LEGO Rock Band

The latest title in the list of LEGO games, Rock Band, does exactly what every other Rock Band game does, but with the face of adorable LEGO characters. Watch your rock heroes take to a variety of different stages in the delightful cartoon style that we have grown to know and love, and strum away to 45 different songs from different avenues of rock music. It sounds great, but what does LEGO Rock Band really have to offer that the original Rock Band games don’t provide?

Well for one, LEGO Rock Band is dubbed as a ‘family friendly’ version of the original, with cartoony characters suited to kids of most ages. There’s also a Super Easy mode designed to introduce any youngsters gently into how the genre operates. There’s also plenty of cutscenes that act as a reward for reaching milestones within the story mode of the game. Adding humour for kids and adults alike, these elements really capitalise on the humorous and successful LEGO saga.

The actual gameplay of the title is not any different from the original Rock Band games. You still have the option of incorporating all of the original instruments, guitar, bass, drums and vocal, to allow you to play with your friends and family. However it is worth noting that when you buy the game you are only buying a disk, therefore you must already own these instrument controllers to be able to play.

While the track list itself isn’t enormous, it does cover a wide range of different styles of rock music, from classic oldies to newer items such as Good Charlotte’s ‘Girls and Boys’. With such a diverse list of tunes it’s unlikely that you’ll enjoy them all on their musical merits, but even potentially bad songs can seem amusing when transformed into a LEGO world. There’s an option to download your tracks to the more serious Rock Band 2 setting if you get sick of the appearance but still wish to utilise the tracks. Likewise there is access to extra downloadable songs via the internet, though this list has been filtered to remove anything not deemed ‘family friendly’.

Customisation options for your band members add some extra interest to the title. At the outset you’ll be fairly restricted in terms of appearance, but unlockable items are rewarded frequently enough following your performances to keep you playing for a long time. You’ll earn the LEGO currency of studs as you play, and with it you will also be able to unlock new venues and even songs.

Fans of the LEGO series of games will undoubtedly be drawn in by LEGO Rock Band, assuming they already own the Rock Band bundle of instruments. However aside from the adorable characters and cutscenes there isn’t a lot on offer that is different from the game’s namesake. It seems an expensive method to have access to some additional songs and cartoony graphics. Having said that, there is certainly fun to be had with the title and if you do take the plunge you will get your money’s worth as you take your characters to new musical heights.