Rock Band 2 is a
music video gameA music video game, also commonly known as a music game, is a video game where the gameplay is meaningfully and often almost entirely oriented around the player's interactions with a musical score or individual songs...
developed by
Harmonix Music SystemsHarmonix Music Systems is an American video game development company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts in the United States...
. It is the sequel to
Rock Band and is the second title in the
seriesRock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
. The game allows up to four players to simulate the performance of popular songs by playing with
controllerA game controller is a device used with games or entertainment systems used to control a playable character or object, or otherwise provide input in a computer game. A controller is typically connected to a game console or computer by means of a wire, cord or nowadays, by means of wireless connection...
s modeled after musical instruments. Players can play the
lead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
,
bass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, and
drumsA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
parts to songs with "instrument controllers", as well as sing through a USB
microphoneA microphone is an acoustic-to-electric transducer or sensor that converts sound into an electrical signal. In 1877, Emile Berliner invented the first microphone used as a telephone voice transmitter...
. Players are scored on their ability to match scrolling musical "
noteIn music, the term note has two primary meanings:#A sign used in musical notation to represent the relative duration and pitch of a sound;#A pitched sound itself....
s" while playing instruments, or by their ability to match the singer's pitch on vocals.
Rock Band 2 features improved drum and guitar controllers, while supporting older controllers, as well. New features include a "Drum Trainer" mode, a "Battle of the Bands" mode, online capabilities for "World Tour" mode, and merchandising opportunities for the players' virtual bands. In addition to the
84 songs included on the game disc and 20 free downloadable songs, over 1400 additional
downloadable songs have been released for the
Xbox 360The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
,
WiiThe Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
, and
PlayStation 3The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
versions, with more added each week. All of these songs, existing and future, are compatible with all
Rock Band titles.
Rock Band 2 software was released in North America for the Xbox 360 on September 14, 2008, along with individual instrument peripherals, and later for the PlayStation 3 on October 19, 2008. The software/hardware bundles for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 were made available on October 19, 2008. Versions of the game for the PlayStation 2 and Wii platforms were released on December 18, 2008.
Rock Band 2 received highly positive reviews from critics upon release and sold 1.7 million copies through the end of 2008.
Gameplay
The core gameplay in
Rock Band 2 is mostly unchanged from the original
Rock Band. Players use controllers modeled after musical instruments to simulate the performance of
rock songsRock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
. Players use these instruments to play scrolling musical "notes" on-screen in time with the music.
Rock Band 2 offers single-player and multiplayer gameplay for lead guitar, bass guitar, drums, and vocals, allowing for any combination of parts to play as a band.
During song performances, the game displays up to three tracks of vertically scrolling colored music notes, one section each for lead guitar, drums, and bass. The colored notes on-screen correspond to buttons on the guitar and drum peripherals. For lead and bass guitar, players play their notes by holding down colored fret buttons on the guitar peripheral and pushing the controller's strum bar; for drums, players must strike the matching colored drumhead, or step on the pedal to simulate playing bass drum notes. Along the top of the screen is the vocals display, which scrolls horizontally. The lyrics display beneath green bars, which represent the pitch of the individual vocal elements. When singing vocals, the player must sing in
relative pitchThe term relative pitch may denote:* the distance of a musical note from a set point of reference, e.g. "three octaves above middle C"* a musician's ability to identify the intervals between given tones, regardless of their relation to concert pitch * the skill used by singers to correctly sing a...
to the original vocals. A pitch indicator displays the singer's accuracy relative to the original pitch. The remainder of the screen is used to display the band's virtual characters as they perform in concert.
During cooperative play as a band, all players earn points towards a common score, though score multipliers and "Overdrive" are tracked separately for each player. Overdrive is individually collected by players during select portions of a song by successfully playing all white notes (or yellow notes for vocals) within that section (or by using the guitar controller's whammy bar during white sustained notes). Once a player's Energy Meter is filled halfway, they can deploy their Overdrive, resulting in the "Band Meter" (which tracks how well each player is doing) changing more dramatically. This allows players to strategically use Overdrive to raise the Band Meter and pass portions of a song they otherwise might have failed. Overdrive can be used to activate score multipliers, which vary based on a player's note streak. Players can deploy Overdrive independently of each other, as well as collect additional Overdrive while it is deployed and draining.
