exploremusic

Being a respected member of the local “nerd” media does have it’s advantages.

Case in point, I got invited to Sony’s Holiday Preview event in downtown Toronto. And amongst the blood and carnage, licensed titles, new peripherals, portable versions of console games, one thing was definitely apparent.

The music rhythm game, is here to stay.

Previewing at this shindig was Lego Rock Band, Band Hero and DJ Hero, all of which are expected out for holiday sales season and if you are into these sort of games, all of which are pretty good.

Lego Rock Band was the one I had to try out first. As weird as it may sound, in the last few years, Lego has made a name for itself as a mark of quality and fun on video games.  Lego Batman was listed as my favorite game of the last year so even though it sounded like ridiculous concept, Lego Rock Band HAD to be played.

And it’s pretty good.

The concept is still more or less the same as the standard Rock Band games.  You sit down/stand up with instrument replicas and hit the colored buttons as they appear on screen. Where this game differs is the fact that they’ve tried to make the music set list a little more family friendly (most if not all of the tracks that appear in the game contain no foul language and a lot of them are either rock classics are awesome one hit wonders) and the Lego component.  You can build yourself, your set pieces and other things out of Lego parts you earn.  For instance, the band I was playing with had a werewolf drummer. How awesome is that?

As well some of our favorite rock stars have been um…er…Lego-ized. Iggy Pop was one of the first to get attention but I can also tell you, Lego David Bowie from the Let’s Dance era is pretty awesome right down to the two different colored eyes.

Next up we had DJ Hero.

DJ Hero is the first new development in these games since Rock Band appeared. It does mean you have to go out and buy the DJ controller with the game but to be honest, it may be worth it.

This game has a huge song list.  A lot are interesting and exclusive mixes and mash-ups (I particularly like Queen’s Another One Bites The Dust with Daft Punk’s Da Funk).  The controller is easy to use although just due to the design, it may hurt your wrist after a while. Celebrities are also involved in this game as well as DJ Jazzy Jeff, Grand Master Flash, Jay Z, among others make appearances and are eventually unlockable to play as. The controller is pretty well made and solid.  Beyond the drum sets that are available for these type of games, this is one of the few times where it actually feels like the real instrument. But with the cross-fader and the scratch pad, once you got used to the game, your hands kind of moved as second nature.

Speaking of which I must admit, playing as Daft Punk in their full robo-head gear and the stage set up from their Alive performances is pretty cool and looks really good.

My only complaint about the game was by the time my first song was done, I could already feel a bit of ache in my right wrist (the turn table side).

Nothing new here really.  Sure there’s new songs but no real innovation has taken place or at least none I could tell from the demo. And even the new song list is kind of wussy…well with the exceptions of Devo and The Mighty Mighty Bosstones tracks.  Celebrities include the somewhat cool No Doubt and the somewhat uncool Adam Levine from Maroon 5. 

If you are bored with Guitar Hero 5 and want some new tracks to play, this might be worth it but honestly I’d pick up Lego Rock Band instead due to the fact the Lego Rock Band has Lego Iggy Pop and Lego David Bowie and a lot of the good tracks on Band Hero can also be found on Lego Rock Band.

So if you like rhythm games and are looking holiday gift ideas, I hope I’ve helped out a little.

Myself?

I’m hoping they come out with an actual Lego set for Lego Rock Band so I can get Lego Iggy Pop and Lego David Bowie and then make a Lego recording studio and Lego Berlin Wall diorama for my desk

Does that make me weird?.

[Brent Chittenden is the Co-Host/Writer/Producer for Two Assholes Talking About Nerd Stuff. For more go here.]