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|"[[Breakout (Foo Fighters song)|Breakout]]" || [[Foo Fighters]] || 1990s || Alternative || {{N}}
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|"[[Crash (The Primitives song)|Crash]]" || {{sort|Primitives|[[The Primitives]]}} || 1980s || Pop/Rock || {{Y}}
|"[[Crash (The Primitives song)|Crash]]" || {{sort|Primitives|[[The Primitives]]}} || 1980s || Pop/Rock || {{Y}}

Revision as of 03:13, 30 December 2009

Lego Rock Band
North American boxart
Developer(s)Harmonix
Traveller's Tales (TT Fusion)
Backbone Entertainment(DS)[3]
Publisher(s)MTV Games
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Designer(s)Mike Taylor
David Reynolds
Platform(s)PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, Nintendo DS
Release[1]
Genre(s)Rhythm game
Mode(s)Single player, multiplayer

Lego Rock Band is a music video game and part of the Rock Band series developed by Harmonix Music Systems, but also incorporates elements from other Lego video games as developed by Traveller's Tales. The game is published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and MTV Games. The game was released on November 3 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii home consoles. A Nintendo DS version is also being developed in conjunction with Backbone Entertainment.

The game, as with other games in the Rock Band series, allows up to four players to use instrument controllers to play lead and bass guitar, drums, and vocals on a number of rock music songs. In addition, aspects of building with Lego bricks are incorporated into the game, allowing players to customize their avatars and other band assistances, and include additional Lego-themed gameplay modes. The gameplay and the game's 45-song soundtrack has been selected to create a "family-friendly" game. Players are able to export the songs from the game into other Rock Band titles, while existing and future downloadable content that passes family-friendly filters can be incorporated into the game.

Lego Rock Band was met with moderate reviews, that praise the general excellence of both the Rock Band and Lego video game aspects incorporated into the game, but questioned some selections on the game's soundtrack and some features that would be at odds with the target audience of the game.

Gameplay

File:LRB Gameplay.png
Lego Rock Band features Lego-style avatars with full customization along with a family-friendly soundtrack.
See also: Gameplay in the Rock Band series.

Lego Rock Band is based primarily on the same gameplay as the main Rock Band series, though it includes aspects of collecting and building with Lego bricks as in Traveler Tales' other Lego-themed games; as compared to Rock Band's slogan of "Start a band, rock the world", Lego Rock Band's catchphrase is "Build a band, rock the universe".[6]

The music portions of the game remain the same as the Rock Band series. Up to four local players can play as lead and bass guitar, drums, and vocals across the songs in the game using special controllers designed Rock Band or Guitar Hero games.[7] During each song, each player attempts to match notes as they scroll on-screen in time with the current song; for lead and bass guitar, this is by holding down the corresponding frets and using the controller's strum bar; for the drummer, this requires striking the correct drum head or hitting the bass drum kick pedal; for vocalists, this is by keeping in relative pitch to the song's lyrics. Completing consecutive series of notes will build up a player's scoring multiplier and add to the band's score for the song. Certain phrases of notes will be marked as glowing notes; successfully completing these add to the player's "Overdrive" meter, while guitar players can further add to it by using the whammy bar on such phrases. When the Overdrive meter is at least half-full, a player can activate Overdrive to double the band's scoring multiplier; Overdrive is activated either by temporarily tilting the guitar controller in a vertical position, striking the appropriate drum head at the end of a fill sequence on drums, or shouting into the microphone during specially marked sections. Players are rewarded with up to 5 stars for completing a song based on their scoring performance.

