Lego Rock Band - For Diehard Fans Only

Author's Rating:

Pros: Novel combination of Lego and Rock Band

Cons: Poor graphics, Limited song selection on Wii, Lacks real Lego avatars

The Bottom Line: 
Lego Rock Band for Wii is a great game on the right console, just not on the Wii.

Author's Review
Like many others in the world, I have been swept away by the Rock Band phenomenon. For me, the whole musical video game idea was fairly intriguing. Lego Rock Band combines the Rock Band portion developed by Harmonix Music Systems and the Lego stylization developed by Traveller’s Tales. Although the entire game is Lego themed, there are really no significant changes from Rock Band 2 to Lego Rock Band. All the instruments are the same and the minor tweaks were introduced to make the game more accessible for everyone in the family – namely, younger kids.

Lego Rock Band was originally released on November 3, 2009 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii, with Backbone Entertainment designing the DS version. I decided to purchase Lego Rock Band for the Wii simply because I believe the Wii best captures the family gaming experience. Furthermore, I already have the entire set of instruments that work with Rock Band 2 for Wii. I do not own the new instrument versions for Rock Band 2, since they cost $300 for the Ion drum set and $120 for guitar and bass.

It’s important to note that the Lego Rock Band is disc only. No instruments are bundled so players are expected to already own their own instruments. If not, all four pieces – drum set, guitar, bass, and microphone may be purchased for less than $120 total.

Gameplay - 7.0/10
As a Rock Band skin, Lego Rock Band follows the same gameplay as every other Rock Band already published. The basic idea is that up to four players use instrument controllers, instead of the console controllers, to hit notes that fall on the screen in time and with the beat. The four instruments are, as mentioned earlier, drums, guitar, bass, and microphone (for vocals).

During each song, players will try to play notes in time as they scroll down on the screen on their respective instruments. Drummers will need to strike the correct drum head or hit the bass drum kick pedal. Guitarists and bass players will need to hold down either the blue, red, yellow, green, or orange keys and strum the strum bar on the controller. Finally, vocalists will be scored by their relative pitch to the song’s lyrics.

Points, are called “studs” in Lego Rock Band, and are accumulated through hitting the correct note and how accurate it was in terms of time. Furthermore, bonus points may be earned through establishing combos, a series of successful notes in succession. If players fill the “Overdrive” meter by successfully playing notes that glow, players can go into Overdrive to double the bonus points for the entire band. After each song, each player is evaluated based on their performance and are rated on a star system based on points for up to five stars.

There is also the addition of the “Super Easy” mode, which reduces the amount of work players have to do. For example, on the guitar or bass, players can hit any key regardless of its color.  Drummers are relieved of their bass kicking duties as well. Not only does this feature help less-skilled players, but it also allows the entire family to have fun. If you have a younger child, he or she can still have a whole lot of fun. If that wasn’t enough to convince you that Lego Rock Band was designed with younger players in mind, there is also an option to play each song in an edited and short version. Supposedly, this will help hold the interest of kids with shorter attention spans. I’ve found that this was pretty convenient too since songs will long intros or endings are cut short, which saves normally what would have been wasted time.

Lego Rock Band also offers complete customization of Lego avatars. Players can accumulate studs to build their avatars. However, all the Lego characters are actually imports from Rock Band, instead of original Lego designs. Lego fans will be saddened (including me).

Modes of Play - 7.0/10
Lego Rock Band offers the usual “Story” mode, which resembles the “Tour mode” found in other Rock Band titles. Players start as aspiring rock band musicians and play through gigs. As time passes, more gigs are unlocked and custom venues and vehicles are unlocked.

The “Free Play” mode offers a pickup game option and the choosing of any song in the track list. This mode is great if you have ten minutes or so and don’t have the time to sit down for the “Story” mode. If you have friends over or want to practice by yourself, this mode is the way to go.

