Best Toys

When we set up our Rock Band 2 reviews, we had many teenager volunteers before we even asked for helpers.  So they all came to play the game for us. Teenagers find this game to be an amusing game to play in their spare time. Rock Band 2 is a music performance simulation video game that was produced for teenagers and is one of the best toys 2008 for kids.

The game includes different sorts of songs from several genres. Featured on the game are songs by Paramore, Panic at the Disco, and Billy Idol as well as many other musical artists. The games usually come with a drum kit, guitar, bass, or a microphone for vocals. One to four people can play at a time.  Rock Band 2 was made by Pi Studios and Harmonix companies. Rock Band 2 comes in Playstation 2, Playstation 3, Wii, and also Xbox360 platforms for greater accessibility to different players with different systems.

Rock Band 2 is the sequel to Rock Band, which was released in 2007.  It is also possible to play the sequel version online through the newer game systems, as they have online features and an online community of other game players. New music is always available for downloading, so the playlist never gets old. The game also has several different modes built in for any level of musician.  The tutorial mode tells new players how to use the system; the training mode is the first game play mode, just for newbies.  For more seasoned players, there is also freestyle, practice, beat trainer, drum trainer, and no fail mode for new musicians who need all the encouragement they can get. The world tour dates and battle of the bands functions of the games are very popular features, and the teenage testers loved being able to play against other electronic musicians around the world.  There can be up to four people in the band at once, meaning one person can be the vocalist during the game. The vocalist would have to be the same character every time they play the game due to the way it is set up.

During our Rock Band 2 review testing and observations, things started to get pretty loud- and not just the TV, which was cranked up pretty high.  The kids were really getting excited playing the game.  Even the ones who had some experience playing the game hit the occasional sour note, and this was invariably follow by the “Owww!” sound that kids and teens alike tend to make when they get “killed” on a video game.  There was a little bit of good natured taunting going on when the scores were exchanged, but no one ended up with hurt feelings.  The teenagers seemed to know every one of the available songs by heart, so we take that to mean that the song choices were all pretty current.

At the end of the day, we all agree that Rock Band 2 is a very good video game for older kids and teenagers, and one of the top toys 2008.  It allows them to play along with their favorite songs as member of the band, and also allows them to, in some form, see themselves onstage as a real performer.  This is actually true when the world wide link up battle of the bands game is played.  In all we would say that this is a good choice for parents who are looking for a lively, musical video game set for older kids and teenagers- and maybe even the adult game player in your home.