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Forums - Gaming Discussion - IGN Rock Band 2 Review 9.0!?

yo_john117 said:
|_emmiwinks said:
SHMUPGurus said:
JaggedSac said:
kingofwale said:
how is a game... with no innvoation whatsoever, getting 9?

What does that say to EA? Hey, bring out the same Madden every year, we will guarantee you a high score!

 

Maybe because it is fun as ****.  And isn't that what reviews should be about.  Entertainment value.  And that is what video games are all about.

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption was fun as ****. What score did it receive on different review sites? :/

I'm predicting that Rock Band 2 will score high as an EXPANSION, but Guitar Hero: World Tour will score lower because it's a SEQUEL. Pretty stupid if you ask me!

 

Whats an expansion here?? New graphics, new interface, Online World Tour Mode, Drum Trainer, Battle of the Bands, Song/artist/band/misc song challenges, an equal number of added customizing options as the original, an equal number of venues added as the first one, more songs on disc then the first one, upgraded rankings systems, juke box mode and multiple other additions all point to this being more than a fricking expansion.

Add all that to the fact that it includes the customization options, venues and the DLC of the first Rock Band and this is basically Rock Band times 2, not a sequel at all.

The people in here bawling about this score obviously haven't looked into what is in RB2 before coming in here to bitch.

And to the OP, you sure didnt praise GH, but I know you, to your very soul. Plus Ive seen your GHWT tracklist thread. If you arent hot for that game (and then giving me at least motive for this stupid thread and saying you dislike RB) then Im a monkey's uncle.

I still dont get people that hate Rock Band and love Guitar Hero and act like Harmonix are the bad guys. They made the game you are all in love with. You should show some damned loyalty to an extent.

 

 

you tell em lemmiwinks!!!

Oh god, I can't believe I'm going to have to post an entire wall of text here, but here goes nothing.

What did Harmonix innovate on Rock Band 2 here, seriously? They took the same engine they've made since Guitar Hero 2 (hammer-on issues are still there, mostly), added a few extra ''bonus features'' and changed some bits on the UI, and it still got an higher score than most sequels would never be able to get (unless it contains the word Halo somewhere or something). Also, let's not forget that Harmonix are not even going to try to make the Wii version decent because of many controller restrictions, and apparently, they didn't even follow Nintendo's guideline for game accessories (remind me that it uses stupid USB ports, nothing to do with the remote). They even RECONSIDERED adding downloadable content on the Wii AFTER RedOctane/Neversoft said that they will include DLC for the Wii. How silly is that? Who's trying to bring the best content here? Did Harmonix really need a kick in the butt to do all this? I seriously think they are the selfish ''we like money'' type of developer when you scratch on the top of the whole situation here. I seriously got sick of their bullshit that they're giving to consumers, making it timed-exclusive and all as well (Europe players are getting screwed again...).

RedOctane/Neversoft, on the other hand, is having a COMPLETE change to their engine, creates a completely new guitar and drum kit (with 6 buttons). Sure, you might say it's ''copied'' and shit, but look at Harmonix trying to make their drum ''touch-sensitive'' right after that Guitar Hero: World Tour presentation this last E3, or other things like that (Beginner mode comes in mind as well). I have to say though, competition is a good thing in this market, and it seems to me that World Tour is trying to give us more of what we like here: A music editor that can double, even quadruple (and even give us the whole Rock Band 2 soundtrack while we're at it), the current number of songs available on the disk, the same Battle of the Bands style of multiplayer, some better controller-compatibility for Wii/360 (maybe PS3) owners at some extent (huge selling point here), NO TIMED-EXCLUSIVITY, etc. Too bad reviewers might not see it that way though, since it's not Harmonix. >_>

Harmonix might have recreated the whole genre, but never forget that without RedOctane, there wouldn't have been Guitar Hero in the first place. Harmonix doesn't seem to know where they want to go with all this rythm game genre. I have to admit though, I'll be playing Rock Band 2 one way or the other because my brother is getting both games anyway...! o_o



Random game thought :
Why is Bionic Commando Rearmed 2 getting so much hate? We finally get a real game and they're not even satisfied... I'm starting to hate the gaming community so f****** much...

