Xbox 360 Rock Band 2 Special Edition

Rock Band 2 is easily the game I've played and enjoyed more often than any other in decades of playing games. The feeling of interacting with music you love by "playing" it is incredibly enjoyable and addictive. It's amazing with a group of people, as not only is the root gameplay a blast on all instruments, but it's also designed to encourage cooperation between the band members. When your pretend band is in a groove, and everybody's having a blast, it's like nothing else (except maybe playing in a real band).While Rock Band 1 was a great time, they made several welcome improvements to the hardware and software for the second version, and continued to do so with downloadable patches. I won't go into too many specifics about the game improvements, since I'm guessing hardly anyone is still only playing Rock Band 1 these days. If you are, just go out and find a copy of Rock Band 2 right now. You'll be thrilled at how much easier it is to navigate in the game, set up quick play sessions with friends, etc.The basic game is the now-standard rhythm set-up, with colored "notes" coming down the screen, and the players either hold the matching colored button amd strum in time (on guitar or bass parts), or hit the same colored drum in tempo. For singers, the lyrics are displayed karaoke style, with the addition of a pitch indicator to show you if your vocals are too low, too high or just right. Behind these lanes of note are fun "performances" by digital band members. These use great camera angles that are cut on the beat, and feature the characters performing great rock star moves that always reflect the energy of the song. The developer, Harmonix, studied tons of rock documentary films, and they've captured that look of filmed live performances beautifully.The hardware saw significant upgrades between Rock Band 1 and 2. The stock guitar is now wireless, which is a huge plus. They also upgraded the fret buttons, which are now much quieter, and the strum bar is more reliable. A nifty feature in the guitar is the auto-calibration, where the guitar reacts to flashes and tones from the game to figure out if your AV system has any audio or video lag, and syncs up the game accordingly. You probably won't use it much, unless you take the game to other people's houses, but it works great. The guitar also got a cosmetic upgrade, with a nice woodgrain added to the neck and head.The drums are vastly improved over the original models. They're wireless, which makes them much easier to deal with. They're also considerably quieter, thanks to a rubber-like surface over the heads. Gone is the sharp plastic whacking sound of the Rock Band 1 drum set. The new surface also give the drums a bit more rebound, which makes playing fast fills a bit easier. They're not as bouncy as real drum heads, but they're a lot better. A subtle addition is the new heads are velocity sensitive, so a harder hit makes a louder drum sound in the game. This only really shows up in the game during the free-form fills, but it makes the free-style drumming mode a lot more interesting. You can also buy separate cymbals for the new drum set, if you want to make things feel even more "real."Then there's the best thing about Rock Band 2: the music. The selection on disc is both plentiful and broad in scope. This breadth probably means there's a song or two you won't like, but that's a small price to pay for such a diverse selection. Plus, there is just a ton of great downloadable music to choose from. The online music store, accessible from within the game or through XBox Live, has hundreds of tracks available. They range from classic rock from the 60's up to some current songs being released the same day as the actual album. Just about every genre is represented, so even though musical tastes vary drastically, you're sure to find plenty you like.Rock Band 2 has provided me and my friends with literally hundreds of hours of enjoyment. Having tried every iteration of the competing Guitar Hero games, it's still my favorite game in the genre. Harmonix did so much right in designing it, and it has a certain soul that the competing games lack. I can't recommend it enough for any music-game fan.

Quite an improvement over the first Rock Band. I especially love the wireless guitar and wireless drums. The mic even sounds better. The game play is also very much improved with the "no fail" mode and the ability for any player to play any instrument they choose - you are not stuck just being able to assign one instrument to a particular player. The only thing I could say negative about it all is the lack of really good songs available. Even at the marketplace where you can pay for and download tunes (about $2 a song) there is really not that great of a selection like you'd think. And the ones that come with the game are much like the first Rock Band was - half are ones you know and half are not. However, only the singer really has to struggle with not knowing the song. Everyone else playing an instrument just follows the track.Anyhow, back on topic, Rock Band 2 is a fantastic game set. The instruments are much better this time around. Once you go wireless you won't go back. And, at $100, what a deal! I'm happy with it....... as are my friends that come over to play often.

While my boyfriend really enjoy this game, at times a little too much, I do have a few complaints. The first is that the instructions are not very clear as to the point of the game. It tells all about the instruments and what not, but it doesn't tell you about the differences between the different game to play ie: challenges vs. tours.Also, we are not super impressed with the music selection as a whole, but it is better than I expected it to be. Just bummed that we will have to pay more money to download stuff we actually like. It seems, that for the amount we spent on it, it should be an option to spend your "tour money" earned on new songs and such. Like, a built in part of the game.

The media could not be loaded.  Everything other than the guitar works great but I couldn't give 5 stars because the guitar is broken. Fortunately guitar hero guitars work with rockband and I was able to make it work.

When I first received this game, I have to admit that the guitar was not working right. I was disappointed, especially since I had heard so many bad things about the EA customer service. But I went online to report the broken guitar, submitted my claim and asked for a replacement. Within hours, I received information about how to process the claim and receive my new guitar. I chose the option for them to send the replacement before I even sent the broken one back (yes, they put a deposit "hold" on your credit card to guarantee you actually return the broken item). I received the new guitar within two days!! It works great and I've had no problems since! I thought the EA customer service was great! Had no problems at all and was impressed with their fast response. This is a great game - a lot of fun for everyone and I love it!!!

Everything I received was mostly functional. The guitar's tilt detection is really spotty and the directional pad is highly unresponsive, though that is to be expected from older electronics. Didn't come with guitar strap for guitar. Seller was very helpful with concerns about shipping and very professional. Overall I'm mostly satisfied with the purchase.

Rockband 2 does ROCK!! I got it at Amazon cheaper than any other Christmas sale in our recession - and that includes S&H!!!My husband LOVES it and is constantly playing it. In fact, he is buying other versions and rocking out to them too! Beatles anyone?The only problem we had was the foot thingee for the drums didn't work. It ended being a problem in the drum set, so they sent us a new one and it worked fine.My husband, my son, and I rock out several times a week to this game and enjoy our "family time" as a rock band.My husband goes through video games like there's no tomorrow. But Rockband 2 - he is going back to over and over and over again. He LOVES it!!!

Everything looks in good condition. Mic and drums are good. One key on the guitar is finicky, but with a game this old that is probably expected.

I miss my Rock Band days. This game had me so addicted, spending money to purchase new songs. I'm not going to lie I am terrible at the guitar...like absolutely suck. I feel like I am an extremely solid drummer though. Can't hold a tune, but still loved singing to this game to!

DO NOT BUY! Drums do not work and guitar only sometimes. The worst investment I’ve ever made. Better to wait for a cheap set locally. Complete garbage.

fun, easy, for kids adult grand mother, many tune and all games are haapiest. i will sugere to all my familly