Hot on the heels of the recently released Rock Band 3, Harmonix and MTV Games have just released Rock Band Reloaded, a comparable Rock Band experience for iOS. If just the thought of Rock Band on your Apple mobile device isn’t cause for excitement, here’s a quick blurb on what the game is all about:
“Rock Band Reloaded is the experience fans have been waiting for, innovating on the popular franchise and bringing the entire band onto the iPad and iPhone for the first time. These games bring a deep Rock Band experience to mobile players in very cool and creative new ways. Innovative vocal recognition features, social integration connecting players to their friends and challenging gameplay modes will drive forward the mobile music genre and provide the best music experience to players.”
Don’t be turned off by the obvious lack of tactile instruments, as Rock Band Reloaded tries its best to recreate the band experience on the touch screen of an Apple Mobile device. What is unique about Reloaded is that for each instrument a player chooses, a virtual recreation of that guitar, drum set, or bass appears on screen. (No keyboard support for now.)
The Rock Band games are known for their extremely expansive and diverse track lists, and Rock Band Reloaded is no different, with an initial offering of hits from several different musical eras. Some titles of note include “A-Punk” from Vampire Weekend, “White Wedding” by Billy Idol, and “Your Decision” by Alice and Chains. On top of the pretty substantial in-game offering is the promise of downloadable tracks, hopefully on as frequent a basis as the console versions.
Rock Band Reloaded even adds a new vocalist feature that allows players to sing into their phones like they would a true Rock Band microphone. If singing into a phone doesn’t sound appealing, the vocal sections also allow for simple rhythmic tapping similar to the other instruments.
Feature-wise, Reloaded has many of the Rock Band game elements that players have come to know and love. A full world tour mode allows gamers to take their virtual band through 36 different events as they try to establish fans and expand their reach. If single player isn’t your forte, a multiplayer feature pits two friends or enemies against each other in a head-to-head duel.
There is a ton of content and features packed into Rock Band Reloaded with the promise of more to come. If gamers have found themselves a little less than thrilled by the experience offered by Tap Tap Revenge, Reloaded offers the perfect pick up and play distraction, featuring a franchise they already know and love.
What do you think, Ranters? Are you ready for some on-the-go virtual music-making, or is Rock Band an experience best left at home?
Rock Band Reloaded is available now for $4.99 on the App Store for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad.
