Developer: TT Games
Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Features
Players: 1-4
Co-op: 2-4
HDTV: 720p/1080i/1080p
Guitar
Drum Kit
Microphone
Downloadable Support
When I originally heard that Rock Band was going to be combined with the Lego franchise, I honestly didn’t know what they could do with the both of these well known names. Then at E3 in June of this year I finally got a look at the game, and my interest really did peak as the whole ‘Legoization’ of the Rock Band franchise seemed to be coming along quite nicely. Well Lego Rock Band has been finally released to the masses, and I had a chance to review the Xbox 360 version.
Graphics
Visually, Lego Rock Band gets the job done. You have to remember that this is a Lego based game, so any realism is thrown out the door. That being said, I really enjoyed the game’s graphics. The way that TT Games took the world of Rock Band and added the world of Lego was pretty impressive. From each individual band member, the stages, the instruments, to the cut-scenes, all manage to look solid while maintaining a very cute quality to it. Technically speaking, animations are pretty smooth and there is ample use of special effects (e.g. lighting, fireworks, and even some water effects) too. All in all there is really nothing to dislike here and the visuals really do help bring about the atmosphere of Lego Rock Band.
Sound
As with most games in this genre, the sound is pretty important given that you are listening, and playing, a wide variety of music by various artists. Lego Rock Band is no different and manages to do a good job in this area. The game is more family friendly, so the selection of music is geared towards allowing all family members the ability to enjoy the music without the fear of risky adult lyrics. The game is rated E10+ so most family members should have no problem with the available songs. There are 45 tracks on Lego Rock Band’s disc, and the content is quite varied. You will find such artists as Bon Jovi, Blur, Ray Parker Jr., The Jackson 5 and Blink 182 just to name a few. Each song seems to have its place here. I actually enjoyed rocking out to the Ghostbuster theme song, something that I didn’t think I would ever do. Some may say that 45 songs is not a lot, but it is not bad, and add to fact that you can access Rock Band and Rock Band 2’s DLC, as long as it meets the All Ages category, and you have a lot of music to enjoy. Of course being that this is the Xbox 360 version of Lego Rock Band, the music sounded great coming out in Dolby Digital with crisp clear vocals and some solid bass.
Gameplay
Lego Rock Band basically merges the two well known franchises in an effort to provide a family-friendly music experience that everyone can enjoy, including tweens, teens, and adults alike. For those that have not joined the interactive music genre of gaming, there is not a lot to be said about how to play the game. You follow a set of scrolling notes, in this case Lego pieces, and you strum your guitar or bang your drums in beat to the falling Lego pieces. If you are singing you only need to match the pitch of the lyrics that are displayed on screen in order to be successful. Be as accurate as you can in either of these areas and you successfully complete the song. It is that simple.
In Lego Rock Band you will literally “Build a Band and Rock the Universe”. The game allows you to create your own Lego rock star style as you can customize your in-game avatars, band members, roadies, and managers. As you successfully complete songs, and various rock challenges, you collect the famed Lego studs that are so prevalent in other Lego games (e.g. Lego Star Wars or Lego Batman). With these studs you can unlock additional content and collect such things as vehicles to take you and your band to different venues including rock clubs, stadiums, and even a few places far beyond.
So what is to love in family friendly version of Rock Band? Well quite a bit.
First off, the level of customization in this game is pretty immense. Of course given the Lego license, you can access a ton of Lego body parts. You will find that if you think of it, you can most likely build it. The aforementioned studs that you collect will let you acquire hairstyles, legs, torsos, and instruments to name a few things. I found myself somewhat addicted to this aspect, which is to be expected given how much Lego I played with as a kid.
New to the Rock Band experience is a new skill level aptly titled “Super Easy”. Here the youngins’ can feel free to strum to the music without the need to hit the fret bars on the guitar. There is also a new drum mode that automatically hits the kick drum for whoever is at the helm of the drums, allowing them to focus hitting the drums and not having to try to hit the kick drum too. Both of these features makes the whole Rock Band experience accessible to all family members regardless of skill level, even those who are too young to really understand what it takes to be successful at this type of game. There is also the ability to play abbreviated versions of each song on the disc, which can be pretty convenient if you have a youngster who has an attention span the size of a Smartie.
There is a traditional story-like mode in Lego Rock Band, and overall it is quite enjoyable. Of course you are in charge of your band’s destiny and as you progress you get to watch the story unfold in traditional Lego form with some great Lego cut-scenes and some great Lego humour. New to the story mode are Lego Themed Rock Power Challenges. Here you will do such things as defeat a giant octopus, demolish a building or summon a storm. These things happen during key points of the story, and they are pretty fun to complete and a nice addition indeed.
Given that this is a Rock Band game, there is some abilty to link all previous games together. You can pull the 45 song setlist from Lego Rock Band into your existing Rock Band library of DLC, but for a cost of course. As well, you have the ability to play any pre-existing Rock Band DLC that is already on your HDD in Lego Rock Band; however the key here is that your DLC from Rock Band or Rock Band 2 has to be suitable for the “All Ages” list. If it is then the songs will show up on the Lego Rock Band Music Library list. This is a neat little feature as it will allow many more songs to be enjoyed by all those members of the family, including the young ones who just wanna play.
Of course the game does allow multiplayer play with up to 3 other people, each taking role of one of the band members (bassist, guitarist, drummer or singer). This can only be done locally though as there is no ability to play Lego Rock Band online. For me the exclusion of online is both a plus and a minus. The minus is that you cannot hook up and play online with any of your friends on Xbox LIVE; however, the plus is that this encourages even more time for the family to congregate around the Xbox 360 and TV all at one time to enjoy some clean music fun together. All in all the absence of the online multiplayer is not particularly damaging to this game.
Conclusion
Lego Rock Band is exactly what the title says, a mix of both Rock Band and Lego worlds. I like that the game’s setlist is more family friendly with tracks that can please everyone. The new features that are included also make for a game that all people, no matter what their skill level, can still enjoy. At the end of day veterans of band games, and newbies alike, really can’t go wrong picking up Lego Rock Band for some virtual shredding, drumming, and singing fun.
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