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Posted on: Sep 14, 2008
Rock Band 2
WORDS BY: Dan Amrich
Good news: Your favorite band is coming back on tour! They were awesome when you caught them last fall, so naturally you got tickets for the second leg. They mixed up the setlist, and the act looks a little more polished, but…it’s essentially the same show. You’d be disappointed if they didn’t deliver the big hits the way you like. That’s Rock Band 2: an exhilarating, fan-friendly, closely derivative encore.
Think of this as Rock Band 1.5 — or maybe a little less. You’ll find over 80 new songs to master, but all the core elements look virtually unchanged. There are a handful of new venues (Dublin! Istanbul! Tijuana!), but the old ones look pretty much the same as before — no new decor? The new thrift shop doesn’t offer as many new oufits as we’d expected, and characters show the same four animation-set “attitudes.” If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it…but we were hoping for a little more visual variety.
The game’s true enhancements come in areas that are arguably more important than playing dress-up. This time, there’s no guitar career or drum career; there is only the Tour. The Tour is whatever you want it to be — a solo path through the venues of the world (on any or all instruments — switch between them at will), or a shot at stardom with up to three friends, whether they’re in the room or across the country (thanks to the brilliant and long overdue Xbox Live support for co-op careers). When your bandmates aren’t around, you can choose their substitutes, so you’re always looking at “your” band — nice. You’ll also hire band managers, who influence how much cash or fans you get, or how often you get special opportunities like video shoots and endorsement offers. It’s a great hassle-free way to tweak your career path.
Challenges bridge the gap between Quickplay (where you can now create six-song setlists) and the Tour with predetermined setlists of varying lengths. Some can be done solo; some require certain instruments or multiple people. The online Battle of the Bands is more a battle of the leaderboards, where you’re given daily challenges with specific criteria and a time limit. These more casual Battles aren’t as dramatic as facing off in real time on Live, but they’re also less cumbersome.
The most rewarding new element has to be the Drum Trainer, which offers 76 beats and 45 fills just for practice. Whether you’re hoping to transition to real drums someday or simply want to suck less at the game, this is an awesome, judgment-free tutorial. (You can also play along with the 360’s music player in Freestyle mode.)
At its worst, Rock Band 2 feels like a massive expansion pack that fills in the gaps from the original game. At its best, it’s a rewarding and refined excuse to pick up your fake career where you left off — laughing and rocking with friends near and far for a group thrill that few other games can deliver. It’s still a great show for the money.
On Xbox 360
- Attends to virtually all issues/omissions from the first game.
- Integrates tracks from first Rock Band disc and DLC.
- "Shackler's Revenge" by Guns N' Roses.
- Is this sequel speedy for creative reasons... or biz ones?
Sun, 10/18/2009 - 03:59
Posted by wickland
This has got to be one of my favorite games. I love these guitar hero type things.
Sat, 09/27/2008 - 00:02
Posted by LIG GUNNER
I agree with the part about Shackler's Revenge.
Sun, 09/21/2008 - 15:49
Posted by st3 0wn3d u
does anyone know when rb2 comes out in the uk coz i want this game sooooooo bad
Sat, 09/20/2008 - 10:34
Posted by Mr. B
Ok, crazy ass Bubbles back. I have finally reached the pinnacle of Rockband awesomeness. I have played the Grail. This is the one song I was looking forward to more than any on RB2 thx to the heads up from the good folks at OXM. Master Exploder has just blown my mind! At 1st play I thought that the vocals were too low but then I realized the brilliance of the dudes at Harmonix. This song MUST be played very very loud. P.S.to dudes at Harmonix, I'm still waiting for "Big Bottom". I promise to pay $60 and will be a good boy if u can make this Christmas wish come true someday.
MrBubblesIPA
Sat, 09/20/2008 - 00:21
Posted by ill sue y4
cool for cats is a terrible song. its straight up boring and an all around terrible song.
Fri, 09/19/2008 - 06:29
Posted by Terr0r Inc
To export your Rock Band one disc songs to RB2, go into options on the Rock Band 1, select export songs, and then it will prompt you to buy a license for 400 microsoft points, then after that it automatically puts all the old songs on the new game.
Fri, 09/19/2008 - 00:45
Posted by PaperLantern
Cool for Cats = Best song in the game
Wed, 09/17/2008 - 22:58
Posted by ill sue y4
can you transfer your RB 1 character? znd why cant you make custom guitar finishes? i had some really sweet ones in RB 1.
Wed, 09/17/2008 - 22:32
Posted by LocoGray
Great article, great review. Yes, in many ways it feels like a giant expansion pack with no "new car smell", but if only every expansion pack was this good! I love the fact I don't have to have 4 different characters for 4 instruments, and that all my songs moved over with me!
Wed, 09/17/2008 - 00:28
Posted by LIG GUNNER
Yea, I hope I can help...I think you insert the Rock Band 1 disc and may be prompted to get a new title update if not yet done. Then, there should be a new section in the main menu that says something along the lines of, "EXPORT SONGS". Then just do whatever it says...I hope that helps you in your quest to rock n' roll. Don't blame me if this is wrong, I don't have RB2 yet, so i'll need to figure out what to do as soon as my copy arrives as well.
Tue, 09/16/2008 - 20:03
Posted by Terr0r Inc
I would have given it about a 9.0 as well. You're review says it integrates tracks from the first Rock Band disc... I have yet to figure that one out... Any tips anyone ?
