Comparing Rock Band for the PlayStation 2 to its more sophisticated current-gen editions is like comparing Gary Cherone's lead singing to Van Halen and David Lee Roth's or Sammy Hagar's. You'll still have a good time as you rock the night away, but you'll miss the true essentials that make this game click.

Like the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions released in November, PS2 Rock Band sells in two packages. You can either buy the game by itself for $50 or shell out an additional $100 for the guitar, microphone and drum peripherals. The game does support the Guitar Hero II controller, but it's best if you fork over the extra cash for the custom-made peripherals. Trying to play with the regular controller is only fun for so long -- and you won't be able to sing.

You choose from three types of gameplay -- guitar, drum and vocal. With vocal duties, you sing into a microphone, following bars on the screen ala Karaoke Revolution to keep in tune with the song. You'll also need to tap the microphone into your hand to play tambourine and cowbell. (Yes Will Ferrell fans -- you can have more cowbell.) On guitar, you strum along with the beat, occasionally lifting the neck to activate bonus time to double your score. On drums, simply pound away at the beats, occasionally going into "freestyle" sections to start up your multiplier.

What brings Rock Band together is the ability to play along with friends. Like previous versions, you can play locally with up to four people. It's a lot of fun playing as a band, keeping your performance on an up-and-running level. If one of the members performs terribly, they're out. However, excellent playing between the other three can bring him or her back.

Rock Band also looks and sounds just as great as the other versions. Pre-made rock band members strut around the stage while playing their instruments while the crowd cheers them on. Venues look very life-like, between arena stages and dungy lounge settings. The game's interface is very easy to read, with scrolling bars and huge icons that are hard to miss -- unless you have a smaller television. The music selection is very impressive as well, with forty-plus songs to choose from. It's a good mixture of original tracks (such as Foo Fighters' "Learn To Fly" and Metallica's "Enter Sandman") and covers (Rush's "Tom Sawyer").

Despite all this rocking goodness, however, this version of Rock Band doesn't quite live up to its potential. Harmonix stripped it down to its absolute basics. You can't customize your own character, which is a real bummer for those looking to recreate a bikini-clad drummer. You also can't download any new tracks, so you're out of luck if you're longing to play Weezer's "Buddy Holly" or this week's offering of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Gimme Three Steps". In fact, Rock Band lacks online functionality, meaning that you're either playing by yourself or locally with your buddies.

Worst of all, the World Tour Mode has gone bare bones. You no longer stop at venues and try to establish your band as the world's greatest. Instead, you just stop at random gigs and move to the next stage. Although there are a couple of fun cooperative and competitive multiplayer offerings, it simply can't perform as well as the other versions.

Out of the three versions available, Rock Band for the PlayStation 2 gets the least recommendation. It's still a worthwhile performer if that's the only system you own, especially with the instrument peripherals and a few friends. However, it comes up short in its content. The dwindled World Tour options and lack of customization or online play really leave it feeling more like a cover band instead of the real deal.

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