Rock Band 2

10 Review to this product

• 

  A. Jefferson
  December 18th, 2008 on 1:09 am

  Rating

  I managed to get my hands on Rock Band 2 a bit early, and spent the entirety of the evening playing. What a drastic improvement over Rock Band 1 on the Wii! This is identical to the Xbox 360/ PS3 versions of the game, and I was even more impressed than I anticipated. I was having a blast before I even had a chance to play a single note: The character creator tool was such a blast! You create a band and members, and then you hit the road. It was a really satisfying experience! This is really the first time that a Wii game has been truly competitive with other Next-Gen console games.

  The World Tour mode is now available locally or online, and there are also challenges and battle-of-the-bands. There was a “Wii pre-release” battle available for the select few who managed to snag the game early, and I was able to compete head to head with other bands (there were only 3 other bands online since the game was not yet available @ most stores).
  
  There are sure to be plenty of lengthy reviews, so I will just note some of my observations:

  *Band Members – once you create your band-mates using the Character Creator, when you play a gig, there they are! I knew this feature was present, but I had no idea how exciting it would be the first time my character (who happens to look JUST LIKE ME!) appeared on stage! It was really satisfying! This feature was really well done. My first order of business was to create characters for my wife and all our friends. Whenever they come over and play from now on, they can use their characters. Also, these characters can be moved around, dropped etc. Also, whenever you select a character to play a gig with your band, they get a “cut”, earning that character money which can be used to buy clothes, accessories, instruments, etc. Of course, my wife blew all her money on some designer jeans, some pink driving gloves, and some shoes before she even played one gig! Typical… =)

  *Online – Some of the online features haven’t been enabled yet, but I was able to play in the online battle of the bands. I was playing during a weather storm, and my internet connection was suffering. I had a hard time checking my email from my computer in fact! But, much to my surprise, the game chugged along, and I didn’t see any problems with the online interface. The whole game is played “connected”, so you don’t have to keep logging on and off if you switch between local and online play. The interface was really polished and well done, unlike other Wii games that seem to tack on the online portion after the fact. A+++.

  *Updated instruments – The new guitar and drum look and feel really good. The drums are sturdier, and also the pads are quieter. Other than that, not much of a change here, but I had no complaints about the previous generation of instruments.

  *Music – This game seems to have a much more varied mix of music. Much like when I began playing RB1, I only knew a handful of the songs that I initially was able to play. A few of the songs that I initially played were somewhat familiar, but some were way off the radar for me. Still, what I have heard so far is great! As you may already know, there is a Music Store built in the game where you can use Wii points on your system to buy new songs, so there will be no shortage of great music to be played! I was also surprised to see that details about the band and even album art appear on the song selection screen. The interface is really clean and polished; it really doesn’t feel like a “game” at all. There is really no end to this games replay value. There are already close to 500 songs available in the DLC catalog (and all of this will come to the Wii shortly), and new songs are added weekly. Guitar Hero: World Tour can’t even begin to compete in this area!!!

  Do yourself a favor and go buy this game. I loved RB1 on the Wii, and really didn’t think I was missing out on much… as it turns out, the additional features in RB2 are really astounding! The solid gameplay of Rock Band 1 is there… the great music game is completely intact. RB2 adds the “Band” experience: Touring, Band-mate selection, losing fans if you quit a “set” prematurely, battle of the bands, never-ending amounts of fresh content to play, expansive leaderboards and band data, even the ability to order posters and figurines of your band!!! Rock Band 2 for the Wii delivers!!
• 

  PacSunSurfer
  December 20th, 2008 on 1:24 pm

  Rating

  Although Rock Band 1 for the Wii was a fun game, it was a huge disappointment compared to the other consoles. Have no fear, as Harmonix has made up for it with Rock Band 2!

  PROs
  
  + Full World Tour. No more playing a straight list of songs. Choose from different cities and different venues in each city.
  
  + Huge improvements on the graphics. Rock Band 1 was a little rough to watch, but Rock Band 2 on the Wii is full motion and rendered in real-time. You can actually see your players instead of a static background movie.
  
  + Online Play! The game will automatically sign you in to the Nintendo WiFi connection and allow you take part in Online QuickPlay, Online World Tour, and Battle of the Bands. And, unlike Guitar Hero World Tour, you can play online against 4 other Wiis (GH:WT only connects a max of 2 Wiis)
  
  + Character Creator. Now you can actually choose and customize who you play as, with unlockable clothes, instruments, and more.
  
