| Author | Review |
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nickb2819
679
Posted on 22 November 09 at 20:10, Edited on 22 November 09 at 20:12
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This review has 25 positive votes and 5 negative votes. Please log in to vote. |
Ah, another new Rock Band game!
I'll get started with the negatives as there aren't too many. No multiplayer. Muiltiplayer has been a staple for these games and this one doesn't have it. The calibration system is weird as you have to calibrate your game yourself. This can be messy, as if you don't calibrate it right you'll miss notes you can hit in your sleep. Also, I don't know if it was just my copy but game froze in the loading screen ALOT. Another negative is that all of your DLC won't work. Harmonix obviously took out some songs that wouldn't be appropriate for the kiddies, so most metal songs and more adult-ish songs are out of the game. Also, by the way, I don't know if it was just me, but it took me awhile to get used to the new LEGO style notes. I have terrible vision and the HO/PO notes weren't as distinctive as the ones in RB2.
The positives in this game is the very amusing story which takes place all over the world and even in space. You can not only customize your LEGO band, but you can customize your road crew however you want. Also you can customize your "rock den" which over the period of the game will have little LEGO characters running around and you can customize your "rock den" with many different little posters/signs and speakers for your little practice area.
This soundtrack is epic. Yes, it features more recognizable songs that children will know, but it doesn't have crappy songs from Jesse McCartney, Hilary Duff, Spice Girls and other songs you'd rather listen to nails on a chalkboard then. This game doesn't embarrass you, so to speak like Band Hero does. Plus, this game has very good songs that people of all ages can enjoy, another aspect that Band Hero fails.
The achievement list is so-so. Most of the achievements involve you having to spend "studs", (the money in the game, rewarded for whatever you score on a song, plus whatever entourage members you have, if any) also for buying the 9 vehicles in the game and for completing the Rock Power Challenges. The only difficult achievements are The Final Countdown, which requires you to 100% the very difficult solo in The Final Countdown. As of November 22, 19 out of 1,283 gamers have it. And the other being Practice Makes Perfect, which actually isn't difficult at all, you just need a band who can get 100% each and you can use the super easy difficulty.
So all in all another good game by the masters of music games. Not surprisingly there aren't too many players who have this on there cards. I mean, look at some of the games that came out recently, Modern Warfare 2, Left 4 Dead 2, Assassin's Creed 2, all anticipated blockbusters. So hopefully this review will get some new LEGO Rock Band players out there! |
Omeks
90,825
TA Score for this game: 1,164
Posted on 06 September 10 at 07:34, Edited on 06 September 10 at 07:40 |
This review has 11 positive votes and 2 negative votes. Please log in to vote. |
Rock Band has seen a lot of success since it first hit the scene in 2007. Similarly, LEGO also seems to have struck a niche with games like LEGO Star Wars and LEGO Batman. Therefore, putting these two popular franchises together seems like it would be a hit waiting to happen. After playing LEGO Rock Band, I would have to disagree.
Overview:
LEGO Rock Band is the latest installment of the Rock Band franchise, though even with the LEGO in front of it, it's not a whole lot different from the previous Rock Band 2. You still play as either lead or bass guitar, drums or vocals, or as a four-person group, and try to hit as many pretty colors flying down the highway as you can. The big difference here is that LEGO Rock Band seems tailored a younger audience, with the inclusion of the super simplistic Super Easy difficulty alongside the humorous LEGO visuals.
Gameplay/Setting:
The main draw in LEGO Rock Band is the Story mode, which isn't too much different from Rock Band 2's World Tour mode. You'll visit various venues in an attempt to get as many stars as possible, as well as 'studs,' the game's form of currency, to buy new vehicles to progress to new locations. Each venue is packed with gigs that range from traditional Mystery Setlists and Build-a-Setlists, to epic closing chapters that have you escaping from T Rexes or fighting off the supernatural.
While the background visuals can be enjoyable to watch, there really isn't a whole lot that you can't already find in Rock Band 2. Some gigs may have you repairing a UFO to the tune of The Final Countdown, but you're still just trying to get as high a star rating as you can. Though kids, and even some adults, will likely find these story sequences enjoyable, expert players will likely be too pre-occupied to really take notice, though easier difficulties will allow for them to actually be watched easier.
The 'meat' of the game is, of course, the main setlist. One of the first disappointing factors here is that you're really only getting 45 songs, about the same amount from the first Rock Band and about half of what you get in Rock Band 2. Considering that LEGO Rock Band retailed for the same price that Rock Band 2 did at launch, this makes the game feel lazy, as if they couldn't be bothered to match Rock Band 2 since this is a game for kids, or that it's not a main numbered game in the series. In another annoying turn, you're also unable to play DLC you own that's deemed 'inappropriate' for children, so your song choices are limited even further. The song listing is decent, ranging from classics like "The Final Countdown" and "The Summer of '69," to odd choices like T. Rex's "Ride a White Swan." Ultimately, this comes down to personal taste, but I found about half of the game's setlist appealing, while the other half never really gets played over in Rock Band 2.
Speaking of which, the other main draw of LEGO Rock Band for Rock Band veterans is the ability to transfer everything in the game onto your hard drive. I would only recommend this if you can find the game for less than $20. And remember, it needs to be a new copy, not used.
Graphics/Sound:
Graphics are what you would expect from a LEGO game; simple. And who's to say they need to be amazing, since we are talking about characters based off building blocks. Though you'll likely be too busy hitting notes, there are some nice effects that go on in the background. That said, the graphics simply get the job done, albeit in a whimsical, charming fashion, and that's all you can really ask out of a LEGO-branded game.
