Ka Leo Blogs

What could possibly possess anyone, to bring into their home enough fake plastic musical instruments that it would compete with viable furniture?  The music-rhythm game Rock Band could and did.  Apparently the game with the almost $200 sticker price sold well enough to not only warrant over a hundred additional songs for download, but a sequel too.

For those unaware, that sequel is now available for consumption by the general public…so long as you happen to consume courtesy of Microsoft and the Xbox 360.  If you happen to own a game system whose name happens to be Nintendo Wii or Sony Playstation 3, you’ll have to sit out the concert until mid-November.  The aptly named sequel, Rock Band 2 (MSRP $59.99), features 84 new songs all performed by the original artists responsible for them.  The songs and artists range from recent fare, such as Modest Mouse, all the way to the ’60s with acts like The Who.  Along with all the new songs, if you happened to download any songs for the original Rock Band those carry over into the new game, no fuss, no muss.  If you didn’t happen to contribute to the nearly twenty million song downloads Rock Band 2 is packaged with a voucher to download an additional 20 songs free of charge.  With however much fuss and muss five dollars equates to you can also copy 55 of the 58 songs featured on the original game disc.  What didn’t make the cut?  “Enter Sandman” by Metallica; a cover of “Paranoid” originally by Black Sabbath and a cover of “Run to the Hills” originally performed by Iron Maiden.  All future downloadable songs will be compatible with both versions as well.

If you don’t happen to own any of the original instruments the official Rock Band 2 Special Edition Bundle (MSRP $189.99) will be available mid-October.  In the mean time folks can feel free to go pick up any of the individual instruments, like the new drum kit with recently reinforced kick pedal, or still use any of the number Guitar Hero guitars.
With a list of songs big enough to offer something for everyone and new beginner friendly modes such as a “no fail” option, Rock Band 2 is a great chance for those who already caught the bug to add to their ever-growing song library and for newcomers to find out what all the racket is all about.