Customer Reviews

Lego Rock Band

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

My wife and I have always had fun playing games together, specifically the Lego type games and the Rock Band series. When I heard Lego Rock Band was coming out, I liked the idea of all the songs, but I have to admit the game looked like a cheap cash-in, similar to the way Guitar Hero has about 200 iterations a year (and the newly released Band Hero is essentially Guitar Hero 5 with new tracks and Taylor Swift). So, my idea was to just get it to export the songs, then sell it back or trade it with a friend.
However, once I decided to give the game a try (I had it, after all), and I'm downright hooked.
Rather then focus on what's the same (because this is, at its core, Rock Band 2 with a Lego skin over it), let me point out some differences I think make it better.
- You have a "Rock Pad" which is like your house, and you can trick it out with tones of goofy gear. I'll admit I was stoked when I unlocked the pink train riding toy. It's a small addition, sure but way fun.
- Tons and tons of unlocks, similar to the other lego games. From guitars to pieces of your house to new characters, there's a lot. A downside is you don't start with much, but you'll get new things fast.
- When you fail, you actually can revive people simply by playing well. This feature was shown somewhat in Guitar Hero 5, and it works well here for a kid-friendly group. It also makes you less dependent on Overdrive to revive people.
- The notes moving down the "track" are lego bricks! A little change, sure, but I got a kick out of it.
- The game has a "plot," and honestly it is downright silly and completely hilarious. What other game can you use rock to blow up a building, scare off ghosts by rocking "Ghostbusters," or zapping a squid with the power of your awesome riffs?
- On the same line as above, during these scenes you actually sort of tag team the song, with usually only two of the four people playing, and you switch off. You might think that's lame, but I've often wished I could see what was going on in the background in RB2 with my characters (after all, I spent a good long amount of time designing him), and this way I can see the hilarity. Excellent!
- It can all be exported to RB2 for $10. It's more then RB1, but still not a bad deal.

Here are a few bad parts, however.
- The overall menus are a bit of a pain to navigate. You have to pick the vehicle to get to the correct venues, rather then having them on a long list. Annoying, honestly.
- Load times are horrific, worst in the series by far, and they pop up all the time. Installing the HDD helps.
- Short tracklist. It's good, and I liked most of the songs, but still quite short. But it has Final Countdown!

Overall, I went into this game thinking it was a sell out, and it actually is a VERY fun game, a certainly a worthy addition to the Rock Band platform. The fact it only supports songs that are "family friendly" is actually a good feature; it means I can have the nieces and nephews over and not worry about what they might be playing. Overall? I'd say rent it first, but if you are a music game fan don't overlook this one. Unlike Band Hero, which is most certainly the definition of a cheap cash-in, Lego Rock Band is a clever, funny, and fun game that is certainly worth looking over if you are a previous Rock Band owner.

This game is great if you have young kids that don't quite have the coordination to play Rock Band. The Super Easy mode that they've added is perfect for kids because they can play the guitar by just using the strum bar or play the drums by hitting any color pad they want. You can also turn on "auto drum pedal" so that you don't have to worry about hitting the foot pedal with the drums if you don't want to. If you don't have kids, you probably won't get much out of this game. But if you have kids that struggle with the regular Rock Band, this game is great!

When developer Traveller's Tales make the Lego games, one common criticism is that there's not much that changes from previous games other than the license. How apt it feels then to have them do a Lego version of Rock Band and surprisingly it doesn't suck. But then again it's not perfect by any stretch and there's some annoyances that really grind my gears so to speak but then I'm an adult and when you mention the term "Lego Rock Band", it feels like you're 4 talking about quantum physics, it just doesn't look right, does it? Keep in mind there's nothing wrong with the game and I actually smiled quite a few times playing the game but then as far as gameplay is concerned I noticed some step downs from Rock Band 2 and even the Beatles game that I wish weren't part of this game. Families won't mind but if you're looking for more songs to play than you're kind of out of luck.

This is kind of a simple review since it's not really that story extensive or there's much to talk about so I'll just mention the gameplay. Personally, as a frequent Rock Band 2 player I'm not exactly digging the interface. Keep in mind I'm mainly a drummer in these kind of games so I'll chat about that with some mentions later of the guitar. If you play on expert you know how vitally important it is to distinguish when to hit a certain pad and cymbal together and when it's just one or the other in more complicated sections. I don't know if it's just me but I found it really hard to tell what to play when the bass pedal got more active and there was more notes as opposed to Harmonix games where I could easily tell and more than once I couldn't tell if it was just one note or a double tap or if the note was exactly on the bass pedal or in front of it. As far as the guitar is concerned, this was where it got tricky since at times it was hard to tell what was 2 separate notes and what was hammer-ons/pull-offs and while it's easily understood in lazier sections, when things get kicked up a notch, you're like "wait, are these all hammer-ons or separate notes?"

