If you are one of the Guitar Hero fans that only started playing the series at Guitar Hero III, and claim that Rock Band sucks, I want you to take your head and shove it. This topic is not for you!
Background:
So, come this September, Rock Band 2 will be hitting a local GameStop/EB Games/Best Buy/Target/Place near you.
Rock Band, as we all know, was developed by Harmonix, or as it has become, Harmonix Music Systems.
They have been known for making; Guitar Hero, Guitar Hero II, and Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks The 80s.
Every Tuesday, for roughly the past 35 weeks and going, they have released additional playable content for the game Rock Band.
Like every year since Guitar Hero's release, they will be releasing a full blown sequel to Rock Band, Rock Band 2.
Pretty simple, there's not much else they could have called it.
I have to say, I am pretty pumped for its release!
Info:
If you're not too familiar with the game's style, it's basically a game of timing using eye coordination and hand movement.
"Notes", as they are called, decent from the top of the area you play in. The notes come in different colors, and you must match the note with its correct color as it enters a small section of the playing area.This is either done by holding the corresponding color on the neck of the guitar instrument and hitting the strum bar on the body of the guitar to "play the note", or by hitting the corresponding color on the pad of the drum set with a drum stick. For singers, they must sing the corresponding words of the lyrics of the song as the travel horizontally across their playing area. As they do this, their voice must harmonize the level of tone the game wants them to meet. Either high, low, or somewhere in between.
As far as basic playing, that's the simplest understanding in a nutshell. There is much more to it, however that I will not get into. More info on the gameplay can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_Band_(video_game)#Gameplay
New Look:
The instruments that we have come to enjoy playing with have all been upgraded.
The guitar is still modded after the Fender Stratocaster but with with a mapleburst body and dark neck look.
The fret board has been fixed as to have quieter tapping noises, and let's not forget a more reliable strum bar.
It's wireless too!
The drums have had there look to be completely redone with a more synthetic drum kit look.
The pads have been fixed to have a more quiet sounding tap noise. (No need to buy 20USD silencers!)
The pads have also been set to make a note sound louder or quieter depending on how hard you hit it.
The bass drum petal that we have all broken at least twice, or for us metal rocker a dozen times, as been reinforced with a metal plate to insure it does not have the same problem of breaking as it so constantly did.
Oh yeah, did I mention the cymbal pads? Looks freakin' sweet! I suppose they share the purpose as yellow, blue, and green, but with moar fun. I'm guessing you have your choice when to use them or not. They will most likely be a new way to activate Over-Drive phrases and get even more points during a big rock ending too. Down side to these cymbals is that they apparently come separate with the game/ drum kit, and you attach them on. Bummer..
I have no idea what the new microphone looks like, but the voice detection on the microphones have been replaced with a more accurate system for all your singing needs.
NEW:
A new feature appropriately titled "Battle of the Bands" is now added to have full bands taking on other full bands online in attempt to outrock or outscore their combatives. Tournaments and other challenges will also beheld by Harmonix almost daily. For drummers, a "Drum Trainer" has been added to mold new drummers into machines. Must be a new practice mode specially built for drummers. For character creation, you can now swap characters in and out of bands. Not to awesomely forget that characters will now be able to switch back and forth between the instrument of their choice! Now all those virtual foxes out there will be like, "He sings and plays guitar!" Also, in the quick play section, you can now create your own setlist. No, not like when you play a gig that allows you to pick your own songs. You can actually arrange songs in the setlist to whatever tracks you want. Neat!
Song List:
I've told my friends what I wanted to see in Rock Band/ Guitar Hero for the longest time.
Rock Band 2 has basically fulfilled that list.
With its list set to 84 songs, there is not a dull bit of rock among it.
I won't list them all here because that will be ridiculous, but you can view all track titles here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_songs_in_Rock_Band_2
Perhaps just about the coolest thing about the songs for Rock Band 2 is that, all song released as downloads for Rock Band are all transfer compatible for Rock Band 2. Sweeeeet!
Fun Side Note:
There is one thing, however, that has upset. When talking to a friend about the Rush songs they added to Rock Band, I got into a discussion on how the next song they add to the game (This was after the first Working Man song was released) would logically be Spirit of the Radio. Then I went on to say that they'll probably end up p*ssing me off and add Trees next... Now, I'm not a big Rush fan, but how right I was. Not that I hate The Trees, I just really want to play Spirit of the Radio on the Guitar/ Vocals.
You:
Comments? Suggestions? Emotions? Correct Me Somewhere?
What do you think about Rock Band 2?
None.
!