Though the main game remains the same, easier skill levels are provided for "budding musicians".[8] This includes the addition of a "Super Easy" mode in which the player only needs to hit any button or pad on the guitar or drum controller, respectively, to play along, and an "auto bass kick" feature intended for those playing drums that cannot reach the bass drum pedal.[6] A further change to help less-skilled players is that it is impossible to fail a song if the player performs poorly. Instead, poor performances will consume Lego "studs" (equivalent of points) that have already been earned for the song. However, specially-marked "recovery phrases" will be presented before the end of the song, and playing these well will allow the player to regain studs they have lost.[6] The game still retains the higher difficulty levels found in other Rock Band games, including "Expert" difficulty, which Harmonix has stated is not any easier than from other games.[6] Certain songs in the setlist that feature long intros or outros, such as "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" by The Police, can also be played through shortened edits similar to radio edits, in order to help younger players with shorter attention spans stay interested in the game.[6]

The main game mode is the "Story" mode, which is structured similarly to the "Tour" mode of the other Rock Band games. The Story mode follows the band's aspirations to be a great rock band, playing at smaller venues and performing certain requests to earn respect and fans. Gigs may feature predetermined, player-selected, and randomly-selected setlists of one or more songs. New gigs, venues and vehicles to go to those venues are unlocked as the band earns stars, fans, and other requirements. Special gigs during the Story mode are Rock Challenges, in which the band is to use their "power of rock" to complete a task such as demolishing a building or fighting off a giant octopus; in these, the band shares the same performance meter, and throughout the song, a single band member will be required to play by themselves to help boost their score.[8] By completing gigs, players earn objects they can use to either customize their Lego band avatars or to decorate their "Rock Den", earn the ability to buy staff members to help their band earn fans and studs, and other features.[7][8] Though the game features Lego mini-figurines based on existing Lego toys and from Rock Band avatars, there will not be inclusion of Lego-based characters from previous Travelers Tales games as the cost of licensing these characters again from companies like Lucasarts was too much after securing song rights.[6] Players can also play in "Free Play" mode that allows them to play any song without having to enter Story mode.

Slight changes in the game's main interface have been made, most notably that notes are represented by colored Lego bricks.[9] The game even recreates the animated opening of the Rock Band opening cinematics, featuring bands riding precariously on speeding cars, though in Lego brick form.[6]

Nintendo DS version

Gameplay in the Nintendo DS version of Lego Rock Band will be similar to the PlayStation Portable version of Rock Band Unplugged. The DS version will also include the musician avatars, here of Queen, as the console games.

The Nintendo DS version of the game is stated to play similar to Rock Band Unplugged, in which the player switches back and forth between the various instruments, trying to keep the entire band happy; this is done by successfully completing a series of notes for the specific instrument, and then correctly hitting a final, purple note to increase that band member's happiness and turn the bricks transparent for a short time so the player can switch to another track. Happiness will fall over time, requiring the player to continually switch between band members to maintain the band's overall mood and maintain their multiplier.[10] The game utilizes the touchpad, stylus, and face buttons, and does not include additional peripherals as used for the Guitar Hero On Tour series.[11] The game supports up to four-player multiplayer, each performing on their own instrument, through the local ad-hoc wireless connection of the DS.[10]

Soundtrack

See also: Downloadable Content for the Rock Band series

The game's soundtrack has been selected to be "suitable for younger audiences".[7] The following songs will be included with the game:[11][12][13][14][15][16] The game will also support existing downloadable content from the Rock Band series, as well as songs exported from other Rock Band titles that has been "identified to be suitable for all ages", except in the Wii version[17][18]. The Lego Rock Band Music Store will only feature Rock Band DLC that has been cleared for use in the game. All songs available in Lego Rock Band will be compatible with previous entries in the Rock Band series and can be exported to these games for $9.99 (800 MSP) along with the use of a unique code included on a paper insert included in the game case.[8][12][19][20] Users do not need to be signed in to use content that was downloaded on another account, as long as it is on the same console system, thus allowing a child's account to access the filtered set of music from a parent's account library.[21]

The Nintendo DS version of the game features a 25-song subset of the songs in the console versions as listed below.[12]

