Playstation 3 Rock Band 2 Special Edition

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I've been playing this for 5 days now, after a year of playing RB1. To give credit where it's due, it looks like the team at Harmonix read every angry, outraged post about the first Rock Band and then addressed the problems.

Gameplay:

-Bands no longer have a leader that must be present in order for the band to play. Any member of the band can play solo, and any character can play any instrument.

-You can now create an entire band and have them play with you ALL the time, giving you control over the look of it. You never need to have a random character model stand in. The might seem like a small thing but it makes a big difference. I don't know how many times my friends and I played, 3 of us looking like the Beatles, only to have some chick wrapped up like a mummy playing bass.

-You can be more in-depth in fleshing out your band, including designing a logo for them.

Drums

-First of all the drums are wireless, which in itself is a big improvement. They have a rubberized coating on the pad now which cuts the noise from striking them in half, and that's more a dull thud than the sharp, obnoxious crack of the old drums. The bass pedal has been beefed up and should stand up to adult usage. I see some users complaining about tech problems with the drums, but mine have thus far been flawless.

-Guitar

This is a huge improvement over the RB1 guitar. The start button has been put in a recess, making it much harder to accidentally pause the game while playing. The tilt sensor for going into overdrive works perfectly, the buttons are easier to use and the overall construction is sturdier. Best of all, it's wireless receiver has a USB port that you can plug the drums into, making it so that two instruments take up only one USB port on the console. This means that you can play as a full 4-person band without needing anything extra for your PS3. Again, a little thing that makes a big difference.

All the songs you downloaded for RB1 can be played on this game, and for a small fee you can also migrate all the songs from the RB1 disc onto your drive to be used with RB2. I think it's great that you don't have to leave any songs behind.

Bottom line: if you have RB1 you should definitely buy at least this game, even if you want to keep your old instruments. The expansion to your song library alone is well worth the price. But if you have the money to spend I think the improved instruments are worth buying.

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We have had both Rock Band 1 and Rock Band 2 since their release dates, and I waited for a month of continuous gameplay so that I could make sure that I addressed some of the differences accurately.

Gameplay:

The graphics have never been the high point of this game, and they are slightly improved, still artsy-cartoony and PS2-looking, but still cleverly done (e.g., they are not that crisp HD cartooniness of "Buzz!" but they'll do). Gameplay is much the same as Rock Band 1, with the MAJOR exception that you can start a tour yourself and your character can play any instrument (previously, your character was tied to one instrument and if you played alone, you generally had to play 2 instruments to go "on tour"). Harmonix added in online challenges ("battles") that can be played weekly and are available for free over the Playstation Network. The extra downloadable songs are generally inexpensive and bring a massive diversity of artists (from Underoath to Devo to Paramore, and by now, RB has amassed an amazing amount of downloadable songs (over 500+ to date).

One minor quibble is that the same problem exists in RB2 as RB1, namely, that you cannot delete tracks that you absolutely hate. Thus, you can still fail out in the middle of a challenge because RB has picked an "impossible" song as one of its randoms, and I wish they would do a better job with their randomizer. Also, when you play in "Quickplay" mode, you cannot pick your character, unlike RB1. So I end up with "Earl Stevens, Jr." a lot instead of my own character, which is disappointing when I don't want to go through a tour (basically because I can't remember "which town" has the music I want to play e.g., where is "Everlong," again? The Amsterdam amphitheater?).

Peripherals:

The drums are head over heels better than the old version. They are quieter, springier on rebound, have a metal reinforced pedal to slow down breakages (though the spring mechanism still makes your pedaling-leg tired after a session), and are just as easy to break down and put away. Wireless is awesome, but it is a DRAIN on your AA batteries (we went through the first set of 4 Energizers in less than 10 days), so invest in some rechargables. Love the fact that it has a port for fake cymbals (which don't change the gameplay, they just give you something different to hit on the greens/blues/reds).