  + Compatible with Guitar Hero World Tour instruments and the Guitar Hero 3 guitar (and, of course, Rock Band 1 instruments)
  
  + DLC! The online music store wasn’t available at launch, but will be coming in early 2009. The word on the street is that there will be 30 songs available at launch from the back catalog, as well as the same free 20 songs that were available on other consoles. Also, songs can be saved on an SD card (the Wii will accept a 2GB max SD card; otherwise, you only have 512MB onboard Wii memory)

  CONs
  
  - Still need to deal with Friend Codes if you want to add to your friends list (but that’s not the game’s fault, it’s a Nintendo requirement)
  
  - No tattoo creator… yeah, I’m sure that has a lot of people upset

  I purchased the disc only and used it with my Rock Band 1 instruments, so I can’t comment on the new Rock Band 2 instruments. However, the Rock Band 2 fixes pretty much every complaint people had with Rock Band 1 on the Wii. The online play, DLC, and cross-instrument compatibility makes this a solid choice for every Wii owner’s Christmas stocking this year.

  UPDATE (1/13/09): The Wii Music Store is open and it was well worth the wait! As promised, the 20 free DLC songs are available, as well as 30 songs from the back-catalog. Songs can be transferred to a SD Card in about 5-10 seconds. I really haven’t noticed any delay when loading a DLC song in-game. There are also sound previews in-game for DLC content (something Guitar Hero World Tour doesn’t do). Songs are 200 Wii points to download — equal to 2 dollars — which is the same price as on other consoles.
• 

  Karen Ledbetter
  January 21st, 2009 on 2:41 am

  Rating

  A definite improvement over Rock Band I. The tour and challenges are a nice addition. There is a bigger variety of music and the opportunity to download additional content extends its replay value (you don’t get bored with it). My husband and son have been playing nonstop since we got it. They enjoy rotating betweeen the guitars, drums, and vocals. It has become a family event. Guests can play their instrument on “easy” while the more experienced players can choose a higher level of expertise and then all play together.

  The only complaint is with the hardware. The guitar strummer becomes less responsive over time–especially when the game is primarily played in “expert” mode. However, when the rubberband inside breaks, some easy modifications for the guitar can be found online.
• 

  S. Horwatt
  March 23rd, 2009 on 8:11 am

  Rating

  Since I have both games, I’ll highlight the differences. First off, I bought this primarily for my kids and I to play together (I have two daughters, 6 and 14 years old).

  Since RB2 has no “strum only” mode, its difficulty levels are offset from those on GHWT (so Easy on RB2 is a bit harder than Beginner on GHWT, but easier than Easy on GHWT). Singing is the easiest of the parts to do (so my six year old usually does that), Bass guitar is (for most songs) next easiest, followed by lead guitar, and drumming is the hardest.

  RB2 allows you to set up stand-ins for your computer-controlled players, so you can have the same band members when everyone isn’t playing (for example, on very difficult songs my youngest will sit out, but I can still select “her” character as the singer, so she still feels like she’s participating…also, we generally don’t do the drums, but we can have the same character as our drummer, which gives us more of a band feel). There are several other subtle differences like this that give RB2 more of a roleplaying feel than GHWT.

  Most importantly for those of us who are challenged in the area of manual dexterity, RB2 has a no-fail mode, which allows you to finish the song even if one of your members totally flubs it. If you’re playing this as an occasional party game, or with young kids, that’s very helpful.

  In general, I’d say if you’re more serious, looking primarily for a challenge and focused primarily on playing the guitar, GHWT is what you’re looking for. If you’re more into the atmosphere of creating a band, looking for a party game and something fun to do together in a family with members of different skill levels, RB2 is a better choice.

  If you want to get both games (which I did), get the controllers for Guitar Hero, as they work for both games.
• 

  Ernest Pergrem
  April 6th, 2009 on 12:17 am

  Rating

  I was slightly hesitant to buy Rock Band 2 because I had the original. Now, after spending a few days with it I’m asking myself why I didn’t buy it sooner.

  I bought the original specifically to have access to the drums. Rock Band 2 adds a ‘Drum Beat Practice’ mode, which is so good that I would have bought it as a standalone package. Include some classic tunes (e.g. ‘Eye of the Tiger’), compatibility with the Rock Band drums, and make it compatible with the Les Paul from Guitar Hero III and you’ve got the most fun you can have legally.

