Rock Band review

It's called Rock Band and not Rock Soloist for a reason- you gotta do this with other people to truly appreciate it. There's something almost intangible about four people in the same room, jumping and screaming and saving each other from humiliation - and it's something that this game and this game alone enables. Part of the co-op game is working together and keeping an eye on your bandmates who might be struggling; your timely intervention can give them a boost and keep them in the game, or bring them back after they fail. Damned if you don't feel like you're actually making music - which is the developer's not-so-secret goal, but who'd have thought they'd pull it off? It makes GHIII feel like homework, a technical chore you have to do. Rock Band, meanwhile, feels downright inspiring.

As we've mentioned, the PS2 version is the weakest thanks to a stripped down WorldTour mode and the absence of both character customization, and any sort of online play or downloadable content. Also, if we're picking nits, the new guitar controller feels foreign, with its soft-pressing, inset buttons- it's not the clicky, tactile stuff we're used to. Visuallythe new controller isa stunner, but since the Guitar Hero and Guitar Hero II controllers work in Rock Band (but not the GHIII axe, unfortunately) we're sticking with those a while longer.

The list of tracks skews toward classic rock - The Rolling Stones, Blue Oyster Cult, um, Mountain - for a total of 58 songs, most of which are original recordings from famous artists. That should keep you busy for awhile even without added downloadable songs - though our experience has shown that once you get through "Green Grass and High Tides" by the Outlaws, you'll probablynever want to play, hear, or even think about it again. So effectively, it's 57 songs.