E3 2009 Preview
The Rock Band series has been one of
the dominating franchises in the rhythm game genre for several years now,
offering full band gameplay for a number of licensed songs. At the same time,
the LEGO license has been cleaning up on a variety of different properties,
collaborating with everything from Star Wars and Indiana Jones to Harry Potter.
It may seem like a strange pairing, but now it looks like LEGO and Rock Band are
ready to team up peanut butter and jelly style.
However, instead of being simply the
same Rock Band game with LEGOs slapped on, LEGO Rock Band is going to provide
some pretty different changes to the Rock Band formula, including mission based
gameplay, a Super Easy mode, and a song list geared towards younger players.
The basic gist of the gameplay is
very much the same as Rock Band, albeit with the LEGO touch. The notes running
down the note highway are LEGO blocks and the musicians are token LEGO
characters. The game’s full band mode plays just like the other versions of the
game, and will allow you to use instruments from all Rock Band games as well as
Guitar Hero.
The mission-based gameplay has you
performing songs to complete specific goals within the game. This includes using
the power of rock to knock down buildings and other goals that make you feel as
though you are not only playing a song through the gameplay, but accomplishing a
task.
The game’s track list has yet to be
fully revealed, but it also appears to be geared more towards the younger set.
The revealed songs include pop hits like Pink’s “So What”, Blur’s “Song No. 2”,
and “I Want You Back” by the Jackson 5.
LEGO Rock Band is turning out to be
a fine entry to the storied Rock Band franchise, and one that will definitely
appeal to the younger audience.
