Xbox 360
With the rhythm-action genre becoming something of a one horse race due to the dominance of Guitar Hero, original series developer Harmonix needed to produce something blinding to compete with the monster it had created.
With a whammy and screeching power chord enters Rock Band, the next word in music-based titles. This follows the Guitar Hero format quite closely, except from a few noticeable and therefore-defining features.
Rather than focusing on guitar play, you can buy the brilliant if not entirely over-priced 'band in a box set' which comes packaged with guitars, a drum kit and microphone, the drum mode being the coup de grace of the title. The kit itself features a bass pedal and four rack toms to belt out all your favourite tunes.
Drumming works the same as guitar play in essence, with coloured-notes cascading down the screen, hitting the corresponding part of the drum kit in time with the music plays the song correctly. This is perhaps so accurate that on expert levels it has been compared to actually playing the song on a full-size drum kit. Holding down a good beat here is an indicator that drumming in a band may be well within your grasp.
Vocals are also fun, asking your bands crooner to match the lyrics on screen in karaoke fashion, hitting the correct pitch and note lengths the game throws at you. To save your singer from getting bored during instrumental breaks there are clap along sections which work well and get the crowd going - a neat touch.
It can often be tough to get three of your mates round to make full use of all of these features at once, so there is a solo mode where you can play with any instrument, globetrotting to different venues. Playing gigs earns you cash which can be spent on new clothes, haircuts and tattoos for your character, who can be customised a number of ways.
With a track list including bands such as Metallica, Oasis, Jet, Ramones and Soundgarden, there truly is something here for everyone. However, with over a hundred dowloadable tracks available on Xbox Live and PSN already, the scope of this game is massive. New tunes can be bought singularly or you may opt to download a full album. Music from artists such as Serj Tankian, Judas Priest, At The Gates, Fall Our Boy and The Clash are only a few of the top-quality tracks available now.
The online possibilities here are endless and offer many ways to play. You can face your full band off against another in a battle of the bands type contest or go mano-a-mano against another guitarist or drummer.
The bottom line without sounding too cheesy is that this does indeed rock hard and is perhaps the most enjoyable mutliplayer system to hit consoles to date. Party On.
Rock Band
by Dave Cook | 27-05-08
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