Another annoyance is in regards to the setlist during story in that it doesn't give you the option to automatically pick the next set. For example, the game is telling me to advance I need to play a Rock Challenge (describe those in a minute) at a certain set yet I can't see it, well turns out I had to go to my Rock Den where you can buy your instruments, decorate your lair and customize your character, pick another vehicle and play the set. Why isn't it like Rock Band 2 where upgrading your vehicle automatically upgrades your tour dates? For the rock challenges, these are actually quite fun even though they're just regular old playthroughs of songs, catch is you have to perform and through the power of rock, something special as to happen. The first you'll run into is to demolish a building with a Hives song (because it rocks? or because it's terrible and the building couldn't take it?). The one that practically had me smiling ear to ear though was where you have to exorcise ghosts from a mansion and what better way to do that than Ray Parker Jr's "Ghostbusters".

As far as the setlist, it's incredibly odd. There's some songs for the younger kiddies like Ghostbusters and even Kung Fu Fighting and Pink and songs that I'd personally would love to have in Rock Band 2 such as Summer of 69, You Give Love a Bad Name, and wouldn't you know it, another Foo Fighters song (seriously Harmonix, we don't need their entire catalogue as DLC, stop) but then you get indie bands barely anybody knows about and while I'm glad to see more Queen, I'm not lying when I say We Will Rock You is one of the most repetitive drum charts I've ever seen. Not to mention it's actually a short setlist and while DLC from RB1/RB2 will work, only select ones that have been cleared will transfer over which makes for some weird moments when the random song set gave me Won't Get Fooled Again, still one of the hardest Expert drum songs there is and at 7-8 minutes long, a curious entry to a family game with decidely short attention spans. Speaking of, there's a Super Easy mode where all you really have to do is hit the notes, regardless of what it is and you'll pass which sounds good for players but considering No Fail option is here, it feels kind of superflous. Oh and there's an option to have automatic kick drums too. Too bad this wasn't available for Visions, eh?

I think most people will just buy this game so they can export the setlist to Rock Band 2 or if they're into family games. While there's some songs here I'd love to have as DLC, the game itself feels like a step back despite the fact it's undeniably adorable.

When I first heard about this game, I thought it was a joke or April Fools trick. As time went on, it turned out that it wasn't just a joke, and my wife and I instantly knew that we would have to play this game, since we both enjoy playing the Rock Band games together (mostly RB2, since we exported the songs, but that's another review), and played the other Lego games until we either beat them or got tired of fighting with each other over collecting bricks. So how does it stack up as a combo of the Lego and Rock Band worlds? Overall, it does a pretty good job, but there are some shortcomings that really bothered us.

Like every Lego game, it has that humor we've come to expect. Conveying their emotions about potential band-mates when you first start out is quite entertaining, and when you get to the challenges it's even better. Destroying a building with the power of rock, fighting off an angry octopus, and getting rid of ghosts from a haunted mansion are just a few of the challenges you'll experience. And here is where the game does something new and, in my view, good; while the challenges are ongoing, you don't have to play the entire song (unless you're vocals), which gives you a chance to witness the antics going on onscreen. I see this as a plus, since I like to watch the background just to watch the show.

The song list is alright, I guess, except for the fact that you will constantly be playing the same songs over and over and over, especially if there's a "Mystery setlist" or something similar (be prepared to play Supergrass' "Grace" until you want to throw the disc against the wall). Some of the songs they allow/disallow from RB1 and the music store are surprising (why are some Coheed and Cambria songs alright, but the others aren't?), but I have plenty of songs, so only 40 disc songs was not a big deal. The $10 to export was kind of steep (going off of precedent of $5 for RB1).

There are two issues that I have with this game, both of which are minor gripes (and only one of which I've seen mentioned in other reviews). The first is the character customization. There aren't as many way to customize your mini-fig as there are in the other games. Of course, the other games don't give you the opportunity to play as a vampire/werewolf/mummy/etc., so that's not really my gripe. My issue is that you cannot change the color of your mini-figs skin on any of the choices. So if you have a non-yellow mini-fig head, and want the design from a torso or legs that are yellow, you'll end up with a non-yellow headed, yellow-bodied monstrosity of a mini-fig. I don't imagine it would have been to difficult to code for this, since there are black and pink torsos/legs, just give you the option to match the colors across all three pieces.

My second issue is the venue selection portion. Instead of being on one giant list like in RB2, you select vehicles (cities in RB2), which then are divided down into different venues. Now, this wouldn't be an issue if every time you went to select a vehicle there weren't a fly-to animation. If you wanted to choose a vehicle three spaces away, it could take you a fairly long time, instead like in RB2 where you just had to move up and down from the city selection list. This fly-to animation also leads into the load times for this game. It seems like the load times are longer compared to RB2 (I also noticed this with The Beatles RB). Small issue, but a little bothersome.

I would definitely recommend this game if you enjoy Rock Band and the Lego games, as it is a perfect match of the two. I applaud Travelers Tales and Harmonix for the wonderful work they put into blending these two franchises together, especially with the "story" of starting a band and your rise to fame.

It's definitely worth the buy if you are a rock band fan or have smaller kids that enjoy legos and/or music.

I played with a 4 year old over the weekend and he loves the drums and with the super easy mode he can still go for the correct colored pads but hitting the wrong one on occasion doesn't hurt the score or his fun factor. Playing the Ghostbusters challenge really lit up his face as did mine.

