Rock band 2 xbox 360/ps3

[rd365dav]

Had this for about a week or so on us 360,and after playing the original to death since last december i could'nt wait for this.
First of all not much has changed the core gameplay is identical to the first game which is no bad thing,its just been tweaked to make it far easier to get straight into a full band playing the world tour or you can go through world tour on your own.The challenges are an extra addition with all dlc in there to create band specific challenges.
I have not been able to play anyone online or do the band world tour online not sure if ea have region locked the online play like some of their other games.I have compeated in some of the battle of the band challenges,there seems to be new ones everday or so and they last for about four or five days ranging from single instrument to full band challenges on expert only.When playing online the battle of the band challenges show up in the world tour and can be played as part of the world tour.
The graphics are exactly the same as the old game just some new camera angles,animations
and effects but the audio is way better on the rock band 2 tracks.Play a setlist of rock band 1 and 2 tracks together and the audio difference is very noticable also the crowd interaction on the new tracks is really good giving some great atmosphere.
And the tracklist,its really good,wasnt sure when i first saw it but its a real grower.Had four people round the other night each taking turns on all instruments,but everyone wanted the mike there are so many stand out tracks.With the 20 free songs coming and the endless dlc this game just gets better and can see myself and freinds playing it for a very long time.

[Oh_Mutants]

Thanks for the impressions. Can't wait for this to hit the UK, looks like november going by the TV ad
In the meantime will just have to make do with Blood Sugar Sex Magik...

[Cuber001]

yeah this is my most wanted game . I cannot wait. I have played RB2 so much the disc is probably worn out!

What drumset do you own? RB1/2/ION???

<<<<< And as you can tell i'm a Parawhore so i Cannot WAIT to play Thats What You Get! Easily my most anticipated song!

[Oh_Mutants]

Am i correct in thinking you'll be able to add the cymbals to the original Rock Band drum kit when they become available, so as to save having to upgrade to the RB2 drums?

[MrMarbles]

No, the cymbals are plugged into sockets that are present on the Rock Band 2 drum kit but not on the original drum kit.

The cymbals are only used during freestyle drumming segments anyway - during normal play they will simply mimic the functions of the main pads.

I think Harmonix are just making the transition to a potential full-on drum experience in Rock Band 3 easier on the wallet for people who shell out on Rock Band 2 equipment whilst at the same time not pissing off people who bought equipment for the first game too much - at least people with Rock Band 1 equipment will have had a couple of years' worth of play out of them before having to upgrade to new kit.

[rd365dav]

yeah this is my most wanted game . I cannot wait. I have played RB2 so much the disc is probably worn out!

What drumset do you own? RB1/2/ION???

<<<<< And as you can tell i'm a Parawhore so i Cannot WAIT to play Thats What You Get! Easily my most anticipated song!

I got the game only so still using all the old instruments,also last night managed to get a game on line so the online play is not region locked.

[MrMarbles]

Received the PS3 version of this earlier today and gave it a good four hour sesh tonight. As rd365dav mentioned, nothing much is new - it's all just a refinement and tidying up of the first one.

Gave the drum trainer and fill trainer a run through - not sure how effective they are at teaching people from scratch how to drum, but there's definitely a stern challenge there for Rock Band expert veterans and real drummers. Managed to get through them all at 140bpm, but there's a dozen or so that are surely impossible at 180bpm.

Being able to do Band World Tour in single player is a nice touch, although nothing has been changed to it other than the addition of being able to hire people to help with playing at venues or getting more fans in.

Still, presentation of the whole thing is top notch, and getting to film a music video put a smile on my face.

Having all of the DLC and RB1 songs integrated seamlessly into the whole thing is great really - the sorting and list browsing is far, far better than it was in RB1, with the ability to separate them into RB1, RB2 and DLC songs at the push of a button and sort within those categories. It all scrolls nice and quickly - none of the chugging menu scrolling that RB1 had after a couple of hundred songs were downloaded.

Menu navigation is far more intuitive, allowing people to smack the drums all they like without messing everything up.

There's also a nice Extras menu that has various options. You can enter the Unlock Songs cheat in that menu and it then becomes an option you can toggle, so you don't have to enter it every time you get mates over who want to try out songs you've not unlocked yet. The No Fail mode is also an option to toggle in there, so again it's a pretty essential menu for when you have buds over wanting to play.

Audio/Visual calibration is much more intuitive than in RB1, requiring the drum pad to be hit in time with a visual metronome. None of this slider business having to match up with a scrolling white circle.

Drum fill sound effects are different and generally less intrusive (the green pad is now a tom rather than a cymbal for all hits bar the final overdrive trigger) - having said that, the snare is really loud and brash which is great during the actual songs, but during the big finishes it sounds pretty awful if the red pad is hit often.

Drum solos caught me by surprise, they're probably the biggest addition to the drums and function in the same way as the guitar solos.

As for the Battle of the Bands, it seems to show the worst score out of everyone, but doesn't scale up to show the next best when you overtake it. As such, you don't have a clue as to how well you've done until you've finished the challenge. Bit of a shame, but it'll provide something new to do every day which can only be a good thing.

That's about all I have to offer, other than Fleetwood Mac being a real goosebump song when the crowd kicks in for the chorus. Reminded me of the first time I played Say It Ain't So months back and having the same thing happen then.

All in all, I'm predictably finding this game to be the best thing ever at this moment in time. I give it twelve drumsticks out of plectrum.

[FreelancePolice]

excellent thoughts

The filtering of songs and browsing is really what I'm looking forward to if I'm honest. Although a whole host of new songs to play will be fun as well

[Cuber001]

Yeah got this last thursady, played about 5 hours a day since. Its an amzing game. More of the same but a lot more refined. Song selection, drum fill sounds, everything. Also some really good songs. All in All a great buy and one i will spend a lot of time on.

I also have RB1 songs and about 80 or so DLC, so if anybody wants to add me for a few games, feel free. PSN: AsPiRiNgYoUtH

And with Dammit coming this week and the 20 free coming next week, it should get even more crazy than before. Some really great tracks in that 20 that i'm dying to play, especially Underoath. However Lesley Roy, Hollywood Undead, Underoath there are some good ones.

[nonny]

Im simply hanging out for this to get a PAL release date.

Im still playing RB1 daily on guitar/drums and since last week I've migrated over to a RB2 kit moving my mesh stealth head mod and my 3rd party rock pedal across as well. Basically as soon as I can get my hands on this thing its mine!

Im still praying the UK gets a pre-xmas release date along with the AC/DC disc as well. I just want to play RB2 over the xmas break with some AC/DC thrown in to keep my aussie mates happy!

[Cuber001]

In cas anybody is wondering, i'm using my old RB1 instruments. They work great. Now just hurry up ION and release a PS3 version of the ION kit and i'll be a happy man.

[ItsThere]

Does anyone have any idea of a UK release date for this? Am tempted to import a US drum kit in preparation as I smashed my RB1 version up completely...

[Skull Commander]

Does anyone have any idea of a UK release date for this? Am tempted to import a US drum kit in preparation as I smashed my RB1 version up completely...

Seems like there is nothing official at the moment, although HMV have been throwing around mid november.

[ItsThere]

Seems like there is nothing official at the moment, although HMV have been throwing around mid november.

Yeah thats what I had heard (from Kotaku) but its getting a bit close to that for my liking! Still no official word and, as it is my bd on the 10th, need to know whether to save the money for this or blow it on a MASSIVE house party

[Cuber001]

HMX didnt announce the US versions release date until like 2 days before. So dont expect a date soon. most likely the week its released.