Rock Band For iPhone Gets Standing Ovation

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Written by Eric Meister

Friday, 06 November 2009 08:54

by EricMeister

Across the nation almost everybody knows the popular music game by the name of Rock Band. Now it has been released into the App Store by Electronic Arts. The iPhone version sports near console quality graphics, a nice selection of tracks, and great controls. Rock Band thrills to soaring levels.

Rock Band offers three game modes: Quick Play, with 15 songs initially available; World Tour, where you play 5-song sets in several different venues with the ability to unlock 5 more songs; and Multiplayer, where you can join with friends online or over Bluetooth to rock out in true band fashion. The songs themselves are broken down by difficulty, allowing you to choose songs that are fairly simple to songs that are near impossible. After choosing a song, you'll need to select an instrument from bass, guitar, drums, or vocals. A difficulty setting (easy, medium, or hard) can be selected for each song, offering increasingly more difficult tapping requirements. World Tour allows you to embark on a solo tour from Boston to New York to Seattle to Paris to Moscow. Only Boston is unlocked at the start. You can also Play Online and check out the Leaderboards, both of which require a Facebook connection. When playing online, you play through a song and a friend plays through the same song using a different instrument. Your scores will be combined to form your final score. Bluetooth multiplayer occurs in real time, which is a lot more fun. There is also an achievement system and statistics that are maintained and accessible through the World Tour menu. Your success on tour can gain you many fans along the way.

Rock Band sports impressive graphics even on the small screen of the iPhone and iPod touch. Both bass and guitar make players tap on pick-shaped spots as notes flow vertically down a virtual fretboard. The upper part of the screen is reserved for band animations. If players don't tap on the notes at the appropriate time, the song will quickly go out of tune and pick scratching sounds start. A long streak of successful note taps grant multipliers and greater points. If the iPhone screen at the right time will throw the game into overdrive. Drums offer a similar experience, but players must tap on drum shaped objects as notes pass over them. Missing notes makes a drumstick sound activate. Vocals are a little different animal. Players need to tap on notes that stream horizontally across the screen. Missing enough notes will cause the song to stop indicating failure.

Sounds, of course, are terrific. There are 20 CD quality songs of a good variety, including songs from bands such as Blink 182, Foo Fighters, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Motorhead, Joan Jett, All-American Rejects, Smashing Pumpkins, and more. There is a music store available in-game that allows you to purchase pairs of songs for $0.99. Controls utilize tapping, with the occasional flick for overdrive. In our experience, the controls work flawlessly.

As it can be quite difficult to play through a track without missing a note, replayability is very high. The game is just plain fun to play too. Although there are similar games in the App Store such as the Tap Tap Revenge series and Guitar Rock Tour, none give the full package that Rock Band offers. Plus, the others are more forgiving than this title. Rock Band is top dog if you want the most demanding tapping experience on the iPhone and iPod touch. With a price tag of $9.99, it does cost more than the competition. But we think it's worth it. This game shreds a 5 star solo right in the palm of your hand.

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