Monday, November 19, 2007

Metareview: Rock Band (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)

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Okay, ladies, time to get the spandex, tune those guitars, and get ready to melt faces -- it's Rock Band Eve, which is Christmas Eve with more metal and glitter. Tomorrow we celebrate the day when, unto us, a game will be delivered, and with it the promise of salvation from being forced to play Guitar Hero III by ourselves ... late at night ... in our boxers.

There's been plenty hullabaloo surrounding the launch of Harmonix's Rock Band, and be certain to check back tonight (11/19/2007) for our liveblogging of the launch. But what about the actual game? Is it the death nail in Guitar Hero's coffin, or does the overly ambitious Rock Band need to take some things to heart for their inevitable sophomore effort? The Metareview, as always, contains the answers you seek, dudes and dudettes.
  • OXM (95/100): "Rock Band is the ultimate role-playing game - the only way to win is to completely commit as a guitarist, bassist, drummer, or singer and do your part for the fellowship of meta-musicians sharing the virtual stage. And if you can lower your shield of shyness to let the game in, you're richly rewarded as the collective joy of making music pours back out. Unlike other games, the Rock Band payoff isn't visceral or technical; it's emotional."
  • IGN (94/100): "Metallica, The Ramones, The Rolling Stones -- these are some of the legendary bands in rock. And now, thanks to Harmonix's Rock Band, you and your friends can join the legendary pantheon of rock gods. The latest game from Harmonix ups the ante on other music titles by combining guitars, drums, and singing into one awesome package. You and your friends will rock out with some of the greatest bands in history. And Fall Out Boy. While Rock Band doesn't offer the insanely intense (and perhaps impossible) challenge of Guitar Hero III, it's a game that everyone will have fun playing. This may just be among the best party games ever released."
  • 1UP (90/100): "Its critical appraisal isn't easy; music is culturally ingrained in us, and as a tool, a relatively inexpensive gateway for people to come together and experience it together, Rock Band easily delivers on what it promises. Actually feeling like a rock star -- for most people under 40, the next best thing to a superhero or a T-Rex -- is transcendently entertaining. Guitar Hero is still the way to go for lone wolves, but if you have the space, the manpower, and the means, Rock Band unquestionably, unequivocally rocks."
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[via] Joystiq

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