In a matter of months, the original Rock Band took the world by storm. Equal parts party game, skills challenge, and a music fans wet dream, it successfully bridged the gap between casual and hardcore audiences. For the first time in as long as I can remember, a new IP debuted that everybody could enjoy. That’s why it was so surprising to hear that the sequel would be on store shelves less than a year from it’s original release.

So was it just a quick cash grab, or did the team at Harmonix have the time they needed to make big enough changes to the Rock Band formula to justify a sequel? Read on to find out;

Kevin: It’s been well documented here on the site and in the BitCast where our loyalties lie when it comes to the big rhythm games. While Rock Band was able to do a great job capturing the spirit of playing in a plastic band there were some small issues here and there that got in the way of the fun. When it came time to make Rock Band 2 it’s like Harmonix read my mind of all the things I wanted them to fix.

Don’t let the “2″ tacked on to the end of this release fool you, this isn’t a true sequel in the way we’re used to thinking of them. Really Rock Band 2 is a huge pack of new songs (all masters) and a big patch thrown in. Is this a bad thing? Of course not. The huge number of songs included on the disc are alone enough to justify the price (84 in all). Add in to that the 55 songs from the Rock Band 1 disc that can be exported into this title and you have plenty of songs to keep you occupied without even counting the downloadable tracks you might already have. Of course you don’t have to worry about all the songs you bought in the first game not being compatible with the sequel, it all works both ways. Activision, you should be taking notes here.

Gone are the “solo tours” from the first game since you can now play the main part of the game, World Tour, without needing at least two people. This is the most useful and welcomed “fix” from the first game. Also characters or avatars you created aren’t tied down to any one instrument finally, another highly welcomed change. If this had been all Harmonix did to improve on the first game I would have been a happy camper.

The gameplay is completely in tact from the first game, thankfully unchanged. The note charts still feel natural and fun when they should be and challenging when the song calls for it. Having picked up the disc-only version I can’t really comment on the new equipment (all the same equipment that was compatible with the first game works here as well) but I’d love to know if the guitar has improved over the first version.

The track list includes a very wide variety of songs that is sure to have something for anyone who wants to play the game. Between the included tracks and available DLC it’s pretty easy to customize the game to cater to your own tastes. Maybe some day instead of judging our friends’ taste by their CD collection we’ll rate their Rock Band content instead…

Rock Band 2 does everything to keep its place as my go-to rhthym and party game of choice. All the welcomed fixes and changes they made to the game only make it easier to keep the beer-soaked nights of advanced karaoke going until the neighbors start complaining. Even when they do the game makes it hard to want to stop the party.

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