Each band member can choose the difficulty at which they play (spanning Easy, Medium, Hard, and Expert). If a player does not play well enough and falls to the bottom of the Band Meter, they will fail out of the song and their instrument will be muted from the audio mix. However, any active player can activate their Overdrive to bring failed players back into the song, "saving" the band member. However, a band member can only be saved twice; after the third failure, they cannot be brought back for that song. Failed players continuously drag the band's Band Meter down until they are saved. If the player is not saved before the Band Meter reaches the bottom, the band fails the song. Players can earn Overdrive bonuses from "Unison Phrases" and extra points from a "Big Rock Ending."
Instrument peripherals
All of the original
Rock Band peripherals are compatible with
Rock Band 2 for the same console. Similarly, the newly designed peripherals for
Rock Band 2 are backwards compatible with the original
Rock Band.
The game features
Rock Band 2-branded guitar controllers modeled after the
Fender StratocasterThe Fender Stratocaster, often referred to as "Strat", is a model of electric guitar designed by Leo Fender, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares in 1954, and manufactured continuously by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation to the present. It is a double-cutaway guitar, with an extended top...
. The guitar is nearly identical to the original
Rock Band Stratocaster in terms of gameplay, featuring ten colored fret buttons, a strum bar, a whammy bar, and an effects switch. Improvements to the new guitar include a sunburst paint job, a more reliable strum bar and Overdrive accelerometer, a self-timing calibration, and quieter fret buttons. The bass drum pedal from the drum set can also be used with the guitar to activate Overdrive mode.
The bundled drum controller is also similar to the one featured in the original
Rock Band. It features four rubber drum pads and a kick pedal. New improvements include velocity-sensitive drum pads (the force of the drum hits will dictate the in-game volume) with more rebound and less noise, a metal-reinforced kick pedal, expansion plugs for separately sold cymbals manufactured by
Mad CatzMad Catz Interactive, Inc. is a peripherals manufacturer for various video game consoles headquartered in San Diego, California. It produces a wide range of accessories including control pads, memory cards, connection cables, headphones and other human interface devices.- History :The company was...
, and wireless capabilities.
Rock Band 2's
USBUSB is an industry standard developed in the mid-1990s that defines the cables, connectors and protocols used in a bus for connection, communication and power supply between computers and electronic devices....
microphone instrument is identical to the microphone from the original game. Singers are judged by pitch, or during "talking parts", their ability to enunciate spoken vocals. The
phonemeIn a language or dialect, a phoneme is the smallest segmental unit of sound employed to form meaningful contrasts between utterances....
detection system used for
atonalAtonality in its broadest sense describes music that lacks a tonal center, or key. Atonality in this sense usually describes compositions written from about 1908 to the present day where a hierarchy of pitches focusing on a single, central tone is not used, and the notes of the chromatic scale...
vocal parts has been completely replaced with a new, more lenient engine, and songs imported from
Rock Band and pre-existing downloadable content will be converted to use the new phoneme system.
Harmonix and MTV Games have also provided limited edition instruments, including an authentic Fender Squier Stratocaster guitar and Precision Bass retrofitted with the game's input controls by Mad Catz. Additionally, Ion Audio is selling a "Premium Drum Kit" that not only works within
Rock Band 2, but can also be expanded into an
electronic drumAn electronic drum is an electronic synthesizer which mimics an acoustic drum kit.The electronic drum usually consists of a set of pads mounted on a stand in a disposition similar to an acoustic drum kit. The pads are discs with a rubber or cloth-like coating. Each pad has a sensor which generates...
kit through the purchase of a separately sold
drum brainAn electronic drum module is the device in an electronic drum kit that serves as the central processing unit and sound module. The nomenclature varies . For example, electronic drum modules are called "percussion sound modules" in the case of Roland Corporation, or sometimes simply modules. A...
. The "Premium Drum Kit" features four drum pads, two cymbal pads (with the option of a third), and a bass pedal.
The
Rock Band 2 peripherals and
Guitar Hero: World Tour peripherals are cross-compatible with other music games on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Sony originally announced that instrument peripherals would be universally compatible on the PlayStation 3; and on November 24, 2008 a patch was released to allow the
Guitar Hero: World Tour drums to be properly recognized by
Rock Band 2.
MicrosoftMicrosoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
has also stated that instruments on the Xbox 360 will be compatible between the two games, as well as
Rock RevolutionRock Revolution is a music video game developed by Zoë Mode and HB Studios and published by Konami. It was first revealed on May 15, 2008, and released on October 15, 2008 for the Nintendo DS, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360...
. The Wii edition of
Rock Band 2 is compatible with the Wii drums and guitar for
Rock Band and
Guitar Hero World Tour as well as the guitar for
Guitar Hero III.
Rock Band 2 drum and guitar peripherals do not work with Wii
Guitar Hero games prior to
Guitar Hero 5, although the microphone does.
Tour mode
Unlike
Rock Band, which segregated the single-player Solo Tour mode and the multiplayer Band World Tour mode,
Rock Band 2 features a single "Tour" mode that makes no distinction of the number of players. Any combination of 1–4 players, both online and local, can create a band composed of the player(s)' virtual characters. A band leader is no longer necessary, allowing the characters within the band lineup to change at will, as well as swap instruments. The band must also select a name and hometown before proceeding to their "practice space". From here, the band can choose to "Start Tour", undertake "Tour Challenges", or compete with other bands in "Battle of the Bands."
If the band chooses to "Start Tour", they will enter the game's equivalent of the original
Rock Bands Band World Tour mode, allowing the band to play gigs and tour a virtual representation of the world. Once setup is complete, the band can begin playing concerts in small venues in their hometown until they unlock vans, tour buses and private jets, which unlock more cities and different continents. Unlocking and completing new gigs unlocks additional songs for play across all game modes. Successful performances also earn the band fans, stars, and in-game cash. Most cities and larger venues require the band to achieve a certain number of fans and stars before they are unlocked. The band must complete unique sets of activities at each venue. Performances consist of single songs, multiple song sets, "make your own" setlists, and mystery setlists. For certain performances, bands are faced with an optional challenge that requires the band to average a certain number of stars for their gig in order to reap the rewards. Bands can also hire personnel, including band managers, roadies, and sound guys.
The second option from the band's "practice space" is "Tour Challenge", which is a set of non-linear challenges. Some of these challenges include completing certain band-specific setlists, sets of songs that are difficult on a particular instrument, or songs all with a common theme. New downloadable songs will be integrated into this mode, allowing the creation of new challenges. Players can save their progress through these setlists and complete them at a later time. Newly purchased songs that will extend the length of a Tour Challenge setlist will also need to be completed in order for the challenge to be completed.
The final option from the band's "practice space" is "Battle of the Bands", only available for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii versions of the game. This mode allows the band to virtually compete against other bands via online scoreboard tracking. This mode is composed of limited-time online tournaments created by Harmonix, with approximately five to ten challenges available any time. Challenges may be made up of one or more songs, and may be geared to one instrument or a full band. The songs will not be limited to those on the
Rock Band 2 disc and will include ones that use songs off the
Rock Band disc and downloaded content; it is expected that challenges centered around downloadable albums will also be made available. Challenges may also provide special rules, such as turning on the "no fail" mode for a difficult guitar song, or completing a song without activating "Overdrive". While playing the challenge, the band will see the score of the next highest band from the online leaderboard, as well as a "tug of war" meter to show how close they are to the score. If a band's score is surpassed, they will be notified the next time they are online. Challenges participated in and the corresponding scores will be tracked as part of the band's history, with this information also being made available through the game's website.
Unlike the original
Rock Band, players can designate custom characters as "stand-in musicians" for their band members on a specific instrument, which will appear when the instrument in question has no player instead of a random preset character made by Harmonix.
Other modes
Also included in
Rock Band 2 is a "Training" mode, which will help players learn how to play each instrument. Within this mode is the "Drum Trainer", which will help players improve on the drums through a "Beat Trainer" (with dozens of drum beats to practice), "Fill Trainer" (which will teach players how to perform better drum fills), and a "Freestyle Mode" (which will allow player to freeplay the drums, or play over
MP3MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
songs on their Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 console). The "Extras" menu of the game allows "modifiers" to be activated; some of these include "No Fail Mode", which will allow playing through songs without anyone being able to fail, and a "Breakneck Speed" mode, similar to the Hyperspeed mode in
Guitar Hero III: Legends of RockGuitar Hero III: Legends of Rock is a music video game, the third main installment in the Guitar Hero series, and the fourth title overall...
which doubles the track's scrolling speed. The "Score Duel", "Tug of War", "Quickplay", and "Tutorial" modes from the original
Rock Band are also retained.
