Rock band 2

Even though it’s been less than a year since the series was introduced, we’re staring a new Rock Band in the face, which now has a street date of September 14. So, with less than a month to go, we’ve actually gotten our hands on a build of Rock Band 2, which we were told is at 90% of what the final game will be, and there’s some cool stuff to report. Let’s jump right in.

First off, we’ll discuss what wasn’t in the build we received. Among the missing elements is the group of 20 songs that’ll end up being free downloads for those who buy the game, though the more than 80 that come with the game and that all of the downloadable songs to date are compatible make for no shortage of songs to do in the new game. The ability to port over the Rock Band 1 contents was also missing from this build, but that seems to be a simple add for the retail release, so there’s no concern from this camp that it won’t be ready in time.

In addition, we weren’t able to jump into a few of the game modes, including online play of the World Tour, which will certainly be a big selling point for the new title. It wouldn’t surprise us to know that Harmonix is waiting until all of the network code is in final form and fully tested before handing that over for us to try. We’re also excited by the Battle of the Bands mode, which is a set of changing challenges that’ll always have you able to compete against others, though that wasn’t quite ready for us to indulge. One example we were given recently was a solo challenge for the best guitar score on Steely Dan’s “Bodhisattva” on Expert difficulty with “No Fail” turned on. There’s some nasty riffs in there and the best score on that challenge will likely come with bloody fingertips.


Jukebox Mode enables you to play back a song like a music video with your band performing.

While we were hoping this part would be sent along with the beta build, we also haven’t received the Rock Band 2 instruments. We’re most looking forward to the new drum kit, which will be wireless, feature velocity-sensitive pads, quieter pads and a metal-reinforced pedal. Hopefully, we’ll have something we can pass on to you before the game comes out—and there’s also the advanced Ion drum kit to look forward to, which we saw on a recent visit to Electronic Arts. That’ll require a review all its own, but you can see it in the Rock Band 2 screenshot gallery.

Also, though we didn’t really like the original Rock Band guitar—in favor of using the wireless Les Paul from Guitar Hero III—there will be some draw to the Rock Band 2 Strat, which will also be wireless. We haven’t had one to try out beyond a couple of demos, but on the recent visit from Harmonix, the ability to use the new guitar to simplify the calibration process was shown. Sensors in the guitar eliminate the need to manually play the axe (and possibly introduce human error) for audio and video lag, which is critical on some advanced displays and projector set-ups. We’ll also have more to say about that in future coverage.

The final question marks have to do with pricing and availability—we know the game will be exclusive to Xbox 360 for a while, but there’s also some question about what will be available on September 14 and what might come later. While there’s nothing concrete we can pass on now, we can say that the initial pricing and dates (beyond the September 14 release, which we’re told is firm) provided to us have been pulled back for the time being. We’ll pass that info along when we receive it, but we’re still expecting competitive pricing on the new gear and the Rock Band 2 bundle.

The final piece of “unreportable” news is how the new Guns N’ Roses track, “Shackler’s Revenge,” plays. We can say that the song has an interesting style that’s quite unlike the previous GnR tunes, with a very industrial, Nine Inch Nails-type of vibe, though Axl does air out his trademark half-singing/half-shrieking pipes, so it should be a challenging track for vocalists.

Enough of what we don’t know or can’t say. While we’re on the subject of the track list, Rock Band 2 sports a wide variety of classic pop, punk, rock-rap (yes, the Beastie Boys are represented once more, as well as Rage Against The Machine’s “Testify” and the Chili Peppers’ “Give It Away”) and straight-up rock. Some of the more fun tunes include “Lump” from Presidents of the United States of America and the surprising addition of Squeeze’s “Cool for Cats” (if you think the Brit band is all about “Tempted,” you’re mistaken). I was also tested by the wild tempo changes in some songs, such as Dinosaur Jr.’s “Feel the Pain” and Paramore’s “That’s What You Get.”