rock Band downloadable music content released to date.
* Disc Export Feature gives owners of the original Rock Band the ability to export most of the Rock Band disc tracks and upgrade them into Rock Band 2 gameplay.
* The Rock Band 2 songs list will feature over 100 songs - with over 80 songs on disc plus an additional 20 bonus tracks which will be made available for free download this fall.
* Unrivaled Blend of Classic, Developing and Emerging rock acts including Pearl Jam, Metallica, Allman Brothers, Motorhead, Devo, Jane’s Addiction, Megadeth, Paramore, Modest Mouse and more.
* Rock Band 2 is the first and only video game to feature the music of AC/DC. It includes their epic rock anthem, “Let There Be Rock”.
* After 14 years since Guns N’ Roses last official music release, Axl Rose selects Rock Band 2 to debut official new track, “Shackler’s Revenge” from the highly-anticipated album Chinese Democracy.
* For the first time ever, music from American music icon, Bob Dylan, is featured in a video game with “Tangled Up In Blue”.
* With ongoing weekly Downloadable Content (DLC) releases including individual tracks, track packs and full albums, the Rock Band music library will feature more than 500 songs through 2008!

To quote the IGN video review: “Rock Band 2 improves in several areas over the original. The track list is better, the difficulty has been bumped up, it’s more accessible, all previously released DLC works from the get-go, and Battle of the Bands is a brilliant online mode. But there’s no getting around the fact that almost nothing was done to the main mode, World Tour. This is still the primary feature of Rock Band and yet it seems to have been neglected. It’s hard to notice the newness when there’s a big chunk of game that is just the same as it ever was.

That said, music game fans would be absolutely crazy not to buy Rock Band 2. Even if you hate a few of the songs on disc, you are still getting an incredible deal. It’s less than a dollar a song, with an extra 20 free DLC coming in the next couple of months. That’s just too good to pass up.”

Presentation — 9.5
Graphics — 8.0
Sound — 9.5
Gameplay — 9.0
Lasting Appeal — 10
Overall — 9.0

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