- Giant Bomb (5/5): "... With its large library of licensed master recordings and vastly improved approach to multiplayer play, Rock Band 2 is a terrific value at both ends. It's both a must-own for fans of the genre and a great place for new players to get started."
- GamePro (5/5): "It's more Rock Band and that is not a bad thing at all. With a new setlist of songs and more features, it's a no-brainer for anyone who loved the first Rock Band."
- OXM (90/100): "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)."
- IGN (90/100): "Rock Band 2 improves in several areas over the original. The track list is better, the difficulty has been bumped up, it's more accessible, all previously released DLC works from the get-go, and Battle of the Bands is a brilliant online mode. But there's no getting around the fact that almost nothing was done to the main mode, World Tour. This is still the primary feature of Rock Band and yet it seems to have been neglected. It's hard to notice the newness when there's a big chunk of game that is just the same as it ever was."
Metareview - Rock Band 2
58
The reviews for Rock Band 2 acknowledge that the game doesn't do anything radically new, but the improvements are enough to justify its existence. For those who don't have friends living close by, being able to play World Tour mode online will certainly be a vast improvement on the original's main method of solo gameplay. The game doesn't reinvent the wheel, but it sure does put some sweet rims on it.
Reader Comments (58)
Posted: Sep 14th 2008 10:36PM MowDownJoe said
I am curious what songs make up the 20 free download songs... I'm sure that story will pop up soon. Please be some BNL...
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Posted: Sep 14th 2008 9:51PM Jinn35 said
Anybody else think that they made the note timing window slightly larger than the original Rock Band, and that the HOPO's are easier to hit?
It just seems that songs that I used to get mid 80% on guitar in the original I am now getting low to mid 90%. The window still doesn't feel as large as Guitar Hero III, but it just feels looser.
It just seems that songs that I used to get mid 80% on guitar in the original I am now getting low to mid 90%. The window still doesn't feel as large as Guitar Hero III, but it just feels looser.
Posted: Sep 15th 2008 10:43AM Vcize said
I'm very interested in someone touching on this. The tight note timing and strict HOPOs was what I hated about RB1. I know a lot of people liked it, but I play these games very casually and just want to have fun, not focus so hard that my eyes strain to make sure I hit the note at the exact right millisecond, that's a total buzzkill.
If someone can confirm that they have indeed loosened up the timing window I'll go out and buy this right now and maybe finally jump on the RB fanboy train, as the large timing window is the biggest reason that I prefer GH currently.
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If someone can confirm that they have indeed loosened up the timing window I'll go out and buy this right now and maybe finally jump on the RB fanboy train, as the large timing window is the biggest reason that I prefer GH currently.
Posted: Sep 15th 2008 5:32PM Jinn35 said
@Vcize
Yeah, I definitely think that the timing window is larger than the original. Both my friend and I agreed upon this fact. But, it seems to only be the guitar and bass, not the drums that have been affected.
The HOPOs are also easier to hit. My friend, who could never beat Pleasure, Pleasure from the original, can finally get past the wicked solo about 75% of the time. He also thought it was easier to pass, so we put in the original Rock Band disc and he couldn't pass it no matter how hard he tried.
He was also using the same GH3 Les Paul Guitar. And, I feel the talking parts of the singing have also been loosened up, like it said in the ign review. So that is my semi-scientific take on the matter.
Reply
Yeah, I definitely think that the timing window is larger than the original. Both my friend and I agreed upon this fact. But, it seems to only be the guitar and bass, not the drums that have been affected.
The HOPOs are also easier to hit. My friend, who could never beat Pleasure, Pleasure from the original, can finally get past the wicked solo about 75% of the time. He also thought it was easier to pass, so we put in the original Rock Band disc and he couldn't pass it no matter how hard he tried.
He was also using the same GH3 Les Paul Guitar. And, I feel the talking parts of the singing have also been loosened up, like it said in the ign review. So that is my semi-scientific take on the matter.
Posted: Sep 15th 2008 10:33AM (Unverified) said
I have yet to see the new Rock Band 2 since its release yesterday. I just read an article that released the set list of the new Guitar Hero that will be coming out in October. Personally I believe that Rock Band better have a good set list because the Guitar Hero list is very impressive. One thing I do not really understand is why they are not selling the whole set in a bundle? Or am I wrong? It is a good amount of money for those of us who will need to purchase everything separate. Now that they hopefully have made some improvements, if they improved the drum set I hope they made it so that in someway the drumsticks actually make the song sound good and not just like you’re banging on pots and pans. Not to mention the guitar, I hate the way it feels. I’d much rather use the Guitar Hero controller rather than Rock Bands. I am very anxious to see the new game.
Posted: Sep 15th 2008 1:18PM Shagittarius said
Got the game on Sunday. I'm pretty disappointed in the track list. For a game calling itself "Rock Band" there sure is a lot of filler that is neither "Rock" nor a real "Band".
Its apparent the more tracks they give us at release the more second rate most of them are going to be.
Also why include the best tracks when you make more money off the downloads?
Not impressed with the track list for this or Guitar Hero 4.
Its apparent the more tracks they give us at release the more second rate most of them are going to be.
Also why include the best tracks when you make more money off the downloads?
Not impressed with the track list for this or Guitar Hero 4.
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