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.
Well, I believe RB1 works with GH3 instruments, and HMX is fairly dedicated to an open platform, so I'd imagine so. You just might not get much use out of the fifth drum color (orange) or it might map to duplicate another color. Also, I don't think the slide feature on the new GH guitar would be implemented in RB2. Other than that though, probably.
+1 on that.
I like Harmonix and all, but the GH instruments look alot better than the RB ones this time around. I just sold off all my RB stuff from the PS2 so I could buy a PS3. Hopefully I can buy the GH:WT kit and use it on Rock Band without having to keep two drum kits around.
I like it
To bad rockband 1 isnt even out here in Australia yet!
will we just skip 1 and go direct too 2?
I want to give Harmonix my money I REALLY do but they have not even announced a tentative release date which is a Joke.
unfortunately for me guitar hero wins but its only by default and not by my choosing
my friend ordered a set of ebay. he said they were worth the trouble.
Where's the hi-hat pedal? :( I was really hoping they'd add that in the second game.
I'd take a real kick drum pedal over a high hat any day.
"I'd take a real kick drum pedal over a high hat any day."
Agreed, but whoever said "less is more" is a filthy liar :) Both would be nice, though apparently not in the cards.
I've been keen to see what s/w updates they will come up with in RB2, but two things really bug me (particularly because I've enjoyed the drums)...
Foremost, why is the drum lag (on 360) so bad??? Am I the only one that finds it irritating to have to hit the drums ahead of the beat all the time? I configured the game to "account" for lag, but let's face it, all this does is give you 'grace time' to hit the pad. Once you go into solo mode, the lag shows it's ugly face - and even worse when you've configured the game with some lag correction.
Second, they allude here to how many of us would love a "free" play mode for just beating the drums for fun (by mentioning the new kit can be plugged into a sound module)... do the not include this in RB because it would reveal the lag problems I mentioned above?
Just wondering if I'm the only one affected/annoyed by this. Normal 360 controllers respond to button/triggers instantly, I'm curious why they can't get the same responsiveness out of the drum kit. Sure it's cheap hardware, but...
Calibrate your system.
Seriously..
Every other load screen reminds you to do this.
Read them sometime.
LOL Ordeith try *reading* a post before replying... *like I said* I did calibrate, and to no avail. The lag can be as bad as 200ms, and it's not the TV/audio system anyway, cuz the lag ain't there on the guitars.
So here's my question. If I add another cymbal to the RB2 drums, will it be fully compatible with GH4 in the 5 note mode, as opposed to the 4 note mode?
They stated that RB equipment works with GH, but not the other way around. The RB drumset only adds cymbals for a look and feel. They don't add more functionality, they just double as another color, to make you feel cooler while you cross your arms.
Hmm, in that case it seems like its better to buy at least the GH4 drums if planning on using it for both games.
And I assume you're wrong about the GH instruments working on RB, even if it hasn't been announced, just because Harmonix has always allowed the GH guitar to work in RB (at least on the 360 which is the one I'd get.)
Wow GH is totally gonna kill RB. Sure RB has more songs off the bat, but GH is gonna have a better kit, better guitar, and better gameplay. Sorry.
Better gameplay? Did you play Guitar Hero 3? I couldn't ever go back once I played Rock Band.
look at that device on the lower left . . is that a rock band branded smoke machine? and there is some kind of controller beside it ?
You bet your ass!1 http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/26/rock-band-stage-kit-smoke-machine-and-strobe-light-in-pictures/
In the pic of the song selection screen, it says there are 58 Rock Band 1 songs to choose from. How many were on the disk?
Also, what is that thing that's under the blue pad of the standard drum kit? Is that a sensor for the calibration? I haven't heard anything about there being one on the drums
Okay, this is interesting. You say the pressure sensitivity shows up in gameplay.