Song title Artist Decade Genre DS version
"A-Punk" Vampire Weekend 2000s Rock Green tickY
"Accidentally In Love" Counting Crows 2000s Rock Green tickY
"Aliens Exist" Blink-182 1990s Punk Red XN
"Breakout" Foo Fighters 1990s Alternative Red XN
"Check Yes Juliet" We the Kings 2000s Emo Green tickY
"Crash" The Primitives 1980s Pop/Rock Green tickY
"Crocodile Rock" Elton John 1970s Classic Rock Red XN
"Dig" Incubus 2000s Alternative Red XN
"Dreaming of You" The Coral 2000s Indie Rock Red XN
"Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" The Police 1980s Pop/Rock Red XN
"The Final Countdown" Europe 1980s Metal Green tickY
"Fire" The Jimi Hendrix Experience 1960s Classic Rock Red XN
"Free Fallin'" Tom Petty 1980s Classic Rock Green tickY
"Ghostbusters" Ray Parker Jr. 1980s Other Green tickY
"Girls & Boys" Good Charlotte 2000s Pop/Rock Green tickY
"Grace" Supergrass 2000s Alternative Green tickY
"I Want You Back" Jackson 5 1960s Pop/Rock Green tickY
"In Too Deep" Sum 41 2000s Punk Green tickY
"Kung Fu Fighting" Carl Douglas 1970s Pop/Rock Green tickY
"Let's Dance" David Bowie 1980s Glam Green tickY
"Life is a Highway" Rascal Flatts 2000s Country Green tickY
"Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)" Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel 1970s Rock Red XN
"Monster" The Automatic 2000s Alternative Green tickY
"Naïve" The Kooks 2000s Indie Rock Red XN
"The Passenger" Iggy Pop 1970s Rock Green tickY
"Real Wild Child" Everlife 2000s Pop/Rock Red XN
"Ride a White Swan" T. Rex 1970s Glam Red XN
"Rooftops (A Liberation Broadcast)" Lostprophets 2000s Rock Red XN
"Ruby" Kaiser Chiefs 2000s Indie Rock Green tickY
"Short and Sweet" Spinal Tap 2000s Rock Red XN
"So What" Pink 2000s Pop/Rock Green tickY
"Song 2" Blur 1990s Alternative Green tickY
"Stumble and Fall" Razorlight 2000s Rock Red XN
"Suddenly I See" KT Tunstall 2000s Rock Green tickY
"Summer of '69" Bryan Adams 1980s Rock Red XN
"Swing, Swing" The All-American Rejects 2000s Emo Green tickY
"Thunder" Boys Like Girls 2000s Emo Red XN
"Tick Tick Boom" The Hives 2000s Punk Red XN
"Two Princes" Spin Doctors 1990s Alternative Green tickY
"Valerie" The Zutons 2000s Pop/Rock Red XN
"Walking on Sunshine" Katrina & the Waves 1980s Pop/Rock Green tickY
"We Are the Champions" Queen 1970s Classic Rock Green tickY
"We Will Rock You" Queen 1970s Classic Rock Green tickY
"Word Up!" Korn 2000s Nu-Metal Red XN
"You Give Love a Bad Name" Bon Jovi 1980s Rock Red XN

Development

File:Lego-david-bowie.jpg
Lego-based mini-figurine avatars of several musicians, including Iggy Pop and David Bowie (pictured) are featured in the game.

Industry rumors circulated in early 2009 of the game's existence[22] and appeared to be true when mention of the game was shown in a slide (that was later removed) in Harmonix's Dan Teasdale's presentation at the 2009 Game Developers Conference.[23] The game was announced officially on April 21, 2009.[7] TT Fusion's head of animation, Mark Palmer, stated that Harmonix had approached Traveler's Tales who, in turn, approached TT Fusion on the game concept around October 2008.[24] At that time, about 50% of the studio was against the concept, but had come around by the end of 2008, realizing that they "weren’t just skinning one franchise on another".[24] Despite skepticism for the viability of the game,[25][26] the game is stated to combine "two compelling properties" by Traveller's Tales managing director Tom Stone, and has been called "a social game experience that crosses every generation and every genre of rock" by MTV Games senior vice president Bob Picunko.[27]

