Home Gaming Rock Band 4 review round up – Getting the band back together

Rock Band 4 review round up – Getting the band back together

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The fantasy wish fulfilment music genre has been on hiatus for 5 years, leaving many a cupboard stuffed with many faux plastic instruments. This year, both genre frontrunners take another stab at it. Guitar Hero is revitalising itself with something new; a return to a simpler, Guitar-only time, buffed by a guitar with a new design and what seems to be unlimited music thanks to Guitar Hero TV. Rock Band is taking a simpler approach, refining the excellent groundwork that was already in place in its fourth numbered iteration.

It’s able to use the instruments you already have (platform dependant), and works with all of the DLC you’ve already bought for games past. And honestly? I’m rather excited to get my plastic band back together. Is the new game any good though? Well, mostly. Critics think that the game itself is rather good, but the set of tracks included on the disc this time are underwhelming.

Here’s what critics have to say.

IGN – 8.8/10

RB4_1

“The track list that comes on the Rock Band 4 disc is a little light on memorable songs, but thanks to admirable backward compatibility with a huge DLC catalog, Rock Band 4 remains every bit the magical cooperative gaming experience the series has always been. Getting a band together in the living room to rock out creates some incredible moments of musical joy. On top of that, a new career mode injects some fun personality and decision-making, while solos let you express yourself mid-song without penalty. Rock Band still fulfills its potential to make me feel like a superstar musician and, like 65-year-old Bruce Springsteen still doing killer three-hour shows , proves that it’s still got “it.””

Game Informer – 8.75/10

RB4_2

“In this year’s music-game scene, Rock Band 4 offers tried-and-true polish, and an impressive opportunity for backward compatibility. Whether you’re importing a back catalog or not, the new title stands on its own with smart music selections, and skill-based gameplay refined over years of experimentation. After a few years away, I’d almost forgotten how fun the Rock Band experience can be.”

GameSpot – 7/10

RB4_3

“Rock Band 4 recaptures the unadulterated gratification that made the series such a hit half a decade ago, but mainly because it’s a relatively unchanged, repackaged Rock Band 2. A lack of content and general stagnation hold this particular iteration of Rock Band back, but new ideas like Freestyle Solos genuinely enhance the core experience, which remains a sincere and joyful celebration of music.”

Forbes – 9/10

RB4_4

“Rock Band 4 may have lost a few features (some temporarily, some permanently) in its transition to Xbox One and PlayStation 4, but the core gameplay is dramatically improved by allowing us to be more expressive, while preserving the older mechanics for those resistant to change. It’s player choice at its finest, and a welcome return to fake plastic rocking.”

Daily Dot – 4.5/5

RB4_5

“And if you’re deciding whether or not to buy Rock Band for the very first time, I wish I could convey just how much I wish the instruments had been this high-quality and the song library this deep when I first started playing Rock Band eight years ago. “

Destructiod – 7/10

RB4

“Rock Band 4 is a bit of a conundrum. On one hand, it’s not only a hassle to switch generations due to the fact that so many elements don’t work with the new one, but additionally — Rock Band 3 is still a thing, supports all of your DLC, and has more features. On the other, there’s nothing inherently wrong with this iteration, and for those of you who missed out in the past or have broken 360s or PS3s, you’ll still be able to rock out into the night with friends and have a whole lot of fun.”

The Jimquisition – 7.5/10

“If you’ve never had a Rock Band game before, this is as good a time as any to jump in, but be aware that you’ll be wanting to peruse that huge store of downloadable content in order to get a setlist you’re happy with. Series veterans, however, will have no such trouble, and very little reason not to check this one out. It’s a good basis for something that has potential to get even better as the years go on.”

That’s the good news. The bad news is that while the local distributor for Mad Catz has confirmed to us that they’ll be bringing in the Rock Band bundle, as well as the guitar-only bundle – but have no date or pricing yet.

For local players who’ve been playing Rock Band on PlayStation platforms, there is good news; you can likely pick the game up digitally and use your existing PlayStation 3 instruments on your PlayStation 4. For Xbox One owners who had the game on Xbox 360, it’s a little trickier; you’ll need the wireless instrument adapter to get things working. You’ll likely have to import this.