Watch my insane gameplay videos on my YouTube page!

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SHMUPGurus said:

Oh god, I can't believe I'm going to have to post an entire wall of text here, but here goes nothing.

What did Harmonix innovate on Rock Band 2 here, seriously? They took the same engine they've made since Guitar Hero 2 (hammer-on issues are still there, mostly), added a few extra ''bonus features'' and changed some bits on the UI, and it still got an higher score than most sequels would never be able to get (unless it contains the word Halo somewhere or something). Also, let's not forget that Harmonix are not even going to try to make the Wii version decent because of many controller restrictions, and apparently, they didn't even follow Nintendo's guideline for game accessories (remind me that it uses stupid USB ports, nothing to do with the remote). They even RECONSIDERED adding downloadable content on the Wii AFTER RedOctane/Neversoft said that they will include DLC for the Wii. How silly is that? Who's trying to bring the best content here? Did Harmonix really need a kick in the butt to do all this? I seriously think they are the selfish ''we like money'' type of developer when you scratch on the top of the whole situation here. I seriously got sick of their bullshit that they're giving to consumers, making it timed-exclusive and all as well (Europe players are getting screwed again...).

RedOctane/Neversoft, on the other hand, is having a COMPLETE change to their engine, creates a completely new guitar and drum kit (with 6 buttons). Sure, you might say it's ''copied'' and shit, but look at Harmonix trying to make their drum ''touch-sensitive'' right after that Guitar Hero: World Tour presentation this last E3, or other things like that (Beginner mode comes in mind as well). I have to say though, competition is a good thing in this market, and it seems to me that World Tour is trying to give us more of what we like here: A music editor that can double, even quadruple (and even give us the whole Rock Band 2 soundtrack while we're at it), the current number of songs available on the disk, the same Battle of the Bands style of multiplayer, some better controller-compatibility for Wii/360 (maybe PS3) owners at some extent (huge selling point here), NO TIMED-EXCLUSIVITY, etc. Too bad reviewers might not see it that way though, since it's not Harmonix. >_>

Harmonix might have recreated the whole genre, but never forget that without RedOctane, there wouldn't have been Guitar Hero in the first place. Harmonix doesn't seem to know where they want to go with all this rythm game genre. I have to admit though, I'll be playing Rock Band 2 one way or the other because my brother is getting both games anyway...! o_o

It appears that most of your ire seems directed towards their dealings with M$ and their treatment of the Wii version.  Both of those factors mean jack shit to me.  And why are you saying that Harmonix doesn't know where to go with the rythm game genre when GHWT is the one playing catch-up(of course they are going to change their engine, althought I doubt it was a complete rewrite, and in fact copy they have the exact same UI as RB).  Lets see how many offshoots from GHWT are released within a year...Metallica, another Aerosmith, etc.  Harmonix treats their customers(at least 360 customers, and those are the only ones I care about) very well with new DLC available every week.  I will have around 200 songs on Sunday to play on RB2.  I am going to get GHWT, but GH3 left a bad taste in my mouth.  The music generator is a great idea but not sure how good of an interface you can have when doing that sort of stuff on a console, and the lack of vocals is a sore spot as well.

 



JaggedSac said:

It appears that most of your ire seems directed towards their dealings with M$ and their treatment of the Wii version.  Both of those factors mean jack shit to me.  And why are you saying that Harmonix doesn't know where to go with the rythm game genre when GHWT is the one playing catch-up(of course they are going to change their engine, althought I doubt it was a complete rewrite, and in fact copy they have the exact same UI as RB).  Lets see how many offshoots from GHWT are released within a year...Metallica, another Aerosmith, etc.  Harmonix treats their customers(at least 360 customers, and those are the only ones I care about) very well with new DLC available every week.  I will have around 200 songs on Sunday to play on RB2.  I am going to get GHWT, but GH3 left a bad taste in my mouth.  The music generator is a great idea but not sure how good of an interface you can have when doing that sort of stuff on a console, and the lack of vocals is a sore spot as well.

