The sequel to the highly successful 2007 game Rock Band has finally arrived on the Playstation 3. The one month exclusivity on the Xbox 360 has finally ended and does the Playstation 3 version live up to it or it just an afterthought to the Xbox version.

The latest edition Rock Band is a mixed bag with a mix of new and old.  The first thing that strikes you is the brand new track list of over 80 songs included on the disk. In addition to the songs included you get on the disk around 20 songs through a free DLC code included in the box. The songs found on the disk have wide range of appeal for fans of rock music and everyone will find something they’ll like, from Eye of the Tiger by Survivor to Down with the Sickness by Disturbed. The free DLC however is largely forgettable with second rate bands however since its free and extra to an already fantastic on-disk track list its forgivable.

The gameplay of the actual game has stayed nearly exactly the same from the original game. The lack of change is largely to stay compatible with the instruments for the original game.  The only additions are fairly minor such as specific drum solo sections have been made similar to the guitar solos found in the original game. However aside with that there was no meddling that added any flaws or problems so need to worry there. The graphics from last year have also stayed fairly the same. There’s been some effects that have added which give it a bit of flash however it looks more or less the same.

The meat you’ll get from the game is the Tour mode which has had some changes to it since the original game. First of all, the World Tour mode is now for both single player and multiplayer, with the Single Tour of a track list of songs you go through has been completely been eliminated. What you have instead is a single band which you can play with any number of players who can join at anytime.  This time there is no band leader so it’s not dependent on any single player to be around for you to use a band.  From there you do the same as last year where you start in a city and then you gain fans and money to earn trucks and jets to travel to different cities to play other songs. What else there in the Band mode is the Tour Challenges mode which is set lists of songs you can go through with different themes such as specific instruments, era or bands. The final mode is Battle of the Bands which is the biggest addition to this year’s game.  On a regular basis Harmonix puts up new challenges with specific requirements or restrictions in which you compete against the scores other bands that have done the challenge. This is definitely where the majority of the replay value will come from as long as this mode is being updated since it gives something new to do every time a new challenge is made. There are about half a dozen challenges available at time for you time attempt and redo trying to get the highest score.

The multiplayer aspect has remained exactly the same from last year except that you can play in your band online or join somebody else’s through the Internet. This makes the multiplayer a little more useful however the core of the game is still found within playing with friends locally instead of the online.

The final addition to the game worth mentioning is the Drum Trainer which is a fantastic tool for improving at drumming which arguably the hardest instrument to play in the game. This gives you different drums beats and fills to practice with where you can easily adjust the Beats per Minute and what drum pattern that you’re playing. You can attempt any pattern you want as much as you want without any fear of failing so this gives you a chance to some practice in. It also has a freestyle mode if you just want to test out your plastic drum set.

Rock Band 2 while staying largely is a must buy for people who need their next fix of rhythm action games. While the gameplay is largely the same, there was plenty added from more new songs that’ll keep you busy for a long time, the ability to export your original Rock Band songs and DLC. With the\ weekly of addition of new songs through online, the challenges found in the Battle of the Bands, fans of the series will have plenty to do for a long time.

Gameplay

Graphics

Sound

Overall