Customization
In Quickplay modes, players can assemble variable-length custom setlists, allowing multiple songs to be played in sequence without returning to the song selection menu in between each song. As with the original
Rock Band, players can create and customize their own in-game character, complete with adjustable hair, body physique, clothing,
tattooA tattoo is made by inserting indelible ink into the dermis layer of the skin to change the pigment. Tattoos on humans are a type of body modification, and tattoos on other animals are most commonly used for identification purposes...
s, piercings, onstage movements, and instruments. Using cash earned within the game, the player may purchase items at the in-game "Rock Shop", with which they can customize their rock star. The game features an art maker where players can combine different
clip artClip art, in the graphic arts, refers to pre-made images used to illustrate any medium. Today, clip art is used extensively in both personal and commercial projects, ranging from home-printed greeting cards to commercial candles. Clip art comes in many forms, both electronic and printed. However,...
elements to create custom face paint, tattoos, clothing designs, instrument artwork, and band logos. The same character is usable to play any of the instruments in the game, unlike in
Rock Band where a character was fixed to one specific instrument. Players' characters created in the first
Rock Band cannot be transferred to
Rock Band 2, although all of the customization options from
Rock Band are present, allowing characters to be recreated. The Wii version has character customization as well, though features like custom tattoos, face paint, body paint, make-up, and instrument art are not included an upgrade from the Wii version of
Rock Band, which used pre-rendered video. The PlayStation 2 version uses aforementioned pre-rendered video.
Before the Rock Band website was redesigned for the release of
Rock Band 3, players were able to interact with their virtual characters and band on the game's website. Using the website's "Photo Booth", users were able simulate a
photo shootA photo shoot is generally used in the fashion industry, whereby a model poses for a photographer at a studio where multiple photos are taken to find the best ones for the required brief...
by posing their characters, choosing a backdrop, and applying visual effects. Any pictures taken could be used to order custom merchandise, including t-shirts, posters, keychains, and stickers; however, this service was discontinued on March 30, 2010. Additionally, the Merch Booth allowed users to purchase figurines modeled after their characters. The six-inch-tall figurines were created by the
Z Corporation using
3D printing3D printing is a form of additive manufacturing technology where a three dimensional object is created by laying down successive layers of material. 3D printers are generally faster, more affordable, and easier to use than other additive manufacturing technologies. However, the term 3D printing is...
techniques, and cost $70.
Development
A sequel to
Rock Band had been reported as in development for release in late 2008 in a
WiredWired is a full-color monthly American magazine and on-line periodical, published since January 1993, that reports on how new and developing technology affects culture, the economy, and politics...
blog by Chris Kohler. According to Kohler, Harmonix was working on improving the instrument controllers, but the current controllers would be forward compatible with
Rock Band 2. Kohler's piece also stated that the game would likely include similar features as announced for
Guitar Hero World TourGuitar Hero World Tour is a music video game developed by Neversoft and published by RedOctane and Activision. It is the fourth main entry in the Guitar Hero series...
, also planned for release in late 2008.
According to lead designer Dan Teasdale from Harmonix, the game includes many features that players have been asking for, including "first time ever" features. Band World Tour mode allows the use of downloadable content, in addition to on-disc tracks, and there are several new solo play modes that "not only provide new ways for you to experience your music library, but also new ways for you to make the transition from Expert to real instruments".
Eric BrosiusEric Brosius is a musician and video game developer, and a former employee of Looking Glass Studios. He is a former member of the band Tribe, and is married to Terri Brosius, also a former Looking Glass employee and Tribe member....