 

The lack of vocals is definitely a point we can argue about here. It is obvious that if Harmonix comes out with a song creator, both developers will definitely be fighting to find a way to make it possible in their future games. When you think about it though, you wouldn't want to listen to a 10 years old girl singing in a mic with breath sounds all the time, would you? ;)

What I meant with Harmonix doesn't know where to go with the rythm game genre is that they needed a serious threat to move their act together, especially with the Wii DLC (yes, again, because there are Wii-only owners on the planet). I wonder what Rock Band 2 would have been if RedOctane/Neversoft would have just shut up the whole time until a month before the release. I'm sure it would have been quite a show...!

 



Random game thought :
Why is Bionic Commando Rearmed 2 getting so much hate? We finally get a real game and they're not even satisfied... I'm starting to hate the gaming community so f****** much...

Watch my insane gameplay videos on my YouTube page!

JaggedSac said:
SHMUPGurus said:

Oh god, I can't believe I'm going to have to post an entire wall of text here, but here goes nothing.

What did Harmonix innovate on Rock Band 2 here, seriously? They took the same engine they've made since Guitar Hero 2 (hammer-on issues are still there, mostly), added a few extra ''bonus features'' and changed some bits on the UI, and it still got an higher score than most sequels would never be able to get (unless it contains the word Halo somewhere or something). Also, let's not forget that Harmonix are not even going to try to make the Wii version decent because of many controller restrictions, and apparently, they didn't even follow Nintendo's guideline for game accessories (remind me that it uses stupid USB ports, nothing to do with the remote). They even RECONSIDERED adding downloadable content on the Wii AFTER RedOctane/Neversoft said that they will include DLC for the Wii. How silly is that? Who's trying to bring the best content here? Did Harmonix really need a kick in the butt to do all this? I seriously think they are the selfish ''we like money'' type of developer when you scratch on the top of the whole situation here. I seriously got sick of their bullshit that they're giving to consumers, making it timed-exclusive and all as well (Europe players are getting screwed again...).

RedOctane/Neversoft, on the other hand, is having a COMPLETE change to their engine, creates a completely new guitar and drum kit (with 6 buttons). Sure, you might say it's ''copied'' and shit, but look at Harmonix trying to make their drum ''touch-sensitive'' right after that Guitar Hero: World Tour presentation this last E3, or other things like that (Beginner mode comes in mind as well). I have to say though, competition is a good thing in this market, and it seems to me that World Tour is trying to give us more of what we like here: A music editor that can double, even quadruple (and even give us the whole Rock Band 2 soundtrack while we're at it), the current number of songs available on the disk, the same Battle of the Bands style of multiplayer, some better controller-compatibility for Wii/360 (maybe PS3) owners at some extent (huge selling point here), NO TIMED-EXCLUSIVITY, etc. Too bad reviewers might not see it that way though, since it's not Harmonix. >_>

Harmonix might have recreated the whole genre, but never forget that without RedOctane, there wouldn't have been Guitar Hero in the first place. Harmonix doesn't seem to know where they want to go with all this rythm game genre. I have to admit though, I'll be playing Rock Band 2 one way or the other because my brother is getting both games anyway...! o_o

It appears that most of your ire seems directed towards their dealings with M$ and their treatment of the Wii version.  Both of those factors mean jack shit to me.  And why are you saying that Harmonix doesn't know where to go with the rythm game genre when GHWT is the one playing catch-up(of course they are going to change their engine, althought I doubt it was a complete rewrite, and in fact copy they have the exact same UI as RB).  Lets see how many offshoots from GHWT are released within a year...Metallica, another Aerosmith, etc.  Harmonix treats their customers(at least 360 customers, and those are the only ones I care about) very well with new DLC available every week.  I will have around 200 songs on Sunday to play on RB2.  I am going to get GHWT, but GH3 left a bad taste in my mouth.  The music generator is a great idea but not sure how good of an interface you can have when doing that sort of stuff on a console, and the lack of vocals is a sore spot as well.

