If you have ever dreamed of belting out Bon Jovi's "You Give Love A Bad Name" from atop a pirate ship, Harmonix has a game for you. The second of two Rock Band titles released for consoles in 2009, LEGO Rock Band attempts to deliver the plastic instrument experience to the whole family. Despite some missing modes, this LEGO-themed package does enough to separate itself as a worthwhile addition to the Rock Band franchise. The game strips away all Live functionality, with the exception of the in-game link to the Rock Band Store for DLC; displaying only kid-friendly titles for purchase. That leaves free play, where all the songs are immediately available for play, training, or story mode as your gameplay options. The story mode has most of the LEGO goodness. There are frequent cut-scenes involving the LEGO world, delivered in an adorable pantomime style, and wonderfully realized LEGO-themed venues to play at. To reach the different venues, bands need to purchase new LEGO vehicles, like the speedboat or helicopter, with 'studs' earned along with fans, used as in-game currency instead of cash. The game enhances ability to hire roadies, managers, producers, and the like showing your entourage behind the band during performances, and allowing you to customize the way they each look.
Gamers also have the chance to customize their band's Rock Den, the hub for all story-based activity, through purchasing and placing unlocked items throughout the various sections. There are plenty of unlockable looks and instruments to use your hard-earned studs on, but the inability to create your own instruments with LEGO pieces feels is an unfortunate missed opportunity. The additional 'inspiration' and 'rock power' challenges are fantastic new gig types sure to find their way to the eventual Rock Band 3. Inspiration gigs feature LEGO-ized versions of classic artists, like Iggy Pop and David Bowie, playing their songs at the imaginary venues. Rock power challenges add a bit of comic-style story bits to the game, with challenges themed to match the song, like the haunted graveyard chase of "Ghostbusters" or octopus battle of "In Too Deep". The modes give you a chance to watch the action, if playing with friends, as your band takes turns playing one instrument at a time so the others can watch the scene. They are an absolute blast to play through, keeping you anxiously awaiting the next. The soundtrack might be 'suitable' for younger audiences, but whether or not they will care about the songs and bands found here is quite another story.
The story mode curiously starts with a single venue offering three tracks geared more toward parents, with Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'" most likely to keep younger gamers going. The game's forty-five track set list splits nearly down the middle for tracks pre and post 2000, but story mode frontloads the tracks older than the kids the game is really aiming at. The unbalanced pace at which you unlock the songs may force younger gamers to Free Play too quickly. Thankfully, for those with Rock Band tracks on their hard drive, the game does make good use of them for the user-created and mystery gigs. The songs included on the disc are hit and miss, with just about anyone able to find a handful to get excited over and another handful they have never heard of. The gameplay itself remains largely unchanged, with some minor tweaks with younger gamers in mind. There is an automatic kick-drum option available for the younger drummers in your household, allowing them to focus only on the drum-pads. There is also a new 'super-easy' game mode, asking gamers to hit anything when the note crosses the line.
There is also the ability to switch to shortened versions of most songs in the pre-gig menu, though the implementation could use some extra polish. It is nice to be able to shorten a long track you may not care for, but the songs end far too abruptly. Many songs end cold in the middle of a line. Most importantly, you cannot fail a song in LEGO Rock Band. Should your instrument status drop to the bottom of the screen, you simply loose a chunk of your earned studs, and are thrust back into the game for 'recovery time', to attempt to reclaim some of your lost studs. LEGO Rock Band is a very good supplement for your growing library of music titles. It may not have the full Live functionality, but those looking to play in-house with the family will not miss it. The new gig types, youth-oriented gameplay options, and ability to add the import the tracks here for use with Rock Band 2 (with an 800 MS Point fee) make this well worth the lower $50 price tag.