  So, are there some cons? Probably, but the program meets all of my expectations and adds some great features, so this one is a definite recommendation.

  04/09: The game has been a blast compared to RB and GHIII, however I did run into a big con when it comes to down loadable content. There is a heck of lot of music that “isn’t” available for the Wii compared to some of the other systems. Perhaps that will change, and while it probably isn’t worth a full star rating drop, I could see a half-star.
• 

  Andrew H. Smith
  April 26th, 2009 on 9:24 pm

  Rating

  As with most people, I was debating on which game to get: Rock Band 2 or Guitar Hero: World Tour. In the end I got GHWT for Christmas, so I was able to save up and buy RB2 later. Having played both games, here’s how it breaks down:

  Instruments: the instruments for GHWT are much more comprehensive and better-designed than those of RB2. The drums in particular are a better simulation of what a real drum set acts like. Advantage: GHWT

  Music tracks: GHWT has a lot of good songs going for it, such as “Sweet Home Alabama”, “Purple Haze”, and “BYOB”, just to name a small handful. In addition, many of the songs you find in RB2 are already on GHWT (“Ramblin’ Man”, “American Woman”, etc.). However, RB2 is no slouch in its own right, with songs such as “Let There Be Rock”, “Alive”, and “Battery”. In the end, the music tracks are mainly about what you prefer as musical taste. Tie.

  Downloadable Content: This is where RB2 slaughters GHWT. First off, for those of you (like me) who want to buy GHWT to get the Jimi Hendrix tracks, bad news: due to download and licensing issues, Nintendo was unable to secure the Hendrix tracks that are on the other systems. Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, there’s nothing that wrong with GHWT’s downloadable content, particularly if you’re a fan of Metallica’s latest album; it’s just that RB2′s is waaaaayyyyy better. From The Who to Fall-Out Boy, RB2 has just about everything. Plus, they have Pearl Jam’s “Ten” and Stevie Ray Vaughan’s “Texas Flood” already available to download, with more full albums to come. And they’re slowly but surely putting all previously downloadable content from RB1 on RB2. And they update their catelog once a week, as opposed to GHWT’s monthly to bi-monthly updates. So there’s no contest. Advantage: RB2.

  Intangibles (graphics, sound, etc.): There is a far greater character customization mode in RB2 compared to GHWT. In addition, because of the better graphics in RB2, your character won’t come out looking like some horrible cartoon. The better graphics also mean the instruments look more real (plus RB2 uses the actual guitar, drum, and mike brand names, which is small but nonetheless is important for purists). Also, the framerate for RB2 seems better than in GHWT (although the difference is admittedly so small few people will care). However, the venues in GHWT are better (the ones in RB2 are nice but too many of them look the same), and there’s a greater crowd interaction effect. Still, RB2 has a more comprehensive world tour mode that actually makes you feel as if you’re touring the globe, as well as real consequences for what you do (i.e. electing to play a charity event will net you no money but will get you more fans). Plus, RB2 incorporates downloadable content into the game, meaning you could theoretically continue your world tour forever, while the downloadable content in GHWT is only playable in Quick Play mode. Advantage: RB2.

  Gameplay: I wanted to like GHWT in this segment. I really did. And GHWT does have a lot of things going for it. First off the songs are more difficult to play than in RB2. Even something as simple as vocals is more difficult in GHWT than in RB2. For example, I can get a near-perfect score on Expert doing Gregg Allman’s vocals for “Ramblin’ Man” in RB2, but I can only do that same song on Easy in GHWT. While this difficulty might turn off some more casual gamers, those looking to push themselves are going to want GHWT (and if you can master the 3 Tool songs on guitar in Expert mode, God bless you). In the end, however, I have to give the edge to RB2. As someone who’s not a hardcore gamer, I appreciate and often enjoy the difficulty of GHWT, but I play RB2 more often because a lot of times all I want to do is just belt out the lyrics to songs or jam away on my guitar for fun (I don’t really use the drums because I stink out loud and can’t bring myself to turn on “No Fail” mode). In addition, Online mode is just better on RB2 than in GHWT. There are different online band challenges virtually every day, there’s a much better online band mode than in GHWT (be forwarned: if you want to play with your friends, you will need EA friend codes), and the experience is just better (although GHWT has a better online ranking and scoreboard system than RB2, so it’s easier to compare your band’s score to others). Even the unique stuff GHWT brings to the table is really not that great. Music Creator is a great idea, but if you don’t know what you’re doing it’s mind-numbingly difficult to use (even people I know who have used computer music creators complain about GHWT’s music creator). And Mii Freestyle I’ve found is fun the first few times you do it, but it gets really old really fast. Advantage: RB2.