Iggy Pop voices the in-game tutorials for the game, and lends his trademark shirtless image to a Lego avatar for the game.[28] David Bowie, along with his band and a venue loosely based on his music video for "Let's Dance", also appears in the game.[29] The bands Queen, Blur, and Spinal Tap have Lego avatars for the game.[30][31][32][33] In the case of Queen guitarist Brian May, he had required that the developers represent his hair style on his Lego caricature.[34] John Drake of Harmonix stated the presence of Pop and Bowie add "rock credibility" to the family-friendly title.[29] TT Fusion opted to map the motions of the Lego mini-figurines to key frame animation instead of motion capture which had been used on previous Rock Band titles, as it allowed for them to animate more exaggerated motions and effects.[24]

Reception

GameInformer gave the game a score of 8.0, praising some of its new features like the Super Easy mode, but criticizing the soundtrack as hit and miss, and a bit repetitive if the player doesn't have any downloaded songs.[39] Jack DeVries of IGN gave the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions a 7.0/10, calling the presentation "adorable" and "just so damn cute", but still thinks of this game as "half a game for the full price" mainly because of the reduced soundtrack.[37] The Wii version fared less well, receiving a 5.5/10, due to "terrible looks" and "hard to read text."[38] In contrast, the DS version scored an impressive 8.4 from IGN's Craig Harris, who praised it as feeling fresh and new compared to the console versions.[10] GameTrailers gave the game 7.9 criticising the lack of previous features such as online play, and called the Lego presentation superficial, saying the purchase decision will lie squarely on the song preferences.[43]

