When Lego Star Wars hit consoles 4 years ago it took the video game world by storm. How creative! A game where everything was made out of Lego pieces! Lego characters, with Lego props, all set in a world built out of Lego. It was a smash hit! Then 2 sequels came out, along with Lego Indiana Jones, and Lego Batman and something happened to the cherished Lego branded games. They began to wear thin. How many more titles would come out on the same premise? Were companies banking on the Lego name just to sell games? Well we may have our answer with Lego Rock Band.
Here we have two franchises that really couldn’t be more different. One is based on music and building a music career. The other, a series of action games based on the Lego property. Which brings the question, why would you bring them together? Rock Band is a very successful franchise on it’s own. Does it really need the Lego brand to try and bolster sales? The bigger question…would a music game with Lego characters even work? Well, it works, but it still doesn’t answer the question as to why it was done in the first place.
The Story
Lego Rock Band plays like the other Rock Band Games. You start off as an unknown band trying to scrape by as you play one gig after another trying to make a name for yourself. Only this time, your band, instruments and vehicles are all made of Lego!
You choose a name for your band, choose which instrument you want to play (vocals, guitar, bass or drums) and then begin playing sets. The more sets you play successfully the more popular you become, allowing you to travel to new venues and play even more music. Yes we’ve seen it all before haven’t we.
The Gameplay
The main game itself is identical to other Rock Band or even Guitar Hero titles. Music notes scroll down towards the bottom of the screen. When they enter the hit zone, you tap the corresponding buttons on your controller. The only difference here is now the notes on the screen are Lego blocks. If you don’t like playing guitar you can pick up bass, the drums or even sing vocals.
With each gig you successfully complete you will earn Lego studs, basically the equivalent of money. These studs can be used to buy vehicles so you can travel to new cities and play even more gigs to earn even more studs. You may also choose to use your studs to purchase outfits for your band members, or even hire staff. Now you can hire a band manager, a music video producer, or a street team. Hiring people can help boost not only the number of studs you earn per gig, it will also boost the number of fans you gain.
One feature I did like was the Rock Challenges. After every few gigs your band must complete a task simply by rocking out. One challenge has you demolishing an old abandoned building through the awesomeness of your rock and roll music. Another has you blasting ghosts with your sound waves as you play together as a band. The challenges are quite fun and graphically amusing. Watching the ghosts break apart into tiny pieces as the sound waves hit them always gave me a chuckle.
If you’re into customization you’ll like another feature in the game, the ability to decorate your own Rock Den. The Den is the place you hang out between gigs. You can use your Lego studs to purchase plants, pictures, and other unusual items to spruce up the joint. If you want you can leave it completely empty, but some may find playing house enjoyable.
The Controls
Nothing new on this front. The game plays like any other music game on the market. Hit the buttons on your instruments at the right time and the music continues to play. Screw up and your band will sound like a sick cat. Of course vocals must also be sung in the right pitch.
The Graphics
Lego Rock Band has a different feel than previous Rock Band games. Of course there’s the fact that the graphics are blocky and chunky (we are dealing with Lego pieces here), but it is almost as though you are viewing everything through a filter. There is a grainy appearance to everything which tones down all the bright Lego colors. I’m not sure why this route was taken, it really doesn’t add or take away from the experience. Maybe it’s to tone down the child-like qualities Lego is often associated with.
The Music
Music games are all about the music and I must say I was disappointed when it came to track selection. It almost felt like this game used all the miscellaneous tracks that were not included in other Rock Band titles. Blur, Counting Crows, Queen, Supergrass, The Police. I didn’t feel the tracks were top notch. Ray Parker Jr.’s Ghostbusters theme song? Really? It’s in there. Sure there are a few good songs but it just didn’t feel top notch like previous Rock Band titles in the franchise.
Here’s a look at the songs you will be playing:
- All American Rejects – “Swing, Swing”
- The Automatic – “Monster”
- Blink 182 – “Aliens Exist”
- Blur – “Song 2”
- Bon Jovi – “ You Give Love a Bad Name”
- Boys Like Girls – “Thunder”
- Bryan Adams – “Summer of 69”
- Carl Douglas – “Kung Fu Fighting”
- The Coral – “Dreaming of You-”
- Counting Crows – “Accidentally in Love”
- David Bowie – “Let’s Dance”
- Elton John – “Crocodile Rock”
- Europe – “The Final Countdown”
- Everlife – “Real Wild Child”
- Foo Fighters – “Breakout”
- Good Charlotte – “Boys and Girls”
- The Hives – “Tick Tick Boom!”
- Iggy Pop – “The Passenger”
- Incubus – “Dig”
- Jackson 5 – “I Want You Back”
- Jimi Hendrix “Fire”
- Kaiser Chiefs – “Ruby”
- Katrina & The Waves – “Walking on Sunshine”
- The Kooks – “Naive”
- Korn – “Word Up!”
- KT Tunstall – “Suddenly I See”
- Lostprophets – “Rooftops”
- Pink – “So What”
- The Police – “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic”
- The Primitives – “Crash”
- Queen – “We Are the Champions”
- Queen – “We Will Rock You”
- Rascal Flatts – “Life Is a Highway”
- Ray Parker Jr. – “Ghostbusters”
- Razorlight – “Stumble and Fall”
- Spin Doctors – “Two Princes”
- Spinal Tap – “Short & Sweet”
- Steve Harly – “Make Me Smile”
- Sum 41 – “ In Too Deep”
- Supergrass – “Grace”
- Tom Petty – “Free Fallin’’
- T-Rex – “Ride a White Swan”
- Vampire Weekend – “A-Punk”
- We the Kings – “Check Yes Juliet”
- The Zutons – “Valerie”
The Downsides
I can get over the fact that Lego Rock Band didn’t break much new ground. But what bothered me the most, besides the set lists, was how repetitive the songs were. Many venues will have a challenge where you must play two songs back to back, then another challenge where you must play two mystery songs back to back. Sometimes a 3rd and 4th challenge would be thrown in where you’ll play 3 songs back to back. Here’s the problem.You can only select songs you’ve unlocked in the game. So in the early stages you’ll be playing a lot of the Ghostbusters theme and Supergrass. I began to dread these mystery sets as I knew songs I didn’t particularly enjoy would be popping up again and again and again.
The Bottom Line
Lego Rock Band doesn’t re-invent the wheel. It stays true to the Rock Band name, making adjustments to incorporate the Lego brand. That’s the problem. The tie-in feels loose and unnecessary. Yes the Lego characters are cute, and maybe that’s part of the reason they were brought in, to attract a younger audience, but it just feels weak. Add in a weak set list and the game just feels lack-lustre.
I can’t say I hated this game, I just felt let down. The Beatles: Rock Band really propelled the Rock Band name sky high and this just doesn’t feel like a worthy follow up. I’m sure Lego fanboys (and girls) will curse my name for not giving this title a rave review, but I prefer to keep my rock and plastics blocks separate.
The Good
Fully customize your Lego characters
Same quirky charm as other Lego based games
The Bad
Poor music selection
Lego tie-in feels out of place
No online play
7.5/10