Get the Band Back Together

Developer Harmonix shocked the gaming world when they unleashed the original Guitar Hero. In a single stroke, they revitalized what was then a stagnant rhythm/music genre with their rock-inspired, guitar-toting, music-based blockbuster. With a slick guitar peripheral, easy to grasp but near impossible to master gameplay, and iconic, licensed songs known far and wide, Guitar Hero was a hit.

One, two, three, four!

After refining their craft even further with the critically acclaimed Guitar Hero II™, Harmonix was eager to break new, more expansive ground within the sub-genre they themselves had created. The result is Rock Band™, a game where the guitar shines right alongside the thunder and rhythm of drums, the backbone of bass guitar, and lead-singer vocals.

Harmonix has taken their love of music to its
logical and outstanding conclusion with Rock Band.

When played together either online via Xbox LIVE®, offline in your living room, or better yet your garage, Rock Band achieves a rare and exciting level of synchronicity. It's the ultimate cooperative experience, and with bands like Metallica, Smashing Pumpkins, Nirvana, The Strokes, Weezer, Bon Jovi, The Who, and even the Rolling Stones, anyone with any love of rock and roll will find songs to cherish.

Open It Up
Crack open the Rock Band box and you'll find everything you need to get started: the Fender "Stratocaster" guitar controller, drum set, microphone, four-port USB hub, and, of course, the game itself. The peripherals have a few welcome surprises, too:

• Stratocaster: The guitar controller functions much as you might expect, but with added benefits. First, there is a second set of slightly smaller frets near the strum bar, intended for use during solos, meaning you don't have to use the strum bar during your big showcase solo. A new five-way switch allows you to add effects like wah-wah, flanger, echo, and chorus to help you marry the guitar style to whatever song you're playing.
• Drums: The drum set consists of four drum pads (two cymbals, two drums) a pair of drum sticks, and a kick pedal for the bass drum. The set is exceptionally sturdy and comes complete with an adjustable mount so you can set the height of the pads exactly where you want them. The kick pedal slots onto a bar to hold it steady, ensuring that it doesn't slide along the floor while you're thundering away.
• Microphone: The vocalist's mic is hefty and sports a lengthy cord (great for twirling if you're so disposed), but it's the microphone's ability to decipher whether you're singing on or off key that really adds to the gameplay.

Five stars and a million-plus points. Nice!

Making Music
Fans of Harmonix's previous efforts should feel immediately comfortable with Rock Band's basic gameplay. Different colored notes stream down the screen on their way to a timing bar. When they reach the bar, it's time to play the note or combination of notes. In the case of the drum set, an orange line across the screen represents the kick-drum.

A small score is earned for every successfully played note, but the real goal is to play lengthy, error-free stretches at a time. The longer you play without flubbing a note, the higher your score multiplier will climb. Guitar players can also net extra points by making effective use of the whammy bar, as well as entering Overdrive mode for a massive point boost, provided they've filled their energy bar.

Drummers earn extra score by freelancing during "drum fills," essentially empty space used to display your percussion talent. And vocalists can unleash their energy meter for extra points during Freestyle Sections, giving them a few spare seconds to improvise whatever they wish (oh dear).

Celebrating a job well done.

While the lead guitar, bass guitar, and drums are all displayed vertically across the majority of the screen, the vocalist's cues run horizontally along the top, notating the lyrics to the songs, and the timing. A small arrow lets the singer know whether they're above or below the desired tone, so they can adapt on the fly.

When playing cooperatively, you may find a band mate has fallen down on the job and failed their portion of the song (I'm looking at you Peter Moore, circa E3 '07). When this happens, you can spend your hard earned energy to save your buddy, though if they're hapless enough to fail three times in a single song, it's all over for you and the band.

Tour Time
Career mode in Rock Band is offered in a couple of different packages. Venture out on your own, create a character, assign an instrument and attempt to make a name for yourself, or group together with friends to form a band and play gigs together in your quest to take the rock world by storm, and, yes, earn buckets of money, sponsors, badass gear, and new songs.

Whichever path you choose, your time on tour in Rock Band is more than just selecting a song off a list and letting loose on stage. A bar owner may challenge you to earn four stars or better during your performance. Win, and they'll double your paycheck; fall short of the mark, you get nada. Other variables include playing entire sets instead of individual songs, or even mystery sets where the songs are not only chosen randomly, but are kept secret until you take the stage.

Playing the Stratocaster guitar controller.

Who's the Best?
While its execution of cooperative play is brilliant, it's still loads of fun to throw down the rock 'n roll gauntlet and challenge all comers to prove their worth. Rock Band offers two unique game modes for this type of competition.

• Tug of War: Each player chooses their own instrument and difficulty setting and then trade off sections of a song, battling it out to see who reigns supreme.
• Score Duel: Both players agree on the same instrument and difficulty level and do battle on level ground. Nothing fancy here. Best score wins.

Harmonix has taken their love of music to its logical and outstanding conclusion with Rock Band. With up to four simultaneous players literally working in harmony, recreating and reliving some of rock's greatest songs, most of which (thanks to MTV Games) come courtesy of the original bands, there is simply no experience quite like it anywhere.

Add to that the promise of weekly (yes, you read that right) downloadable content and Rock Band is less a standalone game, and more of a constantly evolving rock entity. Now, go claim your instrument and make us proud.

Article by Ryan Treit