AMN's Review Policy: Our reviews are written for you. Our goal is to write honest, to-the-point reviews that don't waste your time. This is why we've split our reviews into four sections: What the Game's About, What's Hot, What's Not and Final Word, so that you can easily find the information you want from our reviews.

What the Game's About
Rock Band is one of the more ambitious projects that the gaming industry has seen for quite some time. Taking rhythm games to the extreme, Rock Band incorporates guitar play (both lead and bass), drumming, and vocals all into a single package. The game also aims to offer varying modes of play for both single and multiple players, both online and off. Developed by Harmonix, the guys behind the first two Guitar Hero games, Rock Band is hoping to prove itself as the next leap in evolution for music/rhythm games.

When you first fire up Rock Band, you can either play solo or go at it with up to three more band members. If you choose to jump into the action by yourself as either a guitarist or bassist, your experience will largely resemble what we've all seen before in Guitar Hero games. It all changes, however, once you add more players to the mix, or you try out another role in the game, things change dramatically. The game really shines when you feel like you're a big part of a real rock band rather than a lone shredder, and that is what Harmonix was shooting for here. After countless hours of play, we've narrowed down exactly what is propelling Rock Band to its award-winning status.

What's Hot
There's a lot to rave about with Rock Band. After the initial unboxing, we were lucky enough to have enough people on hand (and an extra guitar controller) to get a full four man band going. We got went through the process of creating rockers, a fun feature, naming our band, and deciding who would be on drums, guitar, bass, and the mic (though you can change it around at any point later). Band World Tour mode is the primary multiplayer mode, so we jumped right in. At the outset your band is given limited options of where it can play and even what songs it can perform. Like any upstart band, you have to earn some respect first. With each song you complete, your band will receive money, the chances to play in new venues, new gigs, and most importantly, new fans. If you should fail, you can lose fans and even have previously open venues and gigs taken from your grasp. Band World Tour is meant to act as an emulator of sorts for a real band. If you play well, you'll get new fans and you'll well for yourself. Should you stink up a few gigs, you're going to have to deal with the consequence of poor play and learn to practice up on songs before performing them in front of people. This mode is extremely non-linear in its progression and is great fun whether you've got a pair, a trio, or a full band.

Band Quickplay allows you to practice songs without fear of failure. This is also the mode you'll hop into when you're introducing the game to newcomers or you just want to play some multiplayer with people who aren't part of the band you've created. After all, Pearl Jam wouldn't engage in a World Tour without Eddie Vedder, right? This is nice option because you have full access to the songs available in World Tour, but the srubs won't interfere with your progress. You can also play in this mode online with friends or strangers. The Solo Tour can be played with the guitar, drum set, or microphone. Sorry bassists, but you're out. This mode progresses more like the familiar Guitar Hero format as you play down the list of songs one by one with the occasional change of venue. What really is great, however, is that each way you play changes the overall experience drastically. Simply put, playing through the game on the drum set or microphone is completely different than jamming on the guitar. Mastering each instrument and achievement top ratings is going to take quite some time, so the game definitely earns high marks for its replay factor.