Rock Band is back (as if it ever left). The new disc offers about 100 new songs, including
Bob Dylan’s first foray into videogames and Harmonix in-house band Speck’s dork ode
“Conventional Lover”. For folks who have been rocking out since last year, its more like a
huge song pack than a sequel, and that’s just fine.

It’s getting better all the time. The visuals are a bit shinier, the band members a bit more
customizable, and the interface a little more streamlined. For example, you can switch
between instruments with the same character without having to do a restart, and there is
finally a band quickplay option. For folks who want to just rock out and have fun, there is a
“no fail” option. For those who complain that the nerf bat was used top liberally in Rock
Band 2, there are now options to speed up tracks or take out the visual lines entirely.

The updated instruments are the real coup here. The new drumset is a sea change from the
day of release set I’ve been rocking since last year. It is solid where the original was
flimsy, generally quiet where the original was loud, and just generally provides a better,
more satisfying play experience. I’ve been excited about these since we tried them at PAX,
and I am glad to have them home.

The guitar is likewise excellent. Gone is the “mushy” strum bar of Rock Band 1. Here to
stay is a great feel and wireless rock. An improved accelerometer picks up Overdrive cues
nearly without fail. This is a great plastic instrument.

The microphone is much the same as the original. It does the job, and picks up as well as it
should. Harmonix still hasn’t implemented phoneme recognition, though, so you can recite
the Declaration of Independence and still get 100% on the Beastie Boys’ “Whatcha Want”.

All in all, though, Rock Band 2 is a lot of fun. And, because the Rock Band 2 and Guitar
Hero World Tour instruments are now interoperable with their respective games, you can
pick and choose whose sets you like best and enjoy the loads of content on the discs and
beyond.

For listening to their fans and cleaning up what needed to be cleaned up, plus providing a
ton of excellent songs to enjoy (500 by Christmas, they say), I am giving Rock Band 2 five
weiners out of five.

Check out the complete review, including pictures and hotlinks at PlayingWithMyWeiner.com