References

  1. ^ GadgetGuy Review.
  2. ^ Batchelor, James (2009-10-14). "LEGO Rock Band dated". MCV. Retrieved 2009-10-14.
  3. ^ "Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, TT Games, the LEGO Group, Harmonix and MTV Games Reveal LEGO Rock Band for Nintendo DS Details". 2009-08-20. Retrieved 2009-08-20.
  4. ^ http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51%2BXWCg1bXL.jpg
  5. ^ http://e3.gamespot.com/video/6211563/
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Hatfield, Daemon (2009-10-16). "LEGO Rock Band Update". IGN. Retrieved 2009-10-17.
  7. ^ a b c d "Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, TT Games, The LEGO Group, Harmonix and MTV Games Announce LEGO Rock Band". PR Newswire. 2009-04-21. Retrieved 2009-04-21.
  8. ^ a b c d "Lego Rock Band". Microsoft. Retrieved 2009-04-22.
  9. ^ Frushtick, Russ (2009-08-17). "Exclusive Video: 'Lego Rock Band' Gameplay Reveal". MTV Multiplayer. Retrieved 2009-08-17.
  10. ^ a b c d Harris, Craig (2009-11-03). "LEGO Rock Band Review". IGN. Retrieved 2009-11-05.
  11. ^ a b Jackson, Mike (2009-08-19). "GC: Lego Rock Band hits DS". Computer and Video Games. Retrieved 2009-08-19.
  12. ^ a b c "Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and MTV Games Announce LEGO® Rock Band™ Full Track List". BusinessWire.com. 2009-10-12. Retrieved 2009-10-12.
  13. ^ Michaels, Deux (2009-06-02). "Lego Rock Band Fact Sheet". Go Nintendo. Retrieved 2009-06-02.
  14. ^ Makuch, Eddie (2009-07-23). "Sum 41, Counting Crows, Bon Jovi, Blink 182, Linkin Park confirmed for Lego Rock Band". Blast Magazine. Retrieved 2009-07-23.
  15. ^ "Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, TT Games, the LEGO Group, Harmonix and MTV Games Reveal LEGO® Rock Band™ for Nintendo DS™ Details". 2009-08-20. Retrieved 2009-08-20.
  16. ^ "Image: Lego Rock Band advertisement". Gamestop. Retrieved 2009-10-12.
  17. ^ [1]
  18. ^ [2]
  19. ^ Sarkar, Samit (2009-10-12). "'90+ percent' of Lego Rock Band's songs are exportable". Destructoid. Retrieved 2009-10-12.
  20. ^ Kohler, Chris (2009-08-31). "Rock Band News: Lego Songs Exportable, Deets on Queen, White Stripes". Wired. Retrieved 2009-08-31. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  21. ^ Mastrapa, Gus (2009-11-05). "How Lego Rock Band Can Turn Kids On to Parents' Music". Wired. Retrieved 2009-11-05.
  22. ^ Faylor, Chris (2009-01-05). "LEGO Rock Band, LEGO Harry Potter Rumors Swirl". Shacknews. Retrieved 2009-01-05.
  23. ^ McWherter, Michael (2009-04-05). "Harmonix Designer Unwittingly Confirms LEGO Rock Band". Kotaku. Retrieved 2009-04-05.
  24. ^ a b c Crossley, Rob (2009-11-05). "'Around 50%' of TT Fusion were against LEGO Rock Band". Develop. Retrieved 2009-11-05.
  25. ^ Gladstone, Darren (2009-04-23). "9 Lego Games You'll Never See". PC World. Retrieved 2009-04-24. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  26. ^ Sheets, David (2009-04-24). "LEGO + 'Rock Band' = silly". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved 2009-04-24. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  27. ^ Butts, Steve (2009-04-24). "Lego Rock Band". IGN. Retrieved 2009-04-24.
  28. ^ Walk, Gary Eng (2009-09-11). "'Lego Rock Band': no Paul or Ringo, but Iggy pops in". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2009-09-11. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  29. ^ a b Snider, Mike (2009-10-05). "Lust for LEGOs?". USA Today. Retrieved 2009-10-05.
  30. ^ Masters, Time (2009-10-13). "Queen star May hails Muse album". BBC News. Retrieved 2009-10-13.
  31. ^ "Blur Join "LEGO Rock Band": See the Band's Avatars". Rolling Stone. 2009-10-15. Retrieved 2009-10-15.
  32. ^ Chester, Nick (2009-10-20). "Queen brick figures to appear in LEGO Rock Band". Destructoid. Retrieved 2009-10-20.
  33. ^ "This One LEGO's Up to Eleven! Tonight Spinal Tap Rocks Us Tonight"". Harmonix Music Systems. 2009-11-05. Retrieved 2009-11-05.
  34. ^ Purchase, Robert (2009-11-04). "May made LEGO: RB hair demands News". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2009-11-05.
  35. ^ "LEGO Rock Band (xbox 360)". Metacritic. Retrieved 2009-11-05.
  36. ^ "Lego Rock Band for Xbox 360". Game Rankings. Retrieved 2009-11-05.
  37. ^ a b DeVries, Jack (2009-11-03). "LEGO Rock Band Review". IGN. Retrieved 2009-11-05.
  38. ^ a b DeVries, Jack (2009-11-03). "LEGO Rock Band Review". IGN. Retrieved 2009-11-05.
  39. ^ a b Vore, Brian (2009-11-03). "LEGO Rock Band". Game Informer. Retrieved 2009-11-05.
  40. ^ McShea, Tom (2009-11-04). "Lego Rock Band Review". Gamespot. Retrieved 2009-11-05.
  41. ^ Rybicki, Joe (2009-11-03). "The Consensus: LEGO Rock Band Review". Gamespy. Retrieved 2009-11-05.
  42. ^ MacDonald, Kiza (2009-11-25). "LEGO Rock Band". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2009-11-25.
  43. ^ http://www.gametrailers.com/video/review-lego-rock/58645
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