Mario vs. Bowser. Cloud vs. Sephiroth. Rock Band vs. Guitar Hero. There are many classic rivalries in videogames, and the battle between Electronic Arts and Activision's music games is becoming epic. Since Rock Band was released on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 last November, most of us here at IGN have spent more time playing in bands than shredding alone in Guitar Hero. Rock Band does more, gets more of us in on the action, and looks better than the third entry in the guitar franchise. But the Wii has been a different story. Guitar Hero III has gone unchallenged on the system since October, and it's been very successful.
So Rock Band Wii has finally arrived, six months late and a port of the stripped-down PlayStation 2 version. That means a whole slew of features from the 360 and PS3 versions have been removed. There's no character creation, no world tour mode, no online multiplayer, and no downloadable content. What we do have is the first opportunity for four people to get together and play as a band in a videogame. It's still the best multiplayer music experience around, but we have to wonder: what took so long? As fun as playing in a band with three of your friends is, this bare bones edition feels a little underwhelming -- especially in the face of the recently announced Guitar Hero World Tour, which is promising to do everything Rock Band can't.
Instead of creating a band, traveling the world, and building your fan base, like in the other versions of Rock Band, here you play through the game's 60 plus songs linearly, just like Guitar Hero. Songs are divided into tiers of increasing difficulty, with four songs available in each group. Those four can be played through in any order, and when they've all been passed you'll move along to the next tier. There are also multiplayer versus modes for two players: Tug of War and Score Dual. These are played with two players locally using the same instruments.
When playing with band mates, everyone contributes to your score. Playing particular strings of notes perfectly will build your "overdrive" meter. Once it's full you can go into overdrive, which acts like Guitar Hero's star power. You can't fail a song when this is activated and you receive a sizeable point bonus until overdrive runs out. That bonus will soar even higher if you and your band mates activate overdrive at the same time. This feature can also be used to revive members who have failed out. All of this makes Rock Band a social experience that focuses on the group rather than the individual. Of course, there is also a solo mode if you decide to fire your band mates.
Visually, Rock Band Wii doesn't have much going for it. The band performances during a song are highly compressed, pre-rendered video. If you plan on picking up this game, you won't want to play it on an HD television. The fact that all customization has been removed means you won't get to see your created characters rocking out or your band name up in lights. This takes away a lot of the personality of Rock Band, so that it feels a little more generic. The audio also sounds like it's taken a hit for the Wii version. Songs appear to have been heavily compressed to fit on the disc, and the sound is a little muffled.
A high point for the Wii version is the improved drums. The new kit is much sturdier than the original that was sent out with the game's launch last November. The pads are quieter and the kick pedal will withstand more abuse. The D-pad on the Wii drum set is terrible, though. It feels like they tacked on the awful Xbox 360 D-pad and it's very difficult to navigate menus with it.
The guitar is the same Rock Band guitar we've all been hating for months. It's wireless and comes with a USB dongle to stick in the back of your Wii. Unfortunately, unlike the 360 and PS3 games, the far superior Guitar Hero III peripheral does not work with Rock Band Wii. The Rock Band guitar feels cheaper, the buttons aren't as responsive, and the extra five "solo" buttons high on the neck are pointless. In all my time playing Rock Band, I've never seen anyone use them. They don't affect gameplay at all, and they're spaced more closely together so that you have to adjust your playing style if you want to use them. Maybe the one cool thing about this guitar is the ability to switch effects when overdrive is activated, but this turns out to be more of a novelty than a selling point.
The Rock Band: Special Edition comes with a USB hub for connecting four instruments at once. Only one guitar comes in the box, but all of the instruments are also available seperately.
Now, despite all these issues, when you get your friends together for a Rock Band session you're still gonna have a lot of fun. The track list is great, the drums are really fun to play, the guitar parts are more forgiving than Guitar Hero -- this game will really make you feel like you're playing in a band. Having a full group instead of just two guitar players makes Rock Band a much better party/social experience than Guitar Hero III.
Closing Comments
Ultimately, it is disappointing that so many features were left out of the Wii version. I would understand if the Wii just couldn't handle it, but Guitar Hero World Tour seems to be figuring it out. If Activision delivers on that promise, it will seem like Rock Band completely dropped the ball with this Wii version. But as of this writing, Rock Band is the ultimate multiplayer music game. It's got great songs, an improved drum set, and will still be the life of the party.
| 6.0 | Presentation A bare bones edition of the Rock Band we all know and love. The core experience is here, but a lot of the meat has been removed. | |
| 7.0 | Graphics With no character creation, much of the personality has been sucked out. Band performances are all pre-rendered video, and the package looks kind of generic. | |
| 8.0 | Sound The song selection is awesome. But the audio has been heavily compressed and doesn't sound as brilliant as it should. | |
| 8.0 | Gameplay This is the first game to make you feel like you're really playing in a band. The drums, in particular, are a heck of a lot of fun to play. But it's a more straight forward experience on Wii. | |
| 7.5 | Lasting Appeal As fun as playing in a band is, you're bound to get sick of the track list eventually. The upcoming track pack will help, but it's also missing the lenghty World Tour mode. | |
7.9 | OVERALL (out of 10 / not an average) | |
I will be doing an article covering Guitar Hero: World Tour tomorrow so if you are as pumped as I am for this game be sure to come back here tomorrow for the full blown article.
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