Rock Band 2 features no-fail option

by Ross Miller { Jul 16th 2008 at 9:00PM }

Harmonix has made Rock Band 2 much more party-friendly by adding a no-fail option. It's accessible through the Extras menu as an unlockable. Like the name suggests, you can't fail a song when on this mode -- perfect for playing with people who like to stretch themselves too far when playing with friends, or perhaps bars that are hesitant to let people ruin drunken audience singalongs by a tricky bass line. Another, less obvious benefit mentioned in our interview this morning with senior designer Dan Teasdale: People who are unable to use their legs can now play drums.

Tags: harmonix, mtv-games, rock-band, rock-band-2

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

theturtle363 @ Jul 16th 2008 9:03PM

FAIL

Imadogg @ Jul 16th 2008 10:12PM

theturtle363 @ Jul 16th 2008 10:23PM

wait what?

Imadogg @ Jul 17th 2008 1:46AM

Never!

kavendano14 @ Jul 16th 2008 9:03PM

Nice

Korova of the highlands @ Jul 16th 2008 9:04PM

Just call it Drunk Mode.

ButtonMashers.tv @ Jul 16th 2008 9:04PM

Too bad I can't use this, because i don't suck.

Slayer @ Jul 16th 2008 9:06PM

That's just sad.

Banana Kid @ Jul 16th 2008 9:06PM

Hasn't this been a cheat in every Guitar Hero ever? Did Rock Band 1 not have this? Is that why it's news?

Maybe if there's no cheat involved and it was there from the get-go, that could be somewhat relevant. But since it's called an "unlockable", this sounds like exactly the same thing it's always been. So not news.

Sora @ Jul 16th 2008 9:43PM

Rock Band 1 didn't have it.

Guess_Who @ Jul 16th 2008 9:08PM

I think the bigger news is that it looks like Hyperspeed is back.

Spiritsnare @ Jul 17th 2008 5:59AM

I've also wanted some form of Hyperspeed to be in Rock Band, so cheers!

Superstar90 @ Jul 16th 2008 9:08PM

what if i fail to unlock no-fail mode?

Slayer @ Jul 16th 2008 9:37PM

You fail at failing. :)

Mr.ESC @ Jul 16th 2008 9:41PM

"You fail at failing"

Then you win,right?

Superstar90 @ Jul 16th 2008 10:44PM

win by failing eh? i like the way you think.

Slayer @ Jul 16th 2008 11:03PM

Damn...I just got it. Now I feel stupid. :(

Judd @ Jul 16th 2008 11:37PM

Those comments on failure were for the win.

Superstar90 @ Jul 17th 2008 1:07AM

fun and failure start the same way

Sam @ Jul 16th 2008 9:11PM

Yeh. I want to know what other options we cant see that are outside of the picture.

Hyperspeed is always a nice option to have back though

Nightvortez @ Jul 16th 2008 9:12PM

What is this Wii Music?

Mr.ESC @ Jul 16th 2008 9:26PM

Not even Wii music includes a no fail option,you can clearly see that in Nintendo's keynote lololol.

(I know what you mean but is just a handicap option who gives a ****?)

Superstar90 @ Jul 16th 2008 10:46PM

wii music has no win or fail, its just shaking it freestyle

MrSpaceCowboy @ Jul 16th 2008 9:12PM

Hopefully by RB3, they'll have found a way to stop 'Epic Fail'

Mr.ESC @ Jul 16th 2008 9:27PM

That option is better suited for Guitar Hero :P

Tez (PSN: Tezasaurus) @ Jul 16th 2008 9:19PM

Wasn't this info already leaked out a week or two ago?

Chase @ Jul 16th 2008 9:22PM

Seriously, just title it the Wiitard mode.

Deezul @ Jul 16th 2008 10:06PM

Obviously you don't have children who want to play Rock Band with you. I can only do Mississippi Queen so many times before I'm about to puke.

baby sea tuna @ Jul 17th 2008 1:59PM

God I hate that song.

Jack Tango @ Jul 16th 2008 9:29PM

I like it; when my godson or little cousins are over, they can play. Or I could get my girlfriend, or mom to join in.

I appreciate that many people don't need the option, but it really broadens the appeal of the game to those who just want to casually play it at a friend or relative's house.

Zoot Suit Jedi @ Jul 16th 2008 9:41PM

Wow. Someone with some goddamn sense on this.

"Surously. iM sofaking good, like, this option is so zdumz."

Saria the Cat @ Jul 16th 2008 9:49PM

That's exactly what I was thinking. This makes it much more accessible to the casual player. I love the idea of giving my grandparents a hand at the guitar or drums and not having to worry about it failing on them in seconds and discouraging them from ever playing again. :) Some people just want to have fun and don't care about the points/stars/fans.

Chrysee @ Jul 17th 2008 9:31AM

Totally agree. While I wouldn't use it, it would be a nice option if a friend visits who's never played before. One of our college roommates visited after we got RB1 last year and we failed quite a few songs because he'd never played before. We didn't have time to "practice", and we weren't interested in stars or scores, we just wanted to have fun.

Seroth @ Jul 16th 2008 9:33PM

This is good news. Every time I want to sing Run to the Hills, at least one of my friends gets overconfident and causes us to fail the song half-way through. By then, I'm out of the mood and I don't wanna play the song over again.

Jhongerkong @ Jul 16th 2008 10:07PM

They should also have an epic fail mode, where if you miss one note, you get punched in the face by an anthropomorphic boxing glove.

Kyattsuai @ Jul 16th 2008 10:24PM

That "no fail" should be good for the store demos, at least - the lack of a foot petal makes anyone who tries to play those drums fail within a minute EVERY time.

TrojanGuy @ Jul 16th 2008 10:30PM

That's actually a really cool idea. Lets people try songs and difficulty levels they wouldn't want to try otherwise.

carg0 @ Jul 16th 2008 10:53PM

it makes a lot of sense to have a mode like that, that let's you keep playing regardless of skill.

it'll give those who are listening a chance to appreciate not only how hard a particular song can be but an even better appreciation for those who can play it successfully.

if you still have trouble understanding this concept do the world a favor and practice abstinence.

Ian Murray @ Jul 16th 2008 10:53PM

Really hoping this doesn't allow for willy-nilly unlocking of achievements.

That kind of defeats the purpose.

T @ Jul 17th 2008 8:37AM

GHII (which was Harmonix) and GHIII disabled saving/achievements when certain cheats were activated (no fail, easy expert, etc)

I'd imagine it's the same thing here.

They could also tie this to Quickplay mode only, and leave the Single Player and World Tour modes untouched. This way there aren't even any achievements you could get if you wanted to do it without the cheats.

And I have to agree with those that don't get where the complaint is. I have friends that want to play the songs, but get BORED on easy (especially when me or other people are playing on Expert and tearing it up). Let them play on no fail mode so they can try a harder difficulty while still letting everybody else play.

It's basically a multiplayer "training mode". Otherwise the only other option to practice is to play solo (which some people won't care for) or to just stay at a boring difficulty (which gets boring)