Rock Band 2 (Special Edition) (Wii, 2008)

In a day where MTV does not play music except in the early hours of the morning, they have collaborated with Harmonix to create the Rock Band franchise. Rock Band is the result of a separation from Red Octane and Activision to create a band orientated game rather than just a guitar-based game. There is a lead guitarist, bass guitarist, a drummer and a singer.

Visually the game is not much better than before. While there are obvious attempts at making the backgrounds seem more like a music video during songs, there is little difference. The menus have been grouped in such a way that some players may be confused. Simply think about how many songs you want to play and the number of people who will play. Then players should choose the appropriate game mode.

The game's audio is superb. For anyone with a decent sound system, they will hear subtle changes between the individual instruments as they each choose a side or fade in to the background. Sometimes it seems like half of the band is playing out of the left speaker and the other half out of the right. The on disc music selection is down the center of rock history, no true rock fan should feel jilted. This game is not for people who only like one or two rock groups and are not open to new music.

The character creation mode is a big improvement over the previous Rock Band game. Almost every possible different item of clothing and body type is available. Players begin with a bare minimum of clothing and starter instruments and can build upwards as they gain wealth. At a certain point, players will even be able to leave their hometown and hire staff.

The trend with musical games switching from single songs to gigs with multiple songs and no breaks in between makes the experience feel as if the player were performing at a real concert. The funny part is during sets when songs sung by females are mouthed by the male on stage or when songs sung by males are mouthed by the female on stage.

For users of the Nintendo Wii, this game is superior to its competitors when it comes to the online features. Four band members can play at the same time in any possible combination, be it local or on four separate Wiis over the Internet. Toss in the ability to compete against another band and that is eight players at a time! These options and more were available for the Sony Playstation 3 and Microsoft Xbox 360 at the release of the original Rock Band. Harmonix made it clear that the multiple delays for the Wii version of Rock Band 2 was to ensure a similar experience compared to the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 owners.

The year 2008 marked a trend towards music game peripheral universal compatibility. For the most part the guitars, drums and microphones for one game could be played with other games in the genre. There is even a few cases where instruments can be played across platforms, but those normally have to be connected via USB.

This game has 100 songs, 80 on disc and 20 available for free download. Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 owners have the luxury of converting previous Rock Band tracks to be compatible with Rock Band 2. Wii users are able to download tracks from both the previous game and downloadable content to a SD card. Sony Playstation 2 owners will have to go without any online features. Luckily, everyone can buy the Rock Band Track Pack stand-alone titles that feature at least 20 previously released downloadable songs or specialty content.