Tom's Games: Rock Band 2 Review

Travis Meacham writes:

"For many fans of the series, Rock Band 2 is a foregone conclusion. It isn't a question of if they should get it, it's only a matter of when. Like me, these fans probably graduated from the Guitar Hero training academy, having played through three Guitar Hero games but then falling helplessly into a musical wonderland that included drums and singing when Rock Band was released. The first Rock Band was a fantastic game but not without its flaws. For the release of Rock Band 2 developer Harmonix listened to fan feedback and addressed some of the annoyances of the previous title while keeping much of the game identical. Rock Band 2 is less a huge stride forward and more a compliment to the experience already offered by the original Rock Band. And that's just fine.

The first task for the Guitar Hero games (and even the first Rock Band) was to get all the songs unlocked. Some would say, "Playing through the set lists IS the game," but I choose to see it as a chore. I count myself among those who feel that these games can only begin once the songs are all available. Depending on how you look at it, unlocking songs in Rock Band 2 is both a chore and a large part of the game. There isn't a direct path through the song list that presents four or five songs to beat in order to open up the next set resulting in a single pass through each song until they are all available. Instead, Rock Band 2 uses the Tour mode and the Tour Challenges to unlock songs."