, Harmonix's Audio Director, described the process of selecting songs for
Rock Band 2 as organic, allowing the set list to grow as needed with influence from fans' reaction to the first game but without any specific vision of the final list, and knowing that tracks that failed to make the main disc content would end up as content for download. The team often licensed several songs from a single group, and then selected one that would be the most satisfying for all players in the game; additional songs not used in the main set list will likely appear as downloadable content in the future, though the initial twenty songs to be made available immediately after
Rock Band 2s release featured new bands. The final setlist features songs with harder drum and vocal parts compared to
Rock Band, in consideration that a "second generation" of players now exist who are familiar with the instruments on the first
Rock Band. Songs were censored where necessary to achieve the desired game ratings; however, the team did not alter songs that had suggestive themes. Brosius stated that the inclusion of
Guns N' RosesGuns N' Roses is an American hard rock band, formed in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, in 1985. The band has released six studio albums, three EPs, and one live album...
"Shackler's Revenge" was due to the team knowing they wanted a Guns N' Roses song, then determining that they wanted one off the "mysterious"
Chinese DemocracyChinese Democracy is the sixth studio album by American hard rock band Guns N' Roses, released in November 2008 on Geffen Records. It is the band's first studio album since "The Spaghetti Incident?" , released exactly 15 years before Chinese Democracy, and their first album of original studio...
album;
Axl RoseW. Axl Rose is an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is the lead vocalist and only remaining original member of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he enjoyed great success and recognition in the late 1980s and early 1990s, before disappearing from the public eye for several years...
helped the team to select the specific song.
While a "Jukebox Mode" was originally planned, which would have allowed players to simply listen to the music and watch their band perform without interacting with the game, Harmonix stated that it was removed in the final stages of development, and that there are no plans to add it back to the game. However, an equivalent experience can be "activated" through the use of several in-game modifiers.
Rock Band 2 was officially announced by EA Games on June 30, 2008, and was presented at the 2008 E3 conference. The game premiered exclusively on the
Xbox 360The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
on September 14, 2008 as a result of a marketing agreement with
MicrosoftMicrosoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
. All other versions of the game, including the PlayStation 3 and Wii versions, were released later in the year. The PlayStation 3 version supports Trophies. The Wii version of
Rock Band 2 was promised to be a "more competitive product" compared with the Wii version of
Rock Band, as stated by
Wireds Chris Kohler after speaking with Harmonix at the E3 conference. The Wii version supports downloadable content and the same multiplayer modes as the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 version. The PlayStation 2 version does not have these features.
Editions
The release of
Rock Band 2 was originally exclusive to the Xbox 360 console for a one-month period. The game software and individual instruments were made available on September 14, 2008. The "Special Edition" bundle packaging the game software and peripherals was released on October 19, 2008, when the PlayStation 3 version of the game software was released.
Promotion
A special
Rock Band 2 premiere event at the 2008 E3 conference was held on July 16, 2008, featuring a performance by surprise special guest
The WhoThe Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
, in conjunction with the release of the "The Best of The Who" pack as downloadable content. A "Rock Band Live" concert tour toured North America in October and November 2008, and featured bands such as
Panic! at the DiscoPanic! at the Disco is an American alternative rock duo, formed in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2005. Since its split, the band's line-up includes Brendon Urie and Spencer Smith . Former members Ryan Ross and Jon Walker left the group in 2009...
,
Dashboard ConfessionalDashboard Confessional is an American rock band from Boca Raton, Florida, led by singer-songwriter Chris Carrabba. The name of the band is derived from the song "The Sharp Hint of New Tears" from the debut album The Swiss Army Romance....
,
Plain White T'sPlain White T's is an American Pop rock band from Chicago, Illinois. Formed in 1997 by high school friends Tom Higgenson and Ken Fletcher, the group had a mostly underground following in Chicago basements, clubs, and bars in its early years, and underwent numerous personnel changes.The band is best...
and
The CabThe Cab is an American rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada. Their debut album, Whisper War, was released on April 29, 2008. They have been called "The Band You Need to Know 2008" by Alternative Press magazine...
, as well as local acts selected by radio promotions, contests, and on-site at each show. All acts featured during the tour included songs available as downloadable content for the game prior to the tour.
Mark BurnettMark Burnett is a British television producer and executive producer, based in the United States. He currently is the executive producer of five network television series with seven hours of network programming. Works with which Burnett is associated have won multiple awards and recognition...
