It’s weird playing “Rock Band” or “Guitar Hero” without their plastic counterparts. Even “Guitar Hero: On Tour” was bundled with a peripheral. So I admit to being skeptical of “Rock Band Unplugged,” but I remembered that my favorite rhythm games like “Frequency,” “Beatmania” and “DJ Max Fever” did not have peripherals. While the sudden transition to PSP seemed odd, the “Rock Band” experience has respectfully been preserved.
The goal of “Rock Band Unplugged” is to conquer the rock world one gig at a time. Band world tour mode is back, and it’s as streamlined as it was in “Rock Band 2.” This means players only have to repeat songs during the larger setlists in cities. Players can still customize their band’s outfits, hairstyles and guitars. Collecting every item is reasonable, and hiring different staff to tour with your band will help earn more money, fans or allow new venues to be accessed.
While each instrument is still on it’s own track, players can switch from bass, drums, vocals and guitar. Each instrument track is divided into phrases, and completing a phrase will make the rest of the track disappear until the next phrase is ready. Players will then have a second or less to switch to the next indicated track. This adds some challenge to the game, but most players will find it easy to adapt to. The biggest problem I had was accidentally switching past the track I needed to play.
Missing a phrase continues the current track and causes the crowd meter to drop, and because each track is meant to be completed the first time, another instruments’ phrase will begin. While this may seem overwhelming, it’s not as long as players stay focused or use overdrive to recover. Chaining notes and phrases will increase the score multiplier, and the band will enter a groove after the multiplier reaches 5x, and using overdrive will increase the multiplier to 11x. One minor complaint is that activating overdrive briefly slows the track’s frame rate enough to throw some players off rhythm.
Because “Unplugged” uses two directional pad buttons and two face buttons for each note, and the shoulder buttons to switch tracks, players who usually play on hard difficulty in “Rock Band” will probably like expert difficulty in “Unplugged.” I played on expert and it’s slightly more difficult than hard.
New modes like band survival, warm up and training are specific to “Unplugged.” Band survival allows players to play each instruments’ track without phrases and it’s the most difficult mode because players have to constantly manage the crowd meter. However, warm up mode serves the same function, but without penalizing players for not playing other tracks. It’s a great way to play one instrument throughout a song. Training mode is a great way for beginners who have never played any rhythm game to understand the fundamentals of “Rock Band Unplugged” or other similar rhythm games. Unfortunately, there is no practice mode, but it would have been a great way for players to learn difficult solos.
“Rock Band Unplugged” is on par with the presentation and production value of “Rock Band 2.” The transition between menus is seamless, and the personality displayed throughout the “Rock Band” franchise is still apparent. Graphically, “Unplugged” uses similar colors and effects from “Rock Band 2.” Harmonix and Backbone Entertainment did a great job keeping the look and feel consistent with the franchise, and while the stages look similar, the graphics will grab most peoples’ attentions and players can expect the graphics to look as well as other high production PSP titles.
The song selection is awesome. I enjoyed playing every song with the exception of some metal songs. “Unplugged” has some songs from previous rhythm games like “Carry On Wayward Son” by Kansas and “Everlong” by the Foo Fighters, but the addition of “Buddy Holly” by Weezer, “ABC” by the Jackson 5 and “Rock Your Socks” by Tenacious D help round out the great song selection. As a whole, the setlist has a consistent relaxing vibe and I really enjoyed the emphasis of each instrument during its phrase.
The music store is also included, and downloadable songs are already posted at $1.99 each. While it seems expensive for a song to play on the PSP, song packs and albums will help increase the replay value. “Rock Band Unplugged” would be a decent 4-player game, but the lack of multiplayer or an online leader board will be puzzling for players looking for competition after completing tour mode.
“Rock Band Unplugged” is a solid rhythm game. The songs are fun to play, the notes are synced perfectly and pulling off a perfect guitar or drum solo feels great. Extras like no fail mode, the ability to unlock all songs and playing without solos is an awesome addition that makes “Unplugged” the most accessible rhythm game I have played. “Rock Band Unplugged” is a great addition to the PSP’s small rhythm game library, and I dare say it could tear me away from my beloved “DJ Max Fever” obsession.
Rating: B+
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Dev: Backbone Studios and Harmonix
Price: $39.99
ESRB: T for Teen
Players: 1
No comments:
Post a Comment