Rock Band 2 Impressions
August 8,2008 - What we’re about to tell you is going to incite jealousy in you. We’re truly sorry for that. But mostly, we’re going to rub it in your faces.
At a recent EA event, we had the good fortune to rock out with a couple of Harmonix dudes. Needless to say the game was Rock Band 2, the difficulty was Expert, and the new peripherals and features are exactly what you asked for. There was Pinball Wizard, there was Testify and Everlong and Psycho Killer, and by the end of our set, our Harmonix vocalist had admittedly left his dignity behind hours ago. And so we made him sing We Got the Beat.
The first thing you’ll notice about the game is the streamlined menu system. Taking a hint from the awesome Music Store setup, the song list in the game now sports album artwork, a quick-browse by alphabet system, and difficulty ratings for every instrument on every song. If you see five fiery rock-horns, be afraid.
The best part is the easy to use create-a-list feature. You can easily make a set list of all rock songs, all songs by The Who, or all songs from the ‘90s.
There’s only one Tour mode now, and it can be played with your band online. No more making a random band every time you want to jam online. People can drop in and out as they please, and your created characters can now be assigned any of the four instruments. Also note, a solo career just means you’ll pick any of the instruments and play through Tour mode.
Another interesting change to the structure of the game is that songs won’t just unlock in linear order now. None of that play five, get five business. One way you’ll unlock new songs is through unique challenges that will be tailored to your personal downloaded track list. These will update as you buy new tracks.
Harmonix also has a new Battle of the Bands mode, to raise the stakes further. Every couple of days, they’ll issue new unique challenges to bands, and your first goal is to beat everyone on your friends list. If you pull that off, you’ll slowly climb the boards, and you’re pretty much going against everyone online. Each challenge will have a timer, and once it’s up, the winning Band will be announced. As far as achievements go, the Harmonix guys said it wasn’t about earning the gamer points, but simply the recognition among the community. We weren’t able to play any of the online modes, but we have faith that they’ll pull this off well.
On to the peripherals—rest assured all Rock Band equipment will still work with RB 2. For those of you who’re getting in on this for the first time or are going to buy the new gear despite having four guitars as it is, the news is good. The new instruments are wireless, the pads on the drum kit are much more quiet and velocity-sensitive, and the kick-pedal has a metal overlay. The new Stratocaster guitars feature a sweet sunburst finish or black finish, with faux-wooden necks. Also, the fret buttons don’t make that annoying clicking anymore. The strum bar is much more precise, without feeling soft.
Perhaps the coolest addition, though, is a built-in mic and visual sensor, both used to calibrate your guitar’s lag by simply holding the instrument up to your A/V setup. The Harmonix people assured us that those hardcore users who can tell when their playing is a fraction of a second off can still manually adjust the lag in the menus, but this’ll give you a more accurate reading to start with.
Most welcome of all is the new No Fail mode, which is turned on from the menu and makes playing with drunks possible. It’s almost absurd how simple an addition it is, but at the same time, it’s vital. You can now create a set list of forty or so songs, let ‘em play through, and anyone at your place who wants to get in can simply pick up the instrument without fear of failure.
They also threw in a detailed drum tutorial, and a mode that lets you just listen to the songs in your library. This is the kind of stuff to expect from Rock Band 2—little changes that make the experience even more awesome. Harmonix didn’t need to reinvent the wheel because it rolled so smoothly the first time around. What’s most satisfying is they’re just giving us more—of everything. In their own words, they’re trying to dish up the best songs they can, work out any kinks, and get the hell out of the way so you can rock out. We’ll all be addicted for at least another year.
Written By: Daniel Phillips | Tags: Rock Band 2, Xbox 360, MTV Games, Harmonix
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The first thing you’ll notice about the game is the streamlined menu system. Taking a hint from the awesome Music Store setup, the song list in the game now sports album artwork, a quick-browse by alphabet system, and difficulty ratings for every instrument on every song. If you see five fiery rock-horns, be afraid.
The best part is the easy to use create-a-list feature. You can easily make a set list of all rock songs, all songs by The Who, or all songs from the ‘90s.
There’s only one Tour mode now, and it can be played with your band online. No more making a random band every time you want to jam online. People can drop in and out as they please, and your created characters can now be assigned any of the four instruments. Also note, a solo career just means you’ll pick any of the instruments and play through Tour mode.
Another interesting change to the structure of the game is that songs won’t just unlock in linear order now. None of that play five, get five business. One way you’ll unlock new songs is through unique challenges that will be tailored to your personal downloaded track list. These will update as you buy new tracks.
Harmonix also has a new Battle of the Bands mode, to raise the stakes further. Every couple of days, they’ll issue new unique challenges to bands, and your first goal is to beat everyone on your friends list. If you pull that off, you’ll slowly climb the boards, and you’re pretty much going against everyone online. Each challenge will have a timer, and once it’s up, the winning Band will be announced. As far as achievements go, the Harmonix guys said it wasn’t about earning the gamer points, but simply the recognition among the community. We weren’t able to play any of the online modes, but we have faith that they’ll pull this off well.
On to the peripherals—rest assured all Rock Band equipment will still work with RB 2. For those of you who’re getting in on this for the first time or are going to buy the new gear despite having four guitars as it is, the news is good. The new instruments are wireless, the pads on the drum kit are much more quiet and velocity-sensitive, and the kick-pedal has a metal overlay. The new Stratocaster guitars feature a sweet sunburst finish or black finish, with faux-wooden necks. Also, the fret buttons don’t make that annoying clicking anymore. The strum bar is much more precise, without feeling soft.
Perhaps the coolest addition, though, is a built-in mic and visual sensor, both used to calibrate your guitar’s lag by simply holding the instrument up to your A/V setup. The Harmonix people assured us that those hardcore users who can tell when their playing is a fraction of a second off can still manually adjust the lag in the menus, but this’ll give you a more accurate reading to start with.
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They also threw in a detailed drum tutorial, and a mode that lets you just listen to the songs in your library. This is the kind of stuff to expect from Rock Band 2—little changes that make the experience even more awesome. Harmonix didn’t need to reinvent the wheel because it rolled so smoothly the first time around. What’s most satisfying is they’re just giving us more—of everything. In their own words, they’re trying to dish up the best songs they can, work out any kinks, and get the hell out of the way so you can rock out. We’ll all be addicted for at least another year.
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