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Xbox 360 | Simulation | Rock Band

Boxart for Rock Band
Rock Band 96 screen shots
  • GRAPHICS: 4.75
  • SOUND: 5.00
  • CONTROL: 4.75
  • FUN FACTOR 5.00
  • AVG USER SCORE 4.6
  • AVG CRITIC SCORE 5.0
Winner of the GamePro Editor's Choice Award

Review: GamePro Reviews Rock Band

Review by The Gamepros | 11/21/2007 | 17:09:14 PM PST

At first glance, Rock Band may seem like a Guitar Hero knock off with more instruments involved, but once you delve into the actual game, you'll see that it's so much more. More than any other rhythm game that has come before it, Rock Band gets you the closest to feeling like a true rock star.

Table of Contents

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There was always a palpable amount of inevitability surrounding Rock Band. Though Konami technically pioneered the concept first with GuitarFreaks and DrumMania's link-up capability, the arcade-only gameplay and track list filled with unknown bands kept it from ever truly catching on in the U.S.

The Pros Know

PROS:
  • Fantastic presentation.
  • Great setlist.
  • A wealth of modes.
  • Easy to gather your friends and rock out!
CONS:
  • Guitar controller has some quirks.
  • Worries about the drum controller's durability remain.
  • The $159.99 price point seems steep, but really, you bought Guitar Hero for $70, and that only had one guitar.

When Guitar Hero exploded onto the scene and became an instant smash hit with a great peripheral and awesome track list, everyone knew it was only a matter of time before developers would take the game to the next level. Throw in Harmonix's Karaoke Revolution mechanics, and finally all of the pieces were in place.

Rock Band truly elevates the music rhythm genre above and beyond current definitions. Rock bands are all about making music together, and being a Guitar God in Guitar Hero always felt like a solo affair. Most multiplayer modes had you competing against one of your friends instead of playing with them, while a long line of friends waited behind you to take on the next track. Rock Band strips away the egos of each player as four players must work with each other, from building up insane combos to getting huge multipliers going simultaneously, to saving one of your bandmates from abject failure and more, the essence of Rock Band is playing together.

And since collaboration is the key to Rock Band's success, we've asked the members of GamePro's own super group, GP Bad Touch, to sound off on the game's individual instruments so you can experience the making of the band.


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