Rock Band, created by the very talented people at Harmonix, have a Rock Band game on every platform that is important. Today, I'm going to discuss the portable ones. I'm going to talk about the most reason games for the DS (Rock Band 3), PSP (Rock Band Unplugged), and iPhone (Rock Band Reloaded). I've played all of them and I want to let you know which ones have strengths and weaknesses. I'll just put this into sections for you to see.
1. Gameplay.
All three of these games have somewhat similar gameplay, in the fact that you don't have the add-ons like the guitar or things like that, since using those in a portable sense would be really hard and dumb.
Rock Band Reloaded is the second iPhone/iTouch game to hit the app store, with the first one simply being called "Rock Band". The game makes you hold your iDevice horizontally and you play notes off four lines going down. You tap the icons when the notes come down (The drums have pads that you tap, as opposed to tapping the notes themselves, like Tap Tap games). You can play the Guitar, Bass, Drums, and Vocals (Both by touch and by actually singing, using the iPhone mic or a headset for iTouch users), but you only play one at a time. I mention this because the other two portable games don't just make you play one instrument.
Rock Band 3 and Unplugged play more similar to each other than the iPhone version, but still have their differences. You play four tracks of music, each track is a different part (Drums, Gutiar, etc) and you cycle through them as you play phrases of notes and play parts of each instrument. You do this for the whole song, but you stop cycling as you hit a solo, where you just play the main instrument in the solo.
They key difference between these two is that Unplugged has been out for a while, while Rock Band 3 has the keyboard parts, which switches with the guitar track.
Overall, if you want a traditional Rock Band type of deal, the iPhone version lets you just focus on one part of the song. But the PSP and DS titles give you some challenge, keeping you on your toes.
2. Songs and DLC.
From here, I am just going to start listing each game and write about them. Yeah, I change styles in the middle of writing. Deal with it. Also, if you want to know everything on the music in each game, Wiki the game or something. I'm not listing out everything here. Do your own work, you lazy bastards. >_>
Rock Band 3 (DS) - This is probably the biggest letdown of this portable game. The songs on the game are good, but they generally don't fit as things I like listening to. Some of them have grown on me, but others are just kinda... there.
The second part of this letdown is that there is NO DLC. No WiFi. Nothing of the sort. When I bought the game new, it had a booklet for WiFi, but no features or anything that use it.
Rock Band Unplugged (PSP) - This game has my favrote songs of the three games, with things like Killswitch Engage (DLC), Black Tide, Nine Inch Nails, etc. I enjoy the songs a lot and have spent plenty of time with this game.
Unlike the DS version, this game has DLC. The amount of songs is decent, I suppose. It's more than the iPhone game, but this game has a year on the iPhone game in terms of how long it's been around. However, if you check it now, I don't believe there is anything new coming out for Unplugged, so whatever is there will be all that you get.
Rock Band Reloaded (iPhone) - This portable version has a decent setlist, one that keeps growing through DLC that is added on... a somewhat regular basis. Some free songs and things keep it good and keep your music list expanding.
Overall - If you want DLC, avoid the DS game. If you want to play the Piano, get the DS version. If you like DLC, then choose which playstyle you want to play more. Or get both and support Harmonix. >_>
3. Multiplayer.
Rock Band 3 (DS) - This game has multiplayer. Personally, I haven't tried it, but it features head-to-head or coop play. In coop, you play one instrument and that's all. In head-to-head, I believe you are going for more points. I'm basing this off what I remember from the instruction booklet, so don't kill me if I am wrong. Most likely, this will be the game that you want if you want multiplayer Rock band on the go, because...
Rock Band Unplugged (PSP) - This game has NO MULTIPLAYER. What the fuck, Harmonix? Rock Band is for people to enjoy with other people. How in the hell do you not have multiplayer? Argh. If you ever make a sequel, there had better be some damn multiplayer. Unplugged is awesome, and multiplayer is probably the only thing missing. Fix that.
Rock Band Reloaded (iPhone) - The Multiplayer is coop based in this one. I only played the first iPhone game multiplayer, and it was a lot of fun and I can only imagine it's more of the same. The upside to this version is that it's the only version to have wifi multiplayer, but no one ever uses it. I've never played an online game of Reloaded. >_>
4. Customization
Rock Band 3 (DS) - You get to name your band and pick a logo, choose from different outfits and different instruments for your band members to play. It's basic, but it's nice to give you a feel for controlling your band and their rise to fame.
To unlock stuff, you meet career goals. Once you meet a goal, you unlock something else. That's all. Basic, simple, works.
Rock Band Unplugged (PSP) - You have basically the same format from the DS version, since this game did it first. However, when you play you earn money that you spend to buy items and clothes you want. In my experience, you get more choices from this game as opposed to the DS game. probably from space limitations or something.
Rock Band Reloaded (iPhone) - And this game is the disappointment here. Why? Because you don't do anything to your band. You have no control over their look, they names, the band name, nothing. You are just there to play songs. I never even look at the background photos of the band "playing".
Final Thoughts:
Each portable version has a downfall. Two of the three play very similar, while the third is more traditiona Rock Band. Which one you want to play is up to you. I've played all three and I don't regret any of them, because they are all good games. They just aren't perfect.
Now if Harmonix came out with a portable version that fixed these problems, it would be a gold mine. I don't care which handheld it's on, I just want a Rock Band portable game that has:
1) DLC. It's not Rock Band without some DLC tracks.
2) Local and WiFi Multiplayer. Give us options, Harmonix.
3) Both styles of gameplay. If you like the Unplugged version or just a single instrument track, you should be able to choice one or the other. More options means more work, but it also means more people appreciate and enjoy the fruits of that labor.
4) More customization. It's already fine on the DS and PSP, just expand it more. Give us more options.
That's all I have to say on this matter. Get all 3 if you like Rock Band. You won't be disappointed at the overall, just maybe on the lack of features.
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