 

A lot of the arguments you use against Harmonix SHMUP you can turn around you and say the exact same thing to Activision.  You derided Harmonix for needing a "kick in the pants" but I would say Neversoft needed one just as badly after the lazy cash-ins of the Guitar Hero franchise that were both GH:3 and GH:Aerosmith.  You condemn Harmonix for "copying" the GH:WT drums and DLC for the Wii, but write-off any similarities that Activision has taken with their product.  You play up the "music generator" but totally ignore the continuing weekly commitment to bring worthwhile content to RB owners.  Content that is priced the most competitive on the market thus far.  This isn't a personal attack but it seems your argument rests more on emotion of the developer than the content that it brings.

EDIT: Just saw your last point and wanted to add...

Again you could say the same thing about Activision...where would we be with the Guitar Hero franchise if Rock Band never came along?  The simple fact is that besides what series you prefer having two successful franchises on the market is only going to force each other to continue to improve their product.  Is it not true that in this instance everyone wins?  Trying to deride one for doing so while praising the other seems an exercise in futility imho.



Completed X360:
High Def Movie Collection

the original RB got a 9.4, what made you guys think it would drop the second one would drop to under 9 just because it doesn't really bring much innovations?

fun factor doesn't drop that much (especially for rythm games)

I'm a critic of the EA sports system aswell and would like to see game with zero innovations over 3-4 yearly editions getting lower scores, but you can't just rate them a 7 if the gameplay is ace



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jasonnc80 said:

A lot of the arguments you use against Harmonix SHMUP you can turn around you and say the exact same thing to Activision.  You derided Harmonix for needing a "kick in the pants" but I would say Neversoft needed one just as badly after the lazy cash-ins of the Guitar Hero franchise that were both GH:3 and GH:Aerosmith.  You condemn Harmonix for "copying" the GH:WT drums and DLC for the Wii, but write-off any similarities that Activision has taken with their product.  You play up the "music generator" but totally ignore the continuing weekly commitment to bring worthwhile content to RB owners.  Content that is priced the most competitive on the market thus far.  This isn't a personal attack but it seems your argument rests more on emotion of the developer than the content that it brings.

Well, seriously here, how can you say Guitar Hero 3 was a quick cash-in? It was the next-gen sequel to the Guitar Hero series, meaning it was much needed to bring another one out during the beginning of the generation. I have to agree though, Aerosmith was money made easily, but I'd rather pay $60 for 41 songs than 41 songs ranging from an average $2 each. Besides, you know what you're getting into with Aerosmith, Aerosmith songs, and if you don't like the band, don't buy the game. o_o

Also, about your second point, I did say that competition was much needed, and also said that it seems to me that World Tour is going to offer as much as Rock Band, but with a little bit more things that I prefer compared to the RB games. First thing to point out is the difficulty with the Guitar (Bass is even worse), which is definitely not up there in Rock Band. Second thing to point out, the song creator, which is a cool little extra that can upgrade your playtime up a superior notch. Don't forget to add as well exclusive FULL albums for World Tour (mostly talking about Death Magnetic here... lulz!).

And yes, I seriously have a grudge against Harmonix for their insolence toward their ''other'' customers, and this guy needs to die FAST:

Stupid arrogant b@stard! >_<

*EDIT: To say something about your edit, please refer to my second paragraph. It was much needed.



Random game thought :
Why is Bionic Commando Rearmed 2 getting so much hate? We finally get a real game and they're not even satisfied... I'm starting to hate the gaming community so f****** much...

Watch my insane gameplay videos on my YouTube page!

@Valkyria You have not played Rock Band (Demo doesnt really count). The game is amazing as it is. I have yet to get my hands on RB2, but 9.0 definitely does not seem unreasonable. I recommend you pick the game up.



