Developer: Harmonix
Publisher: MTV Games

Features

1-6 Players
Guitar Controller Compatible
Bass Controller Compatible
Drum Controller Compatible
Microphone Compatible
HDTV 720p/1080i/1080p
47 Green Day songs

Rock Band revolutionized the burgeoning music game market when it burst onto the scene in 2007. Since then we have seen variations of these games (Rock Band branded or not) churned out at a pace that I personally find a bit too quick for my own liking. And with the promise of new instruments and some changes in the game dynamic in the upcoming Rock Band 3, does the most recent Rock Band release, Green Day: Rock Band (GDRB for short), make the grade or does it suffer a 21st Century Breakdown?

Graphics

The look of this game is typical Rock Band from the well recognized scrolling notes to a stylized likenesses of all three members of the band. GDRB includes three venues important in the history of Green Day as well. Fans will appreciate these recreated venues, but more casual players might not pay much attention (it didn’t matter much to me). Impressive to me was how Harmonix incorporated true video footage from Green Day’s latest tour on the video wall in the last venue, Fox Theater. That is a nice touch. That being said, I do wish there were even more venues given that you will spend a lot of time doing so much virtual strumming, drumming and singing. Variety is the spice of life, but in the end you can still appreciate the detail that went into what is available on screen.

Sound

Aside from my view that musically things feel somewhat light with just 47 tracks, what is here is excellent. I find Green Day’s music very playable in the Rock Band format. The albums Dookie and American Idiot are represented fully and if you have purchased the six tracks from Green Day’s latest, 21st Century Breakdown, you can play that album in its entirely as well. Of course if you are playing GDRB through a stereo or surround sound setup, the music and crowd noise sound great. The bigger the sound system you are playing through the better it will definitely sound, but those who are not playing through any hi-end gear need not worry as it sounds good nonetheless.

Gameplay

At the core of any music game are the actual music tracks included within the game disc. GDRB comes with 47 tracks that span Green Day’s career. Even though it is on par with Beatles and Lego versions of Rock Band, 47 tracks does seem a little light. I would have liked to have seen more tracks but I guess the marketers see the revenue potential of downloading tracks as well.

There’s really not a lot more to say about GDRB that hasn’t already been said about the four previous Rock Band games. GDRB follows the traditional Rock Band formula to a tee, and its a good thing because the formula works. The game is very playable and that is what counts isn’t it? GDRB also employs many of the new features we saw in the Beatles game last year. Most impressive are the three part harmonies for those hard core players. I didn’t have the equipment to test this myself but think this a really cool feature and I am glad that they did not skimp out on the features in GDRB.

The game progresses through the history of Green Day and certain images and movies are unlocked as you play. These include previously unreleased interview footage, outtakes and performances. In total there are over forty minutes of video footage and 100 images. Fans of the band should eat this up because there is some cool and rare stuff. Others, maybe not so much. Regardless, you are rewarded for your hard work and Harmonix and MTV Games have done a good job at rewarding both fans of the band and gamers alike with content for playing through the tracks offered on this disc.

GDRB offers full compatibility with all Rock Brand peripherals and most third party ones as well. No fancy Green Day instruments this time around, but that’s okay because I have enough stashed behind my couch already!

Conclusion

Not being the biggest Green Day fan out there, I came into this review not knowing what to expect Green Day: Rock Band. What I ended up discovering is that this game is very playable. It actually gave me a better appreciation of Green Day and the music that they have become famous for. Their music just fits with the way I expect Rock Band to be played (with real rock songs!). With the focus 100% on Green Day and the included extras, fans of Green Day have a no brainer decision on their hands. That being said, casual fans who want more bands and varying types of music might want to wait for Rock Band 3 given the wide range of music and artists that it will offer.