Tue, 09/16/2008 - 18:32
Posted by Dan OXM
We didn't like Shackler's Revenge. That doesn't mean we don't know what we're talking about. It means we, collectively, as a staff, listened to Shackler's Revenge and played it, and did not like it.
Mon, 09/15/2008 - 23:01
Posted by TeryakiTaco
Otherwise, I agree with everything else.
Mon, 09/15/2008 - 22:59
Posted by TeryakiTaco
Why is Shackler's Revenge a NEGATIVE!? The song is FREAKING AWESOME! OXM doesn't know what their talking about.
Mon, 09/15/2008 - 10:02
Posted by Mr. B
Cheers to Dan for posting a RB2 launch day review. I honestly didn't expect one but I should have known (my bad! sorry). While I love it and I pity the people who lined up to get into TJ Maxx while I was the !st dude to get into my local Gamestop, I feel a tad underwhelmd'. Don't get me wrong, I "F"ing love it (i already said that didn't i)but it didn't have that "New Car" feel or smell. Once my RB rockin' good buddy left the "Rock Hut", I felt the need to continue my rocking online and that went flawlessly (except for my crappy Hard Bass effort on "...And Justice For All"). That leads me into my final thoughts on RB2 on launch day. As my we exhausted the last remaining songs of our shared song library, the one song (or songs cause of the pack) that we all had in common was "...and Justice for All". Destiny or we're we simply just all on the same page? Feels like another great RB2 launch day story to add to the scrapbook. I thought is was magical but I guess RB has a way of making that happen.
P.S.did I mention that two of my bandmates were on Expert and they didn't mind my silly Bubbles shenanigans? Wow! what kick ass cool people. Did i also mention that Rockband makes magical things happen? its true!
MrBubblesIPA
Band: Orgasmatron
Mon, 09/15/2008 - 00:00
Posted by bahama mama
THIS GAME IS EPIC!
I LOVE IT!
AC/DC and cheat codes FTW!
Sun, 09/14/2008 - 20:38
Posted by VivaLaVida69
and it also looks really fun to play so yeah i really dont get it
Sun, 09/14/2008 - 20:37
Posted by VivaLaVida69
how the HELL is shacklers revenge a negative to the game, that song is AWESOME dont listen to these guys after i heard it i almost considered buying this instead of gh wt.
Sun, 09/14/2008 - 20:18
Posted by The_Score
Guitar Hero World Tour's set list is terrible at the moment. It's got some decent songs, but not nearly as many good ones as Rock Band 2 has at the moment. Hopefully that'll change but right now, i'm going to go enjoy Any way you want it by Journey.
Sun, 09/14/2008 - 19:39
Posted by HJMartinez
Has the special edition really been pushed back? I went to Best Buy this morning to buy it but they told me they will not receive it until next week. I came back home let down but determined to find answers online...only to discover that the delay was further than a week but more like next month! WTF?!?!
I don't know which source is accurate, but more importantly, why the change in release date? I don't want a choice between guitar or drum bundle...I want the whole set today!
Sun, 09/14/2008 - 19:05
Posted by ill sue y4
i found my glasses! w00t!!
Sun, 09/14/2008 - 18:59
Posted by ill sue y4
the whole shebang kit isnt delayed, i saw it in my local gamestop just today. i have my copy of RB 2 next to me but im not playing it till i find my glasses. (GLASSES, PLEASE LET ME FIND YOU!!!)
Sun, 09/14/2008 - 18:23
Posted by CAWeissen
Any news as to why the Rock Band 2 bundle got delayed?
_________________
"People should not be afraid of their government...government should be afraid of their people."
Sun, 09/14/2008 - 18:07
Posted by shadowover93
I dont perfer Rock Band i will just wait for Guitar Hero World Tour.
Sun, 09/14/2008 - 18:04
Posted by CashWheel
On a scale of one to ten, how is Shackler's Revenge? (One being bad, ten being good.)
Tommy, can you hear me?!
Sun, 09/14/2008 - 17:22
Posted by Aeshir
@UltimateLime110
I'm pretty sure it lets you use all but a few of the songs from Rock Band 1, regardless of if you unlocked them or not. Those few that do not get saved to your Xbox HDD do so because of copyright reasons; you have to pay that five bucks because to let you play the songs in Rock Band 2, Harmonix had to get permission from the record labels/artists to pay for that extra copy of the songs that are going to be on your HDD.
Sun, 09/14/2008 - 16:49
Posted by UltimateLime110
I've only played the original rock band at my friends house, and i have yet to unlock all of the songs and bonus songs. if i didn't unlock all the rock band 1 songs, will it still give them all to me for rock band 2? cuz if not, then i only have like, 10 songs :( . Also, it i only unlocked 10 songs, will i still have to pay 5 bucks for ten songs?
someone please answer my question, thanks XD
Sun, 09/14/2008 - 16:30
Posted by Bubba L
I had this game preordered for a while. I can't wait until I get to play it. Good review review Dan.
Sun, 09/14/2008 - 16:11
Posted by xpects the xpctd
That's a bummer that Shackler's Revenge isn't that good. But anyway, I'm definently picking this up TODAY and grabbing the acceseries tomorrow. Rock on til the brink of dawn!