Introduction
You and your friends are now Rock Stars. You are rocking out in front of a huge crowd. Your buddy on the left of you pounding on the drums, another two friends on the right hitting up electric and bass guitar, all while you are belting out the tunes to one of your favorite songs. How else could this happen? Besides in your dreams or in a drunken stooper at a bar doing karaoke with air instruments! Well in Rock Band of course.

Story
If you were one of those people that obsessed over Guitar Hero, chances are, you will love this game. Rock Band takes what Guitar Hero was, and multiplies it by 4. While you can still strum on a guitar, you have the choice between guitar and bass. It doesn’t stop there, you also have the opportunity to sing karaoke style with the other instruments, or you can even jam out on the drums.

Gameplay
You and up to three other friends have the opportunity to choose a song from the 40 rock hits to jam out to. Hit solos and work together to get the best possible score, the longer the streak, the better your score. And, in this game, you get a bonus for all instruments doing well together and hitting notes in unison. After you and your buddies play for awhile, it will feel like you’re a band that’s been together for years. Overdrive, Rock Band style star power, allows you to revive a lost loved one from failing miserably at there part, or just allow you to get more points.

Of course you also have the option to play by yourself and rack up scores and practice to tough solos of some of the harder songs. I will admit though, I haven’t come across any solos that come near the difficulty of Guitar Hero, so if your cool with that, this game will suit you well. One thing that takes some time to master is the hammer on’s and pull off’s. They are a bit different than Guitar Hero, and can be frustrating to get the hang of, especially when you streak or solo is wasted because an unnecessary missed pull off. The notes are a bit different if it is hammer on or pull off able, but I don’t think enough to make a difference when playing expert on a tough fast song. You will get the feel of it eventually though, and be able to know the difference.

Controls
If you have played Guitar Hero, these controls will be of no surprise to you. The guitar idea is the same with a few small differences. One, the buttons are flush with the guitar, they don’t stick out for your fingers to feel where they are, not a big deal, you get used to it. The other major thing that some people don’t like is the strummer. Instead of a distinct click like Guitar Hero, it is more of a smooth press down. I think that I have more control over it. I personally like it better, but to each their own. You can also tune your guitar to alter the sound, pretty cool addition, but in reality you don’t use it much. If you want to kill a solo or just jam out hard core, there are another set of cord buttons near the base of the guitar, allowing you to feel in more control. The buttons are closer together and smaller which allow you to hit more notes when its really needed.

Graphics and Sound
Like mentioned before, Rock Band allows for up to four people to play at one time. One the screen, the two guitarists and the drummer are laid out like normal, but the vocalist is along the top of the screen. The graphics are ok; nothing special to me, because this game is all about game play, and graphics can really take a backseat. But, you can expect similar to guitar hero look, with Xbox 360 style and graphics.

Sound, I would say depends on how good your home theatre system is. If you have surround sound, subs, or hook ups to your stereo, then you will really feel like your in concert. If you just have your TV, that’s ok too, because again, turn her up and you can rock out regardless.

Multiplayer/Replayability
Rock Band can be played by yourself, or with 3 other people. It all depends what you want to do. If you want to get good at a particular instrument, play songs on that instrument. Then, when your friends come over you can wow them with your drumming, guitar or singing skills. Solo is cool, but I guarantee you will have the most fun while jamming with friends. When you add even one other person to the mix it changes the whole feel of the game, and it only gets better as more people join in. Have all four instruments playing at the same time, and you will feel like a real rock star, you can play off the energy of your friends, and really get into the songs. Before you know it, you will find yourself with sore fingers from strumming, sore shins from drumming, and you may lose your voice from singing. If you’re not careful, “hey lets play a few songs” could turn into “cancel the plans” or “call in sick!” Make time in your life for this addicting and fun filled game.

Conclusion
They did it again with Rock Band, stepped up to another level. This game will take over you, your friends, your families, and the lives that surround you. You will find yourself rotating instruments with band mates, or each perfecting their instrument of choice. Whatever happens, I pretty much guarantee that you will love this game. It is well worth the money, because you will enjoy every minute of the rock session. Just a word of advice though, stretch before you play! You’ll get more into than you think.

Chris Merz