Pads & Panels

Title: Dance Central

Platform: 360

ESRB: T

Publisher: MTV Games

Developer: Harmonix

Rating:

Reviewed by: Sarah Kumley

Dance Central is an awesome new game that utilizes Kinect. The main premise of the game is to dance in front of the camera, as it recognizes if the player is moving correctly and to the beats of the song. There are 32 songs that come on the game disc, with many others available for download. The game also boasts more than 90 dance routines and more than 650 different dance moves. It has something for everybody, from dancing beginners to experts and everyone in between. (more…)

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#6 Rock Band 3 (360, PS3, Wii)

Publisher: MTV Games – Developer: Harmonix

Rock Band 3 takes on critics who use the argument “just learn a real instrument” by making the game capable of teaching the players, note for note, how to play keyboard, drums, bass and guitar. Gamers who don’t want to turn their Rock Band experience into a tutorial will still enjoy the most streamlined music game made. Harmonix has added so many “no brainer” features, like allowing the band to finish a failed song anyways, song sorting/navigation, rewinding the song after a pause to avoid missed notes and more. (more…)

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Title: Green Day: Rock Band

Platform: 360 (PS3, Wii)

ESRB: T

Publisher: MTV Games

Developer: Harmonix

Rating:

Review by: Bill Jones

I’m a Green Day fan (excluding 21st Century Breakdown), so I love the idea of having 47 Green Day tracks to play in Rock Band. That plays a big part in the decision to purchase the latest from Harmonix, obviously. But strictly looking at the constructs of the game, Green Day: Rock Band could best be described as The Beatles: Rock Band-lite. It uses a similar format, except fans only get three venues to work with; there isn’t much of a “story” to the career; and the track list scores by including the entirety of both Dookie and American Idiot, but is extremely weak in between and fails to include anything pre-Dookie. Other than a few character changes from venue to venue, that’s the extent of Green Day: Rock Band’s offerings. It doesn’t progress the series in any way, and actually fails to show the same love for the band that was present for The Beatles. At the end of the day, it feels more like a glorified track pack. But with a free export code included and a host of unlockable videos and images, most Green Day fans will be okay with that. (more…)

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Honorable Mentions

Creating a Top 10 list for a year that’s been as great as 2009 is no easy task, and some really awesome titles must be left by the wayside, especially when five people are trying to collaborate and come to a consensus on the definitive best of the year. We just didn’t have the heart to leave these five titles without recognition, though, as they are all incredibly deserving of spots on any year-end list. So the honorable mentions are effectively our #11-15 picks, but they are presented here in alphabetical order, rather than ranked. Enjoy!

The Beatles: Rock Band (360, PS3, Wii)
Publisher: MTV Games – Developer: Harmonix

Our Review

I gave The Beatles: Rock Band a perfect score when I reviewed it on the premise that it is the best example of the music genre to date and sets the bar for creating a licensed title with absolute respect. At the end of the day, is The Beatles: Rock Band another rhythm title, varying little from the others in the series? Sure. But that doesn’t take away from the pure bliss of playing through The Beatles’ career with different generations in the same room, using three microphones to create true harmonies. Add to that recreations of the early days of the band’s career and dreamscape studio moments, and it is the best music installment yet, handily earning a spot as an honorable mention for 2009. –Bill (more…)

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Trailer Madness turns 10 today, in a manner of speaking. Lots of exciting new trailers. Capcom released a new Super Street Fighter IV trailer featuring the characters Guy, Cody and Adon. The Beatles: Rock Band has a new holiday commercial. Marvel sent new Astonishing X-Men and Super Hero Squad Show trailers our way. Ubisoft sent a Just Dance video our way, while Delicious Vinyl sent a smattering of DVDJ videos. And Machines Studios finishes things off with a few new bittos videos.

“Guy, Cody and Adon” Super Street Fighter IV Trailer

(more…)

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Title: Lego Rock Band

Platform: 360 (Also PS3, Wii)

ESRB Rating: E10+

Publishers: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, MTV Games

Developers: Harmonix, Traveller’s Tales

Rating:

Review by: Bill Jones

It’s easy to see the title of Lego Rock Band and think, “Wow, there are two things – a license (Lego) and genre (rhythm) – that are already oversaturated in the video game market. Why would anyone combine them?”

As far as Rock Band goes, it seems almost an unnecessary addition to the franchise, while for Lego it is a departure from the usual action-adventure gameplay associated with the brand. So, is Lego Rock Band an unnecessary combination of two properties? Probably. Is it still a hell of a lot of fun? Undeniably so. (more…)

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Title: “Abbey Road” DLC for The Beatles: Rock Band

Platform: 360 (Also PS3)

Publisher: MTV Games

Developer: Harmonix

Review by: Bill Jones

Usually the equation for whether to purchase DLC tracks for Rock Band is as simple as one’s love for Rock Band plus one’s love for the particular track. With The Beatles: Rock Band, however, it is a slightly different story, with the dreamscapes that play behind the tunes and, in the case of its first substantial track pack, two- and three-song sets, and a 16-minute B-side medley. (more…)

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Title: The Beatles: Rock Band

Platform: 360 (Also on PS3, Wii)

ESRB Rating: T

Publisher: MTV Games

Developer: Harmonix

Rating:

Review by: Bill Jones

For Beatles fans who ever wondered whether their friends would stand up on walk out on them if they sang out of tune, The Beatles: Rock Band is the game to answer that question. With the traditional Rock Band experience expanded to support harmonies of up to three singers, alongside the usual instrumentation of guitar, bass and drums, and a true respect for its source material, The Beatles: Rock Band sets the bar higher for rhythm games designed to make gamers feel like they can rock with a little help from their friends. (more…)

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Title: Rock Band Unplugged

Platform: PSP

ESRB Rating: T

Publisher: MTV Games

Developer: Harmonix

Rating:

Review by: Bill Jones

It is a shame this needs to be called “Rock Band” to sell. It is hard not to have the initial reaction – How could this be Rock Band? – upon initially hearing the idea of a Rock Band on PlayStation Portable. It is single player, defeating the full-band experience that is Rock Band. It doesn’t have microphone support, so no one is actually singing, and there is no Guitar Hero: On Tour-type peripheral, so gamers are stuck playing their instruments with the standard PSP button layout.

It has the Rock Band look, tour layout, set lists, character creation, store and it is filled with a health variety of popular rock songs, but those looking for the proper Rock Band experience in Unplugged will be sorely disappointed. Those looking for an almost-unique, popular music rhythm game, however, will find a solid game in Rock Band: Unplugged. (more…)

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