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SHMUPGurus said:
... Yep, watch RB 2 get a better Metacritic average score than GH:World Tour... Just because IGN and all the other big review sites know about the huge confrontation between RedOctane/Neversoft and Harmonix.

I mean, hey, Harmonix give free tickets to shows, make an expansion pack to Rock Band, and keep screwing Wii owners all the time! They're so cool! =P

 

Were they reviewing the Wii version? No they were not. So what does that have to do with anything?



My consoles and the fates they suffered:

Atari 7800 (Sold), Intellivision (Thrown out), Gameboy (Lost), Super Nintendo (Stolen), Super Nintendo (2nd copy) (Thrown out by mother), Nintendo 64 (Still own), Super Nintendo (3rd copy) (Still own), Wii (Sold)

A more detailed history appears on my profile.

jalsonmi said:
SHMUPGurus said:
... Yep, watch RB 2 get a better Metacritic average score than GH:World Tour... Just because IGN and all the other big review sites know about the huge confrontation between RedOctane/Neversoft and Harmonix.

I mean, hey, Harmonix give free tickets to shows, make an expansion pack to Rock Band, and keep screwing Wii owners all the time! They're so cool! =P

 

Were they reviewing the Wii version? No they were not. So what does that have to do with anything?

Wait, you mean it shouldn't be the same product? Nice to know! =P

 



Random game thought :
Why is Bionic Commando Rearmed 2 getting so much hate? We finally get a real game and they're not even satisfied... I'm starting to hate the gaming community so f****** much...

Watch my insane gameplay videos on my YouTube page!

SHMUPGurus said:
jasonnc80 said:

A lot of the arguments you use against Harmonix SHMUP you can turn around you and say the exact same thing to Activision.  You derided Harmonix for needing a "kick in the pants" but I would say Neversoft needed one just as badly after the lazy cash-ins of the Guitar Hero franchise that were both GH:3 and GH:Aerosmith.  You condemn Harmonix for "copying" the GH:WT drums and DLC for the Wii, but write-off any similarities that Activision has taken with their product.  You play up the "music generator" but totally ignore the continuing weekly commitment to bring worthwhile content to RB owners.  Content that is priced the most competitive on the market thus far.  This isn't a personal attack but it seems your argument rests more on emotion of the developer than the content that it brings.

Well, seriously here, how can you say Guitar Hero 3 was a quick cash-in? It was the next-gen sequel to the Guitar Hero series, meaning it was much needed to bring another one out during the beginning of the generation. I have to agree though, Aerosmith was money made easily, but I'd rather pay $60 for 41 songs than 41 songs ranging from an average $2 each. Besides, you know what you're getting into with Aerosmith, Aerosmith songs, and if you don't like the band, don't buy the game. o_o

Also, about your second point, I did say that competition was much needed, and also said that it seems to me that World Tour is going to offer as much as Rock Band, but with a little bit more things that I prefer compared to the RB games. First thing to point out is the difficulty with the Guitar (Bass is even worse), which is definitely not up there in Rock Band. Second thing to point out, the song creator, which is a cool little extra that can upgrade your playtime up a superior notch. Don't forget to add as well exclusive FULL albums for World Tour.

And yes, I seriously have a grudge against Harmonix for their insolence toward their ''other'' customers, and this guy needs to die FAST:

Stupid arrogant b@stard! >_<

*EDIT: To say something about your edit, please refer to my second paragraph. It was much needed.

I was maybe harsh about Guitar Hero 3 being a cash-in but in all fairness it didn't seem to bring a lot to the table as far as innovation over the "last gen" games.  That was mainly my point....that both parties to some extent could be guilty of the same thing.  Trying to criticise one while ignoring the other just seemed a little unfair to me. I don't unjustly hate one or the other (check my gamerscore I've played them all quite a bit including GH1 at my brother-in-laws) I was just trying to stick up a little for what I felt was some unworthy criticism.  It wasn't totally directed at you either, it seems a lot of people in the thread just wanted to jump to conclusions before getting a hands-on themselves.



Completed X360:
High Def Movie Collection