We all joked about the LEGO-fication of all our beloved game franchises, but lo and behold Harmonix and TT Games (developer of the previous LEGO games) ended up announcing LEGO Rock Band back in April. We finally got our chance to rock out with the game at last week's Electronic Entertainment Expo -- the game keeps the accessible, party-friendly aspects that the Rock Band series is known for but brings in a kid-friendly soundtrack and familiar LEGO presentation that's sure to be a hit with families.
As with previous games in the music-rhythm genre, players match the notes and beat of songs with one of four instruments (guitar, bass, drums or vocal), each correct note adding points to the score and helping build up the score multiplier. Playing certain notes correctly in succession also builds up the Overdrive meter, which when activated doubles the score multiplier. As with previous LEGO games, the score is presented in the form of 'studs' that help unlock items that can be used to customize the LEGO characters.
The characters and charm that the LEGO video game series has been known for means this game is more than just a simple re-skinning of the Rock Band game. A story running through the main campaign of the game will be told through cutscenes, and challenges that are made available at certain points (the game's 'boss battles') add variety to the regular music play. On one of our demo songs, we had to literally bring the house down brick by LEGO brick in order to pass the level, which we did by attaining the requisite number of stars.
We also noted several other changes made in the interest of appealing to a younger crowd. LEGO Rock Band includes five difficulties -- Expert, Hard, Medium, Easy and the new Super Easy setting, which only requires players to strum or drum to the rhythm regardless of which note they're hitting (Guitar Hero: World Tour included this mode as well). In addition, sometimes, particularly towards the beginning of a song, only one band member had to play notes at a given time, even if other instruments were playing in the actual song.
Fans of music games are familiar with the concept of 'failing out' of a song -- this happens when a band member performs so poorly that they are kicked out of the band until another band member can bring them back using part of their Overdrive juice. Usually if this doesn't happen in a certain amount of time, the entire band fails and they must restart the song. In LEGO Rock Band however, players simply lose studs if they miss too many notes in a row -- this mirrors the system used in other LEGO games whereby players don't 'die' if they deplete their health meters.
The soundtrack announced thus far includes the Jackson 5's "I Want You Back," Europe's "The Final Countdown," and Pink's "So What." A representative from Harmonix told us that the rating for LEGO Rock Band would be in keeping with other titles in the LEGO franchise -- parents should expect an E or E10+ for this game. Previous Rock Band and Guitar Hero games have received T ratings for their lyrical content and we assume that the song selection in LEGO Rock Band will garner a more family-friendly rating.
At the moment there is no discussion of downloadable content which would expand the game's soundtrack. There is also no word about new LEGO-themed guitar, drum and microphone accessories to be bundled with the game, although existing Rock Band hardware will be compatible. Look for more information about the game as the holiday release date approaches.
Robin Yang is an Assistant Editor at GameDaily, whose currently loved games include Burnout Paradise, Flock! and anything with guns and/or zombies. Bored? Follow her on Twitter at @robinyang!
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