, along with
MTVMTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
, is sponsoring an "Ultimate Rock Band Experience" in
Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
for the launch of
Rock Band 2, offering the chance for any four-member set of players to participate in the competition; it is speculated that this will be the basis for a new
reality televisionReality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
show. An early public showing/demo of
Rock Band 2 attended by lead designer Dan Teasdale and other Harmonix Music Systems personnel took place on September 2, 2008, at
Ground KontrolGround Kontrol is a bar and video arcade in Portland, Oregon, United States. Recognized as one of the best arcades in the US, it is known for preserving games from the Golden Age of Video Arcade Games. It also serves as a venue for DJs, live bands and Rock Band events. Also of note is its...
, a
video arcadeAn amusement arcade or video arcade is a venue where people play arcade games such as video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, merchandisers , or coin-operated billiards or air hockey tables...
in
Portland, OregonPortland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
that puts on weekly "Rock Band Tuesdays" events.
Soundtrack
The full set list for on-disc material was announced on July 14, 2008 during E3. All 84 tracks included with the
Rock Band 2 game disc utilize the songs' master recordings; 75 of these are featured tracks in the main setlist, while the other 9 tracks are "bonus songs" by independent or lesser-known bands, as well as bands made up of Harmonix employees. Featured songs include "
Ace of Spades"Ace of Spades" is a song by the English band Motörhead, released in 1980 as a single and the title track to the album Ace of Spades. The song spent 12 weeks in the United Kingdom Singles Chart, peaking at #15.-Overview:...
" by
Motörhead, "
Any Way You Want It"Any Way You Want It" is a popular song performed by Journey released on the album Departure as the opening track, as a single in 1980 and was rerecorded with Arnel Pineda and Deen Castronovo for their 2008 album Revelation. The song was written by frontman Steve Perry and guitarist Neal Schon....
" by
JourneyJourney is an American rock band formed in 1973 in San Francisco by former members of Santana. The band has gone through several phases; its strongest commercial success occurred between the 1978 and 1987, after which it temporarily disbanded...
, "
Everlong"Everlong" is the second single released from the Foo Fighters' second album The Colour and the Shape, released in 1997. The song was conceived when Dave Grohl returned home to Washington, DC following the initial recording sessions for the album...
" by
Foo FightersFoo Fighters is an American alternative rock band originally formed in 1994 by Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl as a one-man project following the dissolution of his previous band. The band got its name from the UFOs and various aerial phenomena that were reported by Allied aircraft pilots in World War...
, "
Let There Be Rock"Let There Be Rock" is a song by Australian hard rock band AC/DC. It is the third and title track of their album Let There Be Rock, released in March 1977, and was written by Angus Young, Malcolm Young, and Bon Scott....
" by
AC/DCAC/DC are an Australian rock band, formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Commonly classified as hard rock, they are considered pioneers of heavy metal, though they themselves have always classified their music as simply "rock and roll"...
, "My Own Worst Enemy" by Lit, "
Pinball Wizard"Pinball Wizard" is a song written by Pete Townshend and performed by the English rock band The Who, and featured on their 1969 rock opera album Tommy. The original recording was released as a single in 1969 and reached No. 4 in the UK charts and No. 19 on the U.S...
" by
The WhoThe Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
, "
Psycho Killer"Psycho Killer" is a song by American New Wave band Talking Heads from their 1977 album Talking Heads: 77, written by David Byrne, Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth. The band's "signature debut hit" features lyrics which seem to represent the thoughts of a serial killer. Allmusic calls it a...
" by
Talking HeadsTalking Heads were an American New Wave and avant-garde band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991. The band comprised David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth and Jerry Harrison...
, "
Spoonman"Spoonman" is a song by the American rock band Soundgarden. Written by frontman Chris Cornell, "Spoonman" was released on February 15, 1994 as the first single from the band's fourth studio album, Superunknown . "Spoonman" is often credited as one of the songs that launched Soundgarden's career...
" by
SoundgardenSoundgarden is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington in 1984 by singer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto...
, and "
White Wedding"White Wedding" is a song by Billy Idol that appeared on his album Billy Idol . Although "the Big 80's: Episode I" of VH1's Pop-up Video trivia show claims Idol wrote the song to voice his displeasure with his sister's fiance , on an episode of VH1 Storytellers, Idol claimed that there was never...
