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You always have the option of not using the cymbals, but in fills or freestyle mode (part of the excellent drum trainer in RB2) they will make cymbal sounds while the pads will make tom sounds.-Vocals - I will add this because I saw another reviewer complain about a lack of "karaoke" mode; if you want to sing without hearing the master vocal track (like karaoke, instead of singing along with the artist) you can select Options, then Audio/Video, the Adjust Audio, and turn the vocal track all the way down. Drumming in RB1 actually taught me how to play drums, and I bought an acoustic 7-piece drum kit.
Rock Band 2 on a PS3 (or other advanced console, where you can download tracks, preferably with HD output) is easily the best all-around rhythm game. The highlights, in my mind:-Music selection - there are over 1000 tracks available for download which means I can play for hours and not get bored with the library.
I started gaming life with Guitar Hero 1-3 on a PS2, expanded to Rock Band and some track packs, and had to migrate to the new slim PS3 when the Beatles and Lego were not available for the PS2. Speaking of surround system lag, if you have a 7.1 system it may produce less lag if you DON'T select 5.1 surround output from the game; this is because expanding a stereo signal to 7.1 channels is faster for the receiver to process than recalculating the 5.1 field into a 7.1 field.-Drums - now wireless, with a metal reinforced kick pedal (the highest recommended mod for gen1 hardware) and softer, quieter, bouncier rubber pads, you will also find several 1/8" jacks on the back of the gen2 drum kit; these are for plugging in expansion cymbals which I highly recommend once you have started drumming seriously.
In tour mode, you have many opportunities to tackle a random set-list or create one using your favorites. I'm almost always pleasantly surprised when I play a random set.-Cooperative game play, teamwork (saving failed band mates), deploying overdrive (if you have never played, this is a power-up like "star power" in Guitar Hero), clean professional graphics, are all superior to anything that came before and several that came after.-Guitar controller - the gen2 Stratocaster incorporates the best features of several prior guitar controllers (smooth, quiet, recessed fret buttons, low effort no-click strum bar, integrated D-pad), and adds 2 strokes of genius: built in a/v sensors to auto-calibrate lag your HDTV and surround sound system may have, and 2 USB outlets on the wireless dongle making it possible to plug drum and mic (for example) into the dongle without using up additional USB outlets on the console.
With 3 cymbals added to the gen2 kit, it's a really good trainer, and in my opinion more realistic than the 6-piece GH drum kit (which lacks the 4-pad layout of snare + 3 toms, combines crash and ride cymbals, and does not have a good bass kick pedal support). Presto, karaoke.Hopefully you made it through all that and got something useful out of it - I really love this game and honestly never get tired of playing it.
Better graphics, better calibration, better instruments, more songs that people actually know, and more add-ons than Rockband 1. Being able to buy downloaded songs, makes the game last forever. Great game.
It will not read DVD blu-ray or CD. (yes I checked, the disc is clean and shiny) Once it was past this shakey bit, things worked fine. The system rebooted and restarted, not sure if it was supposed to. My ps3 is used for movies not games.
It skipped a bit during playback. The PS3 behaved a bit erratically while loading the 27 megabyte software update this game requires. The discs come out in the same orientation as inserted so the drive is not even spinning. I tried just about everything except for a complete system reformat and I suppose I'll break down and try that next even though I'll lose data in the process. I played the game no problems, tested all instruments and microphone all the equipment worked.
If this is a normal drive failure than it is a very unlikely one. If the blu-ray does not read then this box is a worthless pile of junk. When the game finally loaded it had a lot of trouble playing the opening movie. I have owned the drive for years and watched hundreds of movies on it and only played games perhaps a dozen times. I ejected the disc, satisfied with rock band 2.
I then put in a movie, only to find that the system would no longer respond to any disc inserted. I find it highly likely that rock band 2 killed my blu-ray drive. Rather disappointing since I just invested $140 bucks on accessories for it.
Awesome game. Cool selection of songs and the linked website features makes it even better.IMHO. Pros: wireless drum set and a sturdier pedal.Cons: the guitar still feels very fragile, the mic looks cheap and the drum set is still kinda noisy, but I guess the latter is just the way it is. it forces you to pump up the volume and rock it on.I can't wait to get the extra cymbals next.-Cheers.
We got this for our five year old to have something to do together and we love it. The only thing is we wish there were more songs that she knows and can sing along to.
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