Adding a Hendrix song to the RB catalog was my largest personal draw as well as a few other tracks I enjoy. All songs in this game do export to Rock Band 2 for the $10 license fee. Also something like 200 of the more family friendly songs of the regular rock band catalog will import to the Lego game for free.

Ok, first of all, I am a big enthusiast of Rock Band games, been playing Rock Band 2 for quite a while and am always downloading new songs. That means I'm not new to the genre. That being said, I was always really skeptical of Lego Rock Band. To me, it seemed like a cheap way to "milk the cow", and I was always saying that the songs present in this game should have been released as DLC instead.

Some time ago I decided I just needed more songs, and just bought this game. Boy, was I surprised.

First of all, I come from a pretty rockish background, and only nowadays am starting to enjoy more popish music. When I was younger, I'd listen to pretty brutal metal, so people sometimes are amazed when they learn that I have downloaded Lady Gaga songs to play in RB2. I didn't even know most of the songs included in Lego Rock Band, and I must say I really enjoyed most of them. Some reviewers have classified the setlist for this game as "hit and miss", but for me, it's filled with hits with only a few misses. The songs are very upbeat and have a happy feeling about them, but most of all, they are really fun to play.

Out of the setlist, these for me are the greatest hits: "Summer of '69", "Life is a Highway", "Make me Smile (Come Up and See Me)" (this one has such a cool acoustic guitar solo), "Monster", "Valerie".

The biggest miss: "Kung Fu Fighting". Don't get me wrong, I think the song is cool. But the charting is PAINFUL. Really painful. I don't know what Harmonix was thinking, but it ruined the song if you play on Expert guitars.

Alright, now about the game. The game itself rocks. It really does. Let me tell you why, in my humble opinion: because of the Power Challenges. In them, you have some "missions", if you can call them that... they may vary from defeating a big octopus or escaping from a huge mecha-dinosaur, but you always use the power of rock to complete the quest. And it's really cool if you play as a band, because the players will take turns performing, which gives everyone little breaks to enjoy the background animation and also watch each other's charts. I really hope they advance this concept for Rock Band 3, because it adds a new level of storytelling to the game, and it's a lot of fun. I play with my brother and we both really enjoyed the Power Challenges.

Exporting the songs for use in Rock Band 2 is mandatory in my opinion, and as I have already written, the song selection is very good. It will add a lot of color to your present RB2 setlist and those songs are generally a big hit with people that come over to my place to play. "Ghostbusters", "You Give Love a Bad Name", "Two Princes", I mean, come on, everyone loves those songs. Everyone. Hell, even P!nk's "So What" is fun to play. It pains me to admit that, but it's true. The chart is fun and I play it all the time. There, I said it.

So, in short: I was skeptical, and now I am recommending this game wholeheartedly. 5 stars, congratulations to both Lego and Harmonix.

I have to admit, I was skeptical when this title was first announced. I'm a big fan of the Rock Band franchise, and I thought that merging it with the Lego franchise would be a big step in the wrong direction. But after giving it a try, I was very pleased with how it came out. Granted, I'm not it's target market (kids and families are it's main demographic), but the songs are a great mix of solid quality pop music, that can be easily exported to play in Rock Band 2. And this weekend, a friend's 5 year old got to try it out. 4 hours later, he was still rocking, and the adults were trying to keep up. If you have a little one, or are a fan of Rock Band, this is a MUST BUY!

I love the idea of Rock Band, but up till now, I was not a fan of the song list that you were limted to in the other games. I personally am not a "heavy metal" fan (I am aware that many people are, and I know how popular many of those songs are. I'm just saying, I personally am not a fan of most of them).

I was glad then to see options like Band Hero and Lego Rock Band start to pop up now, because, not only do they have a little more variety (Lego Rock Band even has the Ghostbusters theme song lol), but I appreciate the fact that none of the songs have profanity in them either. For people with small kids, that has always been a point of contention with other Rock Band games in the past, so take it or leave it, but I for one am glad to see a more "family friendly" version hit the market.

Having said all that, as for the game play itself, I think it's a lot of fun. The only complaint I have with it is how long it takes to open up new songs when you're going through the "story". So you end up playing the same 20 or whatever songs over and over and over till FINALLY you finish the boat gigs and suddenly you get a bunch more song options. I guess that's just part of the game though, and depending on how you look at it, you could see it as a way to keep increasing your skill level over time (start out easy, and then each time you play it again, try a harder skill level on the song).

Overall though, I would definitely say it's worth the $19.98 we spent on it. We have had a lot of fun playing it, and so have our friends when they come over. :)

I used to get legos in my Christmas stocking when I was younger and now that I'm older I got Legos in my Christmas stocking - I've come full circle

The presentation of the game is excellent. They did a good job of using Lego lore to supplement rock band's presentation. However, the song offerings are not the greatest. If you haven't already amassed a good library of DLC, you're going to want to immediately after purchasing this game. The game disc lacks enough good tracks to wow you for long, otherwise.