This wouldn't work with how RB 1 handles the drums. Your hits don't trigger sounds at all - the game just plays back the master drum track, and drops it out if you screw up (frequently it drops out a couple of beats *after* you screw up - so you screw up on a hi-hat, but the game plays the hi-hat sound correctly and then drops out a bass beat). Unless it just dynamically adjusts the volume on the master track (which I can't see sounding too good), does this mean they're now using a more Drummania-like system, where each drum hit in the song is handled separately and actually triggered (or not) by your hit on the pad? Details! Need details!
Thay should add the glasgow barrowlands in as a venue :(. I know its not the largest place ever but its one of the best venues imho
My band is on this!!!
Isn't it spelled w00t?
"No fail mode" is a great addition as the only people I've played with are my kids and my nephews, none over 8 years old. However, what I'd also like to see is a free play mode. You set the drum sounds and guitar sounds and play whatever you want. Aside from this being fun for the kids, it would be fun for me too. Anyway, it sounds great, but I hope they release a PS2 version (yeah, I'm probably the only one who cares, but I don't have a PS3 or 360 and even though I'll probably get a Wii, I'd rather have the PS2 version since I can use those instruments on the PS3 which I will get eventually, just not any time soon.)
Question about the drums:
Sure, part of the foot pedal looks metal... but the base is still plastic, and probably will still break from excessive force. Wondering if - say - an actual drummer were to use these, would he break these things too? Or is is supposedly stronger just because it has a little metal in it? Known a few friends who are actual drummers - use the first set - and the kick pedal always breaks on them.
Nobody dreams of playing a metronome? That's funny, I don't think anybody dreams of playing a 5 button plastic guitar either. I thought there was supposed to be a game using real guitars soon. Any word on that?
that picture with the 3 holes for the extra cymbals....Green, Blue and is that Orange or Yellow?!
if it's Orange, then It could mean....dual pedals :O
if it's Yellow, just an extra cymbal for hi-hat
so this is kinda like Joe H's question a while back...
HERE'S THE QUESTION BUT TO UNDERSTAND READ BELOW:
Is the Ion Deluxe drumset compatible with GH4?
AND: Are the RB2 instruments compatible with GH4?
lemme tell you my delima:
1)i have rock band, and 30+ dlc for it
2)i can play 99% of the songs on expert cept thrasher and the perfect drug
3)i love rock band and the gameplay setup with the cities and stuff as well as the new battle of the bands mode in the new 1
4)the only problem is the idiots didn't make this one much harder than the first(i'm sure their will be plenty of hard songs but their is only so much you can do with 4 pads)
5)meanwhile, GH4 has claimed making it more realistic by adding cymbals(and taking a pad away??) and i dont think their tour is gona be as good as rock band.
so i kinda wanted rock band for the game and guitar hero for the difficulty, but to get out of buying the full sets or not being able to play all the notes on GH4(using the rock band drums) i figured i would buy RB2 special pack(for the new instruments) sell my RB1, buy GH4 game, and sell my RB2 drums, finally i would buy the Ion Deluxe Drum set to play both
NOW QUESTION: Is the Ion Deluxe drumset compatible with GH4?
AND: Is the RB2 instruments compatible with GH4?
I am fired up
Rock band is fantastic, man
I can't get enough
http://www.engadget.com/photos/rock-band-2-hands-on-and-impressions/928011/
^ Sweet, looks like all the songs from Rock Band 1 are going to be playable on RB2. Probably costs 4,000 MS Points though.
:P
Based on the RB1 version I say let the 360 users get the first version. Hopefully by the PS3 version they will have any hardware reliability issues worked out ;).
orange port is for second kick pedal
Imagine my utter surprise(horror?) when, after setting up the new ion drums set, i find out that its not left hand compatible. There is only 1 red outlet, presumably for the pad, but not cymbal, meaning i cannot crash when playing. The only alternative is to see if a dual plug adapter can be found(pretty sure i can find 1). But a failure of shortsightedness on ions part for sure:(
that is a pretty sweet drumset yo