After the release of Guitar Hero II, the series’ creators,
Harmonix, left the cash cow and teamed up with MTV to develop a rhythm
game to end all rhythm games. The result of their efforts is the
much-ballyhooed Rock Band—and while the game doesn’t
render the recent Guitar Hero III totally obsolete, it’s still a
damn impressive package.
Sadly, the game is not perfect. The biggest issue with the whole
thing is that the full package costs $170 (assuming you can even find
it in stock). Justification for that hefty price tag comes in the form
of a set of faux drums, a faux guitar, and a microphone, and the game
itself—but that’s still a lot of scratch to spend on something
you can’t have sex with.
The addition of these new instruments, though, is also Rock
Band‘s greatest success. Where Guitar Hero has you
heroically playing guitar, Rock Band expands on that concept by
giving you the chance to virtually strum, sing, or drum your way to
rock stardom. Plus, if you decide you’re above playing bass, you can
assign any (or all) of the unused instruments to up to three of your
friends. Played with more than one person, Rock Band becomes
something like group karaoke, only less embarrassing.
The most crucial part of any rhythm game is always the included
songs, and Rock Band doesn’t disappoint in that regard. Its
50-plus songs don’t quite match Guitar Hero III‘s in terms of
number or quality, but since each track can be played four different
ways, there’s much more versatility. The tracks range from OK Go’s
ubiquitous “Here it Goes Again” to Metallica’s “Enter Sandman,” and
after only a week of existence, the game already had more downloadable
content than Guitar Hero II ever saw.
The most daunting part of Rock Band is definitely its large
price tag—but if you can handle the cover charge, it’s the most
entertaining party game since binge drinking met fireworks.