The musical phenom that is Rock Band continues its world tour on the Nintendo Wii. Seven months passed since the game debuted on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, making its arrival later than expected. Despite several limitations that make it slightly weaker than its predecessors, this Wii game still knows how to rock.
In case you're unfamiliar with Rock Band, here's the rundown. The Harmonix development crew took the Guitar Hero games (they created the first two GH games before Activision bought the brand name) and its Karaoke Revolution series and expanded it into the ultimate party game. Up to four people can play in the band, with one singing vocals, one playing lead guitar, one playing rhythm/bass guitar and the fourth drumming. It's generally a co-op effort, although two-on-two versus contests are available.
To make it seem like you're in a band, Harmonix also created specific peripherals for the game, including a USB microphone, a separate guitar controller (with an effects knob and whammy bar) and a stand-up drum set. The peripherals work just as effectively as the ones in previous versions – and in some cases, even better. The Wii microphone is more comfortable to hold, a little smaller in size than previous models. The drum set is more durable, with better padding on the drum pads so they don't clack so loudly when you strike them and a sturdier foot pedal for bass beats. The guitar controller is about the same, a Stratocaster model with a stiff strum bar and two sets of fret buttons.
Outside of the enhanced drum kit, however, the Wii version doesn't have offer much of an advantage over previous Rock Band releases. It doesn't offer any online functionality, meaning you can't download new songs or play online with others. You can't create your own customized rocker, which means you're stuck with an assortment of pre-made would-be rock stars instead. The World Tour mode was also scrapped, with three separate Career Modes – Vocal, Guitar and Drum – in their place. They're still fun to go through, with four-song sets to complete, but it's hardly the same as embarking on the Tour.
In addition, Harmonix scaled back the presentation. While the instrument interface is easy to read (with icons indicating which buttons or beats you have to hit with your selected peripheral), the background video is looks compressed. The audio also sounds somewhat muffled, with the music not sounding nearly as crisp as it does in other versions. There were also some initial problems setting up calibration with certain LCD televisions. It took a good ten 10 minutes to get the timing down with instrument interaction before it finally "clicked".
Regardless, Rock Band is still a blast. The song selections are great, ranging from classics such as Deep Purple's "Highway Star" and The Ramones' "Rockaway Beach" to more current favorites such as Weezer's "Say It Ain't So" and Nine Inch Nails' "The Hand That Feeds.". More bonus songs would've been nice, along with a few Nintendo-oriented exclusives (a remix on the classic Mario theme with rock instruments, perhaps), but overall, it's a powerful and diverse list. If you don't have fun rocking out to "Timmy and the Lords of the Underworld,", you should seriously check to see what's wrong with you.
Although it rocks a little less than its counterparts on the Xbox 360 and PS3 counterparts, Rock Band on the Wii is still a must-have party game. Its instruments work well, there are plenty of songs to rock out to and the multiplayer component is irresistible. It may not have the greatest stage presence, but it still puts on a heck of a show.
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