The guitar is somewhat improved, with the Start button surrounded by a ridge of plastic, though if you've been playing on RB1, you may actually like that guitar better. The one in the special edition package does NOT come with a sunburst "finish" though it's the same old Stratocaster body with a fake wood neck. The "auto-calibration" mechanism in the guitar (something missing from RB1) created some distressing results, so it was not as great of a feature as I initially hoped for, and we went back to manual calibration with our HDTV.

The mic is the same old, same old rebranded Logitech Vantage mic. But the Pelican and MadCatz upgraded versions aren't actually much better, so this mic will get you by.

Warranty Support:

The equipment is much higher quality than the first batch. We returned at least two RB1 guitars on warranty with the first set and are returning our RB2 guitar for failing to recognize overdrive. However, EA Customer Support has been marvelous EVERY time, so I highly recommend purchasing without fear.

Overall:

I was initially hesitant about replacing what I thought was an expensive RB1 set in the first place with a marginally more expensive RB2 set. However, I found the drum peripheral more than worth the expense and after playing them, I was satisfied and did not see the need to cough up another $300 for the premium Ion. Conclusion? RB2 is just as fun as RB1, if not more. The track list is GREAT, the gameplay is slightly improved, and everyone loves it at parties. For casual gamers who just like to pick up a fake instrument every now and again, it's a must-buy.

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After reading some of the negative press on RB2, especially the drums, my RB2 kit arrived and I had a non interrupted 2 hours of drumming joy.

Positives.

The Guitar has self calibration, which I have found to be good enough that I have not had to do any calibration manually (this was a right pain to get right in RB1). Somewhere (I could not see them from a cursory inspection) is both a sound and light sensor which auto calibrates vs a test beat and test flash.

I was most worried that the drums would not work (i'm the drummer in my family/friends) especially after all forum activity. They worked absolutely fine for me last night. Really like the softer/bouncier feel to the pads (i had the RB1 drums with silencer pads these will not be necessary with the RB2 drums)

Menu system navigation is much more logical, as is the intergration of solo and multiplayer.

Drum trainer is excellent 50+ patterns to practice, some with very complex changes, all at 40-200 bpm...

Song choices so far seem to have some really interesting drum rhythms and sequences with much more variation than RB1.

Overall really happy. Just hope I don't get some of the issues mentioned on the forums.

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This game is a lot more fun than I expected. I started this review mostly to confirm what is included in the Rock Band 2 Special Edition for PS3 -It has the game, a drum set, a guitar, and a microphone -the only thing you need to purchase in addition to have the full game is another guitar. You can also buy Rock Band 1 -and import its songs into Rock Band 2. (there are also online songs you can buy) -I have spent quite a bit of money buying new songs / Rock Band 1 -in order to fill out my library. There is a cheat code you can enter to unlock all the songs (google rock band 2 unlock songs cheat).

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We bought Rock Band 2 for the PS3 early this year, and had a great time playing for few weeks in January and February. We took very good care of the equipment. One time the wireless drums were a bit difficult to turn on, but we didn't think much of it at the time. Little did we know we should have acted on that problem right away...

We didn't use the game for a month or so, and then took it out this weekend to play some more. Bad news: the wireless drums are completely dead. They don't turn on at all. I switched out the batteries to brand new ones and made sure they were sitting in the container correctly. Still, nothing.

Fine, I think, there must be some options to return defective equipment. Wrong. Harmonix offers only a 60-day warranty on the equipment. Replacing the drums means buying a new set ($90). There are numerous complaints on Harmonix's support boards from customers who are running into problems with the PS3 drums shortly after the warranty expires, but Harmonix is ignoring the issue.

I can understand if we had beat on the drums or abused them, but outside of very minor wear on the pads, these drums look brand new. We've probably used them less than 25 hours in all. Harmonix claims they are dedicated to customer satisfaction, but a measly 60-day warranty period on the instruments isn't enough time to identify possible manufacturing defects. As a Harmonix customer, I am disappointed and am definitely not satisfied.

Buyer beware.