" by
Billy IdolWilliam Michael Albert Broad , better known by his stage name Billy Idol, is an English rock musician. A member of the Bromley Contingent of Sex Pistols fans, Idol first achieved fame in the punk rock era as a member of the band Generation X...
. The song "Shackler's Revenge" from the long-delayed
Guns N' RosesGuns N' Roses is an American hard rock band, formed in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, in 1985. The band has released six studio albums, three EPs, and one live album...
album
Chinese DemocracyChinese Democracy is the sixth studio album by American hard rock band Guns N' Roses, released in November 2008 on Geffen Records. It is the band's first studio album since "The Spaghetti Incident?" , released exactly 15 years before Chinese Democracy, and their first album of original studio...
is part of the soundtrack, and signalled the eventual release of the album, which occurred in November 2008. The full album was later released for the
Rock Band series as downloadable content.
Additionally, 55 of the 58 songs from the original
Rock Band game disc can be exported to the player's console hard drive and used within
Rock Band 2. The disc export feature was made available on the Xbox 360 version of the original
Rock Band via a title update on September 4, 2008, with a cost of 400 MS Points ($4.99 USD) required to purchase a transfer license. This feature is also available for PlayStation 3 owners, however, there are presently no plans for Wii owners to do the same. Three songs from
Rock Band are not transferable: "
Enter Sandman"Enter Sandman" is a 1991 song by the American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released as the first single from their eponymous fifth album, Metallica. The music was written by Kirk Hammett, James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich...
" by
MetallicaMetallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
, "
Run to the Hills"Run to the Hills" was Iron Maiden's sixth single and the first single from their 1982 album The Number of the Beast. The lyrics clearly discuss the violence visited upon Native Americans in the Nineteenth Century. Several lines appear to address the Sioux Wars, a conflict between the Lakota...
" as made famous by
Iron MaidenIron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in east London, formed in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Since their inception, the band's discography has grown to include a total of thirty-six albums: fifteen studio albums; eleven live albums; four EPs; and six...
, and "
Paranoid"Paranoid" is a song by the British heavy metal band Black Sabbath, featured on their second album Paranoid . It is the first single from the album, while the B-side is the song "The Wizard". It reached number 4 on the UK Singles Chart and number 61 on the Billboard Hot 100...
" as made famous by
Black SabbathBlack Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...
are unavailable for transfer in all versions of
Rock Band, and "
Monsoon"Durch den Monsun" and "Monsoon" are songs by German rock band Tokio Hotel. The German version of the song "Durch den Monsun" was released as their debut single in 2005 from their debut album Schrei...
" by
Tokio HotelTokio Hotel is a pop rock band from Germany, founded in 2001 by singer Bill Kaulitz, guitarist Tom Kaulitz, drummer Gustav Schäfer and bassist Georg Listing...
is non-transferable in the European release of
Rock Band. Each
Rock Band song had to be relicensed for use within
Rock Band 2.
The majority of
Rock Band 2 songs on-disc can be exported for use in
Rock Band 3Rock Band 3 is a music video game, developed by Harmonix Music Systems. The game was initially published and distributed by MTV Games and Electronic Arts, respectively, with Mad Catz taking over both roles a year later. It is the third main game in the Rock Band series...
for a nominal fee using a code on the back of the game's manual. Nine of the songs by bands fronted by Harmonix employees were not exportable; however, the songs were released as free DLC on January 4, 2011. Five other songs—"Let There Be Rock" by AC/DC, "Any Way You Want It" by Journey, "Battery" by Metallica, "Give It Away" by Red Hot Chili Peppers, and "Spoonman" by Soundgarden—are not exportable.
Downloadable songs and Track Packs
For the PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360 versions of the game, players can download additional songs on a track-by-track basis, with many of the tracks digitally bundled together in "song packs" or complete albums at a discounted rate. All existing and forthcoming
downloadable songsDownloadable content is official additional content for a video game distributed through the Internet. Downloadable content can be of several types, ranging from a single in-game outfit to an entirely new, extensive storyline, similarly to an expansion pack. As such, DLC may add new game modes,...
are cross-compatible between both
Rock Band titles. Unlike
Rock Band, the Wii version of
Rock Band 2 supports downloadable content, and all existing downloadable content will be made available to Wii users over time. Harmonix stated that 30 existing songs would be available at the game's Wii launch, but on Dec. 24, 2008 issued a statement that the launch of the Wii music store will be delayed until early 2009. DLC finally became available for the Wii on January 13, 2009, with 50 tracks available at launch. Songs can be stored to both the Wii's internal memory and to an SD card, and songs on the SD card will be streamed off the card. To promote
Rock Band 2, 20 free downloadable songs were released soon after the game's launch. As of November 24, 2009, there are now over 1,000 songs available on disc and for download in the Rock Band Music Store for all consoles.
