Rock Band 2 hands on, live shots, Ion drum kit, first impressions: woot!
By Joshua Fruhlinger 
posted July 16th 2008 10:08PM
posted July 16th 2008 10:08PM
First, the new guitars not only look better, but they will include some welcome hardware tweaks. The new axe includes an optical sensor that will make syncing the game to your display a breeze. Rather than go through that annoying tap..tap...tap synchronization scheme, all you'll need to do is hold up your controller to your display and it will figure things out with you based on your screen's refresh rate. In addition, the new guitars have been updated with slicker fret controls that make it easier to slide from one to the other. Meanwhile, the strum bar has been tightened up a bit. No clicking, though -- the guys at Harmonix say no one "dreams of playing a metronome" anyway. A dig at Guitar Hero? Perhaps, but if you're looking for some click feedback from your controller, look elsewhere.
Then there's the new drum kit. We already knew that this thing was coming with pressure sensitivity, but the results in play are pretty impressive, adding some serious dynamics to your pad-whacking. The kit also includes three auxiliary outputs to which you can connect cymbals, currently under development by Mad Katz. They promise that the cymbals will be triggered differently than the traditional round pads, adding to your drum solo score.
Speaking of drum kits, the sold-separately and uber-tech Ion "Drum Rocker" kit was also on display. This is the same kit that can be attached to a real drum sound module for those of you who want to take your Rock Band chops and turn them into an actual, stand-alone act. The kit looks very solid, plays like a dream, and for $300 is almost worth it.
On the software side, Harmonix promises 500 songs by year-end. Song browsing has been made to mimic the current music store, and set lists are now officially a part of the game. World Tour mode adds some sim options like choosing a manager or even letting your mom set up your gigs all the while cleaning your underwear. Really. We wouldn't make that up. There are also some new venues to check out, including Tokyo and Tijuana. Finally, a "no-fail" mode has been added for those moments when you have some less-than-coordinated guests over and don't want to embarrass them. And don't forget, Harmonix has stated that "most" songs from the original game can be ported over to the new one barring any licensing issues though which they're currently working.
So there you have it, kids: Rock Band 2 in full gory glory.
Yes! Cannot wait for Rock Band 2! Only problem: PS3 user, so delayed launch. :(
Xbox 360 User
THIS WAS A TRIUMPH,
WE DO WHAT WE MUST BECAUSE WE CAN (continued with next commenter)
How about no.
Cannot wait! Only problem is: PS3 has a delayed launch. :/
That's what she said...
sorry, had to do it, :op
YAY. I cannot wait, there is a problem though. The ps3 has a late launch. =[
Delaystation.
Get used to it, or get rid of it.
Wow.
"The kit looks very solid, plays like a dream, and for $300 is almost worth it."
Your serious? $300 for ONE peripheral? Either you are in tunnel vision of this over-hyped game, or you have too much money to know what to do with.
Insane.
LUL i xbox 360 user and i get a good release date!!!
Sounds great! Love the No-Fail mode!!!
WOOOO!!!
Sorry, but I can't wait for Rock Band 2!!
I have Rock Band for the 360 and love it!
This will be a welcome addition to our living room!
Three comments in a row about the delayed launch? Well, this is why I'm getting the 360 version. :P
Major spelling error in gallery album name...
It would be great if they'd feature some real, legendary clubs. Play Budokan, CBGB's, The Black Cat, Fort Reno Park, etc. The Ion Drum kit looks amazing; if only the game would support the extra inputs by adding separate, unique cues in the game for the additional pads.
Yes! Cannot wait for this. Only problem, 360 owner so... uh... oh wait. Yay! I would also like to see a Canadian city in this one, just because. Toronto or Montreal? Quebec City? They all have good music scenes, even Calgary!
Can the microphone be used for Audio synchronization as well?
What symbol is behing the drums in that picture? Hmmmmm.... bass guitar?
Nope, bass guitar is to the left of the drum symbol, so it is... lead guitar...
I'm also interested about Rock Bans 2 as advertised in the gallery name...
In the words of Peter Griffin..
"freakin' sweet!"
"no freakin' way!!"
wayyy
I'll go with WiiMusic. Who needs physical devices if you can create great music by simply shake around like a monkey. Pfff.
