While most gamers who picked up the original game had plenty of faux guitar practice through Guitar Hero and fledgling careers as shower-singers, the drums proved the most difficult instrument in the game. Sure, drummers are the butt of jokes in real bands, but someone who could get it done in Rock Band was the most important piece of your four-member band. A poor drummer no longer has to be the albatross of your band, thanks to the brilliant 'Drum Trainer'. Delivering dozens of beats and fills to master; the trainer is a fantastic addition to the game for anyone not looking to embarrass themselves. Thanks to the ability to adjust the speed of the beat with the d-pad down to sixty beats-per-minute and upward to two hundred, it is easy for even novices to gain skill and confidence behind the skins.
The new setlist is much deeper and more varied than the first effort. There is plenty here that will please rock fans, old and young. More impressive than having songs like Bon Jovi's "Living On A Prayer" or unreleased Guns N Roses' "Shackler's Revenge" is the ability to import all but a few of the original Rock Band tracks into the game. For a paltry license fee of $5, you can have the game save the songs from the first game to your hard drive, sitting alongside the DLC tracks. While it is a killer option, the game needs an option to turn off the use of the 'old' songs in mystery set lists. Part of the joy of the new game is the new music. With so few songs unlocked in your first city or two, the game overloads mystery setlists with tracks you may be tired of playing. You do have the option to delete tracks off your hard drive, but more is always better when dealing with the diverse tastes of your friends and family.
With an overwhelming number of tracks available, Rock Band 2 offers revised sorting options in the DLC store and in-game track list. Songs can now be sorted by multiple different options: source (RB, RB2, or DLC), artist, difficulty, and genre. It is one of many minor visual tweaks to the game. While at first glance you may have a hard time distinguishing between the first and second game, the in-song presentation of your band's performance receives a slightly more polished delivery. In the gameplay department, the guitar and bass hammer-on notes are much easier to distinguish; with notes encased in a thin white bracket, helping them stand out more. The character creation and various menus remain largely untouched.
While the game is easy to navigate, it would have been nice to see a new set of rockers or deeper customization to make the band more 'you'. Sonically, the sound of the crowd singing along is cranked up some; better capturing the feeling of a live show. Between the steady stream of DLC and the ability to import your tracks from the first game, you are unlikely to stop playing Rock Band 2 anytime soon. The added ability to continue your World Tour band online, drum trainer, and daily challenges may sound like small additions, but they greatly enhance and extend the gameplay for what was already a must-own title; at least until the next Guitar Hero is released.
