Ballad of the Bricks- Lego Rock Band Review

Arguably, Lego Rock Band was released at a fairly inopportune time. The title follows a plethora of music games released within the past fourteen months, each successive diversion flirting with the limits of market saturation. Additionally, the Lego Rock Band faces stiff competition from the simultaneous release of Activision’s Band Hero– a similar title which also seeks to ensnare a younger demographic, as well as a deluge of holiday titles.

Despite the strong possibility of invoking a case of music game fatigue, I approached the latest Lego release with careful enthusiasm. Past titles that incorporated the colorful bricks- from Lego Batman to Lego Battles, have been consistently amusing, and offered a vigorous amount of depth through their exhaustive amount of collectables. Although Lego Rock Band sticks closely to the music game formula, its moments of deviation tend to elevate the game; it just a shame there aren’t more of them.

The title’s story mode sees players forming a band, taking gigs, and subsequently opening new venues in their pursuit of melodic domination. While this gameplay closely emulates Rock Band’s career mode, there is one refreshing addition- success for each performance disburse a liberal amount of Lego studs, the games currency. These can be used to purchase a myriad of different character parts, managers, vehicles, and even adornments for the bands headquarters. With new items becoming available for purchase after each gig, the game’s incentive system skillfully maintains a player’s interest. It may sound silly, but I couldn’t help but feel a bit giddy after the purchase of a firehose decoration for my band’s office.

As with many Lego titles, a few adjustments were made to ensure the game is accessible to all age ranges. The game’s Super Easy difficulty allows novice players to perform without having to worry about failing a song; any note that is reasonably timed will score points. Additionally, drummers having a hard time maintaining a song’s rhythm can toggle the requirement for drum pedals off, allowing player to keep tempo on the pads. Unfortunately, the game’s shortened song option is weakly implemented, with some tunes ending abruptly, rather that smoothly concluding or fading out.

Beyond the game’s standard stage performances, players may participate in a handful of amusing Rock Power Challenges. From using decibels to destroy an abandoned building to vanquishing an ominous octopus, these stages are one of the highlights of the game. Each band member is given a specified amount of time to ‘solo’, contributing to the group’s collective effort. Here, the typical visuals of a stage performance are intercut with brief snippets showing the band’s efforts, elevating the level of energy for each stage. It’s too bad the developers didn’t push Lego Rock Band even further. I would have loved to see some mini-games that used each instrument in novel ways; a Whack-A-Mole variant with the drum pads or a diminutive racing game that used the strum bar to change lanes could have complemented the Lego brand exceptionally.

Although Lego Rock Band‘s price is $10 cheaper than the typical music game, there are a few caveats with the reduced purchase price. After playing through Rock Band 2’s 84 songs, the 45 tunes offered on this disk feel a bit paltry. Considering an effort was made to appeal to younger audiences, the incorporation of tracks like T-Rex’s “Ride a White Swan” and Spinal Tap’s “Short and Sweet“ is puzzling; even parents might bypass these songs. Those accustomed to the online features of the Rock Band series will be disappointed to find the title is a local-only experience, in an effort to keep the game family-friendly.