Replay Value - 5.0/10
Lego Rock Band is built around the idea to be replayed. Part of what makes this game so appealing is that studs have to be earned if you want to customize your avatar and upgrades to your in-game “Rock Den” with fans and staff members. Lego Rock Band is also perfect for quality family time fun. It is definitely interactive and very kid-friendly.

Just be aware that as of now, these 45 songs are the only ones you will have until the music store is made available for the Wii version. Please refer to the Sound section for the full explanation.

Controls
The controls do take a while to learn. It’s definitely not easy learning an instrument fresh, and it certainly isn’t easy to learn one for Lego Rock Band. I would also like to politely remind all players to keep their frustration in check for the first few sessions and not to take their anger out on the instruments. They’re quite expensive and can easily break!

Graphics - 3.0/10
The graphics are very cartoony on the Wii version. There aren’t the graphical effects that you find in the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions.

If you can buy Lego Rock Band on those other consoles, definitely do it.

Sound - 7.0/10
The quality of the music is very family-friendly. Gone are the hard metal songs in Rock Band 2. Instead of the 80 songs found in Rock Band 2, players will find 45 tracks in Lego Rock Band.

One of the most disappointing things about Lego Rock Band for Wii is that there is no way to get extra songs. The music store for the Wii version is not available yet. Also, the option to export and import songs from Rock Band 2 is only available for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions. Therefore, if you purchase Lego Rock Band for Wii, you will be stuck with these 45 songs for the foreseeable future.

I have included in my review the full track list for Lego Rock Band. Please, take the time to go through the list and see if you’ll enjoy these tracks after many hours of play.


Full Track list

All American Rejects - "Swing, Swing"
The Automatic - "Monster"
Blink-182 - "Aliens Exist"
Blur - "Song 2"
Bon Jovi - "You Give Love a Bad Name"
Boys like Girls - "Thunder"
Bryan Adams - "Summer of 69"
Carl Douglas - "Kung Fu Fighting"
The Coral - "Dreaming of You"
Counting Crows - "Accidentally in Love"
David Bowie - "Let's Dance"
Elton John - "Crocodile Rock"
Europe - "The Final Countdown"
Everlife - "Real Wild Child"
Foo Fighters - "Breakout"
Good Charlotte - "Girls & Boys"
The Hives - "Tick Tick Boom!"
Iggy Pop - "The Passenger"
Incubus - "Dig"
Jackson 5 - "I Want You Back"
Jimi Hendrix - "Fire"
Kaiser Chiefs - "Ruby"
Katrina & The Waves - "Walking on Sunshine"
The Kooks - "Naïve"
KoRn - "Word Up!"
KT Tunstall - "Suddenly I See"
Lostprophets - "Rooftops"
P!NK - "So What"
The Police - "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic"
The Primitives - "Crash"
Queen - "We Are The Champions"
Queen - "We Will Rock You"
Rascal Flatts - "Life is a Highway"
Ray Parker Jr. - "Ghostbusters"
Razorlight - "Stumble and Fall"
Spin Doctors - "Two Princes"
Spinal Tap - "Short & Sweet"
Steve Harly - "Make Me Smile"
Sum 41 - "In Too Deep"
Supergrass - "Grace"
Tom Petty - "Free Fallin"
T-Rex - "Ride a White Swan"
Vampire Weekend - "A-Punk"
We the Kings - "Check Yes Juliet"
The Zutons - "Valerie"

Final Thoughts
Lego Rock Band is essentially a Lego skin of Rock Band 2. Although  it was developed to target younger players, dedicated Lego avatars are not available in the game.

The Wii version of Lego Rock Band is also seriously flawed. From its unspectacular graphics to its limited song selection, players are better off sticking with Rock Band 2. If you must purchase Lego Rock Band, and like its song selection, look into the downloading option of Rock Band 2 or simply purchase Lego Rock Band for Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3. The Wii version is simply disappointing.


Overall Rating: 5.8/10