Why don't I just go listen to my ipod and wave my hands in the air? Already am I doing more than half of what you can do with Wii Music.
500 songs?
Guess I'm not waiting for Guitar Hero: WT anymore!!!
Those Ion drums look freakin' sweet! But seriously, if this is going to be my first Rock Band game, I'm not spending over $450 for everything!!!
Oh, and those stock drums had better be quieter than my Xbox 360 (that's not a hard benchmark to reach, Harmonix!)
est. Price Breakdown:
Rock Band 2 Game: $60
Two Wireless Guitars/basses: $60+$60=$120
One Ion drum set: $300
Not being able to play a real instrument: Priceless
Dude, just install the game to your hard drive! No noise at all!
Uh.. since you're adding things up, don't forget that you have to PAY for those 500 songs.
And I think I'd rather play a drum kit with cymbals that are aware that they're cymbals (not just the blue and yellow toms duplicated and suspended in the air). GH:WT is going to own this game. For one round, anyway.
glad i have a 360... wonder if they'll sell the drum kit separately, i need some new cans.
Finally, some nice pics of the gear. HUGE QUESTION: You have a photo of the back of the RB2 kit (non-Ion) and it has three colored inputs, including orange. I'm assuming these are for the cymbals. Orange is not a color of one of the pads. Does this mean that you can actually add a fifth color to the RB2 kit, making it basically the same as the GH:WT kit? Wouldn't that mean, since Activision said the RB instruments are compatible with GH:WT, that if you bought an orange cymbal then you could play GH:WT in all of its five-color glory and not the "condensed" drum note charts? Any clarification on that very much appreciated.
Bah! Never mind. It looks like one of the pads on the new RB2 kit IS orange. Wasn't it yellow in the first kit? Any way, guess that means the answer to my question is no.
I think it's just the lighting in the photos.
That must be it because I looked at the websites for both RB and RB2 and both kits have yellow pads where the photo shows orange (I would've checked my own kit but it's packed for my move). Either way, doesn't like like you can add a fifth color to the kit.
orange is the color of the foot pedal
As far as I knew, Rock Band altered the song charts so that there was an extra column for the symbol.
don't quote me on that.
I played Rock Band for the first time last week, and found out I was godly. I was able to play most things on hard or medium, and could even do some of the easy-middle ones of expert. I thought this was funny, because they asked, "how are you so good?" And it was because I play the Ukulele... I thought it was funny.
Boooooooo. You can play easy songs on expert. Wow you're godly.
They should make an official solution for double kick pedals. Maybe use one of those auxiliary ports.
Yeah I would totally care more about this if I knew it would make it New Zealand (or at least Australia!). We're still waiting for Rock Band 1.
That sucks, Australia
Your rugby is very good
George Gregan was god
So are those drums and mic wireless?
Drums are wireless, mic is not.
Ok i can live with that. Thanks! Any chance however the Lips mic will work with RBII?
why make the drums wireless?
they dont move anyways...
Well depending how far away your 360 is from a chair or sofa it can be quite useful. The cable on the current Drums just makes it for me (luckily i'm borrowing my friend's that i'm borrowing since his 360 RRODed so i won't have to buy another drum set) so a wireless drum set is a welcome addition.
Wired drums make for great "The Who" moments...
Another HUGE question: if I don't want to spend $200 for a drum brain, can I just hook this up as a USB midi device to my PC or Mac?
If so, this is an INSTANT purchase, even inflated $100 over its true worth.
I'm curious about this myself. I'm assuming it hooks up to the consoles via USB, whether the cable is built in usb or requires an adapter. I've done a bit of perusing of drum modules and I can't recall seeing any mention having a hookup for USB, but of course I'm not too familiar with e-drums, so if anybody could clarify this I'd be most appreciative as well.
Also, if it can hook up directly to a PC, what kind of good quality software solutions exist that would let you take advantage of the Ion drums?
I would imagine that FL Studio would have that sort of functionality. Torrent it to find out first though. It's one expensive piece of software lol...
Is RB2 gonna work with GH4 instruments? I mean I really want Rockband for the songs but I already reordered GH4 and that Im looking foreword to GH4 features too I just dont want to buy another set of instruments.