The game's sound is on par with previous Rock Band titles. Sound quality among the various in-game tracks is great as always. Where the sound falters is with the game's excessive use of sound effects. A lot of the sound effects throughout the game tend to be annoying, ranging from cheeping birds in the Rock Den to the awful distorted guitar that plays whenever you select something in the menus. Probably the most annoying are sound effects that go on within the songs being played, since generally, I don't like hearing clicks and clacks of building blocks while I'm rocking out to "You Give Love a Bad Name." Still, they're mostly harmless, and the game excels in the sound department where it counts.
Achievements:
LEGO Rock Band's achievements fit the overall goal the developers had in mind. They're accessible and easy for young ones to obtain, the majority of them being simple story completion varieties. Still, there are some difficult ones that even expert Rock Band 2 players will have some trouble getting (namely, The Final Countdown achievement). The majority of points, however, are easily obtained.
Final Verdict:
I kept asking myself this as I continued to play LEGO Rock Band, and I feel like I need to ask it again: was LEGO Rock Band really necessary? While it's goal seems to be to attract a younger audience to the Rock Band franchise, most people would have called Rock Band 2 a very family-friendly game to begin with. Furthermore, given the insane amount of downloadable content Harmonix has put out, these 45 songs could have easily shown up in the Rock Band Store.
My advice: if you are a parent to young ones, LEGO Rock Band would likely be a great purchase if you're looking to work your children up to other Rock Band titles, and the LEGO theme certainly will keep them entertained. For older audiences, this is strictly a rental, or if you're looking to export, a bargain bin purchase. There's not a lot in it that your copy of Rock Band 2 doesn't already do, and since it excludes offensive DLC, it actually does less than Rock Band 2 at the same time. While Story mode can take a while to complete, you will likely play through the 45 in-game songs in an afternoon. Unless you want to wax nostalgic for some LEGO action, LEGO Rock Band is fairly forgettable.
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VAN WILEY
294,054
TA Score for this game: 1,198
Posted on 04 November 09 at 06:49, Edited on 04 November 09 at 13:37 |
This review has 21 positive votes and 14 negative votes. Please log in to vote. |
When I saw that Lego Rock Band had released today, (Nov 3rd, 2009), I thought to myself, "How can another game be out ALREADY?". Luckily I reminded myself that I was dealing with the game series by Harmonix (Rock Band) that has had successful ratings on every game released so far. I also remembered how it wasn't like the Guitar Hero series making a game off any idea that pops into their head.
Gameplay: Lego Rock Band works pretty much the same as it's predecessors. Same setup, same way to play. There are some changes though. In Lego Rock Band, you don't fail out, instead, you lose "studs" (the money) but they give you a chance to re-earn it if you can hit a certain number of notes that form. They also have a gameplay mode in which you destroy/battle something, and how you play is determined by how well you destroy/hurt the thing you are dealing with.
Graphics: I can't really judge graphics in this game, I mean, it IS a Lego game. But if I had to say something, I'd say this. It's not Beatles Rock Band top material, but if you love Lego, and you love Rock Band, then you will definitely love the level of detail this game has to offer.
Sound(Music): The music in Lego Rock Band isn't good, nor is it bad, it's on average, but you have to expect that, since Lego Rock Band comes distributed with the "Xbox360 Family Games tag. Which means that you aren't going to get songs about violence or drugs or anything such as that. There is a lot of the music I have heard before, and that I don't really "like" that much, but I still enjoy playing them. For a complete list of the songs in Lego Rock Band, click here: http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3176442
Achievements: The achievements are really easy, but there are what could be a couple challenging ones. Four players trying to get 100% could be hard, unless they are all skilled, and getting 5 stars on a song can prove difficult if you don't have an internet connection to download some of the rather easy DLC songs. For a complete list of achievements, head on over to the game page: LEGO Rock Band
There is something that bothers me about the game though, that I have to talk about. I'd like to point out that there is NO ONLINE MULTIPLAYER in the game. That's right, if you want to get those achievements based on playing with 4 players in the band, you better have some friends.....unlike me.
Harmonix has added the ability for the game to auto "pedal" on the Drums. With this option enabled, you do not need to use the foot pedal when playing songs. It's good if you are trying to get through some difficult songs, and best of all, YOU CAN STILL EARN ACHIEVEMENTS WITH THE AUTO-PEDAL OPTION TURNED ON!!!
Finally, the last add-on to the game, is the new money system. The more points you earn, the better. The points are then converted to studs, which are very easy to come by. You then use the studs in the Rock shop to buy instruments, clothing, etc.
This game is very enjoyable, but if you enjoy to play online more often, then you might not want to get it, unless you can accept playing with yourself or some friends.
EDIT (11/4/09): I noticed a couple other things that they decided to change in the game that made me annoyed, so I knocked it down a star...
1) The option to create your own logo seems non-existent. I tried finding a way to, but was unsuccessful, and only able to choose from a set of them, which pretty much all sucked.
2) "Bass Boost" in the options menu, doesn't do anything. It was off by default, I turned it on, and it didn't change anything. Everything still sounds exactly the same, meaning broken game mechanic.
3) They took away a couple of customizable settings from your character. No longer can I adjust my characters height, weight, or muscular build. So pretty much, the game is stereotypical in assuming every lego character is skinny, short, and weak looking.
4) (Already mentioned above) No Multiplayer is kind of lame, especially when they make achievements with playing with 4 people in the band, assuming that everyone has 3 friends they can play the game with. It's like the saying goes, when you assume, you make an ass of u and me, and thats exactly what Harmonix did.
5) Only SOME of your DLC from Rock Band 2 is playable. So if you want to play all your RB DLC with some of the Lego songs, you should consider transfering it over to RB2. Otherwise, you'll have to miss being able to play Metallica, or many MANY other bands.
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