Harmonix is also releasing a series of "Track Pack" standalone games that are sold in retail stores. Each volume contains several tracks available as downloadable content. Seven track packs have been released so far. All "Track Packs" except the first (due to the limitations of the PlayStation 2 and Wii) allow their track listings to be exported to the player's console hard drive for use in any main
Rock Band game.
Support for new downloadable content ended with the launch of Rock Band 3 on October 26, 2010, due to changes in the songs' file format. Content released prior to that date can still be purchased from the in-game store.
Rock Band Network
The Rock Band Network is a downloadable content service designed by Harmonix Music Systems with the help of
MicrosoftMicrosoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
to allow musical artists and record labels to make their music available as playable tracks for the Rock Band series of rhythm video games, starting with Rock Band 2. It was designed to allow more music to be incorporated into Rock Band than Harmonix themselves could produce for the games, and it is seen as a way to further expand the games' music catalog into a wide variety of genres. The Network started closed beta testing in September 2009, and an open beta test in January 2010.
The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of Rock Band 2 received a title update in late 2009 to add support for the Rock Band Network. The Rock Band Network store was launched on March 4, 2010 for the Xbox 360 for users in US, Canada, UK, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Sweden, and Singapore. Xbox 360 users are able to download free demos of songs, lasting for either 60 seconds or 1/3 of the song's length, whichever is shorter. Songs are exclusive to Xbox Live for 30 days, after which they can be ported to the PlayStation 3 or Wii. The RBN store for the PlayStation 3 was launched on April 22, 2010 with 5 songs added weekly.
Support for the Wii began on September 21, 2010 with 6 to 10 songs added each week. RBN songs were directly released to the in-game music store on the Wii since the console does not support title patches. Support for the Wii platform ended on January 18, 2011 due to
Nintendois a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
's small online install base, limited demand for the songs and the significant amount of work needed to port songs to the Wii.
Rock Band Network support for Rock Band 2 ended when RBN 2.0 went live, and the prior version of the RBN was shut down. Support for the Xbox 360 ended on February 15, 2011 with ports to the PlayStation 3 platform ending on June 14, 2011. Like Harmonix-authored content, this is because of changes in the song file format to include support for standard and pro keyboard tracks, pro drums, and harmony vocals. RBN 1.0 songs can still be played in
Rock Band 2.
Reception
Rock Band 2, like its predecessor, was met with critical acclaim.
1UP.com1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009....
likened it to a "system update" rather than an entirely new game, describing it as "a collection of interface tweaks and non-earth-shattering new features designed to make the
Rock Band experience more enjoyable and less frustrating". The "No Fail" mode has been recognized as a very useful feature for balancing the skill levels of players at different levels, particularly inexperienced players.
The Xbox 360 version of
Rock Band 2 was the third best-selling game in North America during September 2008, selling 363,000 copies. and also has an average critic review score of 92% on
MetacriticMetacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, tying it for the 11th highest-rated game for the Xbox 360 and the 7th highest-rated game on the PlayStation 3. The Xbox 360 version continued to sell more than 119,000 copies in October 2008, while a similar number of units were sold of the PlayStation 3 version following its October debut.
Rock Band 2 sold 1.7 million units across all platforms in North America in 2008, about half as many as
Guitar Hero World Tour.
IGN praised the Wii version for including features like online play and downloadable content that were missing from the platform's edition of the first
Rock Band, saying "the sequel more than makes up for the original's problems."
Game InformerGame Informer is an American-based monthly magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of popular video games and associated consoles. It was formed in August 1991, when FuncoLand started publishing a six-page magazine, free in all its retail locations...
considered
Rock Band 2 their "Game of the Month" when it was released, and went on to include it in their list of "The Top 50 Games of 2008" and then in their list of the 200 best games of all-time.
External links