DESCRIPTION

The first retail release from MTV Games, Rock Band is a musical instrument and singing simulation, in the style of Guitar Hero and Karaoke Revolution. The game lives up to its name by supporting the quintessential rock quartet: guitar, bass, drums, and vocals. To play along with the game's songs, special guitar, drum kit, and microphone controllers are required. These are available separately, or together in the Rock Band: Special Edition package. The game's main mode of play casts one to four gamers as members of an up-and-coming band, and challenges them to perform increasingly sophisticated songs as they play to larger and larger virtual crowds.

As in earlier games developed by Harmonix (Frequency, Amplitude, Guitar Hero), Rock Band challenges players to hit specified controller buttons in time with music. Guitarists and drummers follow color-coded musical notes that scroll toward the front of the screen. To successfully "play" the notes, players must hit the correspondingly colored fret button or drumhead on their controllers. Virtual lead singers belt it out on the game's microphone accessory, and their timing and tone can be analyzed for accuracy (as in the Harmonix-developed Karaoke Revolution).

Released half a year after the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 editions, Rock Band for Wii includes five more songs, for a total of 63, but does not support downloadable song packs or online play. ~ T.J. Deci, All Game Guide