More like DUPLO Rock Band...

When I first saw previews for Lego Rock Band several months ago, I looked at them with disgust. I have loved the Guitar Hero games since the beginning and was equally excited the first time I played the original Rock Band. However, despite being a big fan, I have to admit that the Guitar Hero/Rock Band craze has gotten a little out of hand. Guitar Hero's got, 1-5, rocks the 80s, Aerosmith, Metallica, and Van Halen in addition to 3 DS games and an arcade game. Rock Band doesn't have quite as large of a library, but it's got 1-2, Beatles, 6 track packs, and Unplugged. I should say, it had all of those. Now it also has Lego Rock Band. The next logical step right?

I can't say anything about the actual console Lego Rock Band, but I can talk about the DS version and compare it to PSP's Rock Band: Unplugged. When I first started playing, I was expecting gameplay identical to RB: Unplugged with a different set-list. For the most part, my presumptions were correct, but there are some differences.

The first, and most obvious difference is the difficulty. Granted, I was expecting this game to be easier than Unplugged due to it's "family-friendly" nature, but I'm still a little shocked at how easy it is. I realize that sounds incredibly arrogant, but this requires a little explanation. RB: Unplugged uses the same merciless system that Amplitude and Frequency used so many years earlier. You have to get entire phrases at a time, not just individual notes like you do in GH and RB on consoles. Translated: if you have a 40 note phrase and hit 39 notes but miss the last note, in terms of your lifebar/rock meter/whatever, it's the same as if you hadn't hit any of those 40 notes. Lego Rock Band is far more merciful. After capturing a phrase, you could switch to another track and probably sit there for about 10 notes before playing any and it wouldn't cost you your multiplier.

While I can hardly hold it against a game that has, "Lego" in the title, it does seem to be a bit too forgiving. This isn't my main problem however. The system, although similar to RB: Unplugged's, has a slight difference that makes it feel awkward. Standard rules that apply to Amplitude, Frequency, and RB: Unplugged state that after you complete a phrase, notes on that track disappear forcing you to switch to another track. This rule does not apply to Lego Rock Band which makes for an incredibly awkward experience. Instead of the track disappearing upon completion, it will instead momentarily go transparent but you can continue to play these notes. It seemed as though the game never actually requires you to switch tracks. I decided to test this theory and found that it is absolutely correct.

THIS stands out as a huge problem to me. For example, right now, I'm looking at a screen that tells me my accuracy on the previous song. For bass, drums, and microphone, there's simply a dash as I never changed the track, and there is a "100%" for guitar. This yielded me a 4-star score. Granted you'll never get a 5-star this way, but it seems to me that it's a big problem if a major game mechanic isn't even required.

In conclusion, the game isn't terrible, but has some rather large flaws. The song list is, as always, subject to personal opinion (though this one has something like 5 emo songs...) The Lego presentation is cute, but that's not what I was looking at here. In the end, you've got a small little diversion that has some fun songs but nothing more. Oh, and the game left me with one very important question. Can I actually get a Lego figurine of Freddie Mercury?