  The truth is that both GHWT and RB2 have their strong points. GHWT is more challenging, has a wider array of venues, and has better playable instruments. This is the game you want if all you’re looking to do is challenge yourself as a gamer. However, if all you want to do is rock out with your friends in the dorm or at a party, or if you just want to play a lot of good music, RB2 is the better choice.
• 

  Timothy Evans
  May 18th, 2009 on 4:20 am

  Rating

  We have Rock Band 1, with those instruments, and Guitar Hero World Tour with those instruments. We bought Rock Band 2 game only, and use it with either set of instruments. Many of the songs on RB2 are the same as GHWT, but RB2 is more fun in actual game play. We can use both guitars, and we prefer to use the drum set from GHWT (softer feel than RB1). We don’t use online play, so I can’t comment on that. I love hanging with my friends and playing this game. I will do any instrument, but my favorite is singing.
• 

  J. L. Brooks
  May 18th, 2009 on 4:56 am

  Rating

  Rock Band 2 for the Wii blew the doors off of the original Rock Band:

  World Tour mode is so much better than just the list. Yes, you can get “lost” easily, but just have someone remember what city you’re in to speed up gameplay.

  The graphics are so much better. They don’t look cheesy and it looks professional this time.

  The songs are a pretty good mix. I can’t say that I knew every song in the game, but I’d heard about 80% of them at least once before.

  The ability to download new tracks online is INCREDIBLE. When they release something you like, you can get it with WiiPoints. Just wish they would focus more on the back catalog instead of adding whole albums of garbage.

  This is a great game. If you’re on the fence, jump off and buy it.
• 

  Margaux Paschke
  May 19th, 2009 on 6:32 am

  Rating

  I got this for my husband so he could let his inner rock star out. It was rated “teen” so I did not think that it would work for our whole family (we have young kids). I stored it with all of his other “mature” video games.

  Then I decided to give it a try since it looked like so much fun. It is a blast! You can make up your own personality and add more to your rock band. Even better, we can let our kids play along. The songs that are for mature audiences have a blue dot next to them to tag them for you. So we know to avoid those when our kids play. I’ve found the blue dot songs have mature lyrics or suggestive movements.

  If you have wifi, you can download even more songs once you’ve accrued enough points with your rock band. I love this game! Now I just need to add more instruments….
  
• 

  P. Hanson
  June 2nd, 2009 on 10:20 am

  Rating

  I picked up Guitar Hero World Tour during a gold box special and was completely surprised by how much fun it is. I’d always thought it was one of those things that only a kid would enjoy and/or that I wouldn’t be able to get the hang of it enough to bother with but I was wrong on both counts. Eventually I decided to give Rock Band 2 a try (after I saw it marked way down too!) and at first I didn’t really like it. It’s a little different from Guitar Hero and being used to the one I was actually kind of critical of Rock Band 2. However, after spending more time playing Rock Band 2 and bouncing back and forth between the two I find Rock Band 2 to be more fun than Guitar Hero World Tour. They are definitely both great games (never would have tried RB if GH wasn’t so fun) but there are a few extras that RB has that push it ahead. First, Rock Band is a little easier (although I think GH lets you go further before giving you a fail). If I switch from playing on medium from one to the other there is a real difference. Second, this may or may not be the case but at least for how I perceived it RB seemed to have more/better songs overall and the game play seemed like it was more fun and lasted longer (also, the character designs seemed better to me). Third, there are a few things that come up while playing RB that are fun that GH doesn’t do. For example, RB has a unison feature where if everyone hits a specific note at the same time you immediately get overdrive (star power in GH). It’s actually a nice touch because then everyone can go into overdrive together right after. Also, they have special finishes on some songs and that can be fun too. These are small things that I really didn’t notice until switching back to GH and it just feels like GH is missing something now. Overall though it comes down to fairly subtle differences between the two games. What is most telling is that when it comes time to play the first choice is always RB2 over GH. I’m glad that I picked up GH first though since their equipment works with RB but not the other way around. So my advice would be to get the full band set up for GH and then just pick up the RB games.