There is also the big issue of DLC. Thanks to local licencing issues, there’s a wealth of Rock Band (and Guitar hero!) music that wasn’t available to us to download – so our libraries aren’t quite as plump as they should be. With Rock Band now serving as a generation-long platform more than a game that could pose a problem.

That aside, one of the best party games ever made is back, and it’s as good as it’s ever been.

Last Updated: January 4, 2017

27 Comments

  1. VampyreSquirrel

    October 6, 2015 at 09:14

    Pretty good scores… I’m not really that surprised though, people love this kind of thing.

    Reply

  2. oVg

    October 6, 2015 at 09:34

    Talking about Royalty Free music. How cool is the soundtrack in MGSV? 1984 had some sick tunes 😉
    Back when the SONY walkman was the iPhone 1 of its day. Sigh…. Im getting old.

    Anyway Guitar Hero Metallica will never be beaten. It was authentic and made with passion.

    Lets not forget, we have to thank Aerosmith for agreeing with Activision to make the first Interactive rock game. Thanks to the new generation of kids finally accepting that the music their parents listened to was darn cool, the sales for Aerosmith quadrupled in 2007.

    Nice Story, but one of the band members of Metallica was having a Braai with friends and overheard their kids playing 70s music in the background. He went to investigate and realised that they were playing Guitar Hero.

    He got on the phone to Activision the next day. Its the best way to introduce some of the best music of old to the modern generation.

    Keep it Guitar and keep it Rock not pop

    Reply

    • Brady miaau

      October 6, 2015 at 09:39

      I remember my Sony Walkman. Abba tapes, yeah. My own world, great.

      And old does not mean bad. Or good. Or anything really.

      Reply

      • oVg

        October 6, 2015 at 09:42

        That walkman was GOLD to me, this is before the answering machine was even invented.

        The independence of playing your own music while mobile was GOLD to an 8 year old in the 80s. As for those headphones… 😛

        Reply

      • oVg

        October 6, 2015 at 09:42

        Reply

    • Greylingad[CNFRMD]

      October 6, 2015 at 09:42

      I still start up the game every now and then, just to listen to “It’s the Final Countdown”…

      Reply

      • oVg

        October 6, 2015 at 09:43

        RETRO is coooooool

        Reply

        • Greylingad[CNFRMD]

          October 6, 2015 at 09:44

          The only thing that cheeses me off about the song licensing is that you won’t get to play these songs in Rocksmith….

          Reply

          • oVg

            October 6, 2015 at 09:45

            POP does not work well with these Guitar Hero games, you might as well pay for a Karaoke machine.

            Now as for Fire Through the Flames… RinceThis beat it on hard.

          • Greylingad[CNFRMD]

            October 6, 2015 at 09:54

            Uurgh…Pop music…. Look, I have nothing against aspiring musicians, I just cannot handle the global definition of pop anymore, you see, back when music was still played with instruments, not a macbook(Die heuwels fantasties), it was still good, what’s also interesting is that pop music is a generalising term, in other words, whatever is famous at the time, in the 60s it was Hendrix, in the 70s it started to move to ACDC, then 80s, our favourite MGS V list, in the 90s came grunge and then rave, early 00s saw the rise of indie rock, SOAD, but on the other end of the spectrum was the Alicia Keys etc., today we have Justin Blurber etc. I’m waaay too cynical…

          • oVg

            October 6, 2015 at 09:58

            The typical response is that you sound old. But its not, why are the 80s kids the only generation who still appreciate music before their TIME?

            I mean for fcuks sake, those J-Zee fans thoght he made that old English dude famous. You know Paul flipping McCartney.

            As For Kanya West doing a Freddie Mercury cover at Glastonbury? …. no comment

          • Greylingad[CNFRMD]

            October 6, 2015 at 10:04

            *SHUDDER*….. no comment indeed… I love music, I live it and I’m glad I do, my boy enjoys my music already, A simple example is BB King, he toured, TOURED, for 7 decades, playing at almost every venue he could get to, the true legacy of what music should be, a fountain of joy… these “artists” that interrupt other artists,real artists during their acceptance speeches have me furious, because they shine for one album and then fade away, only to be remembered as the disrespectful morons they are…

          • oVg

            October 6, 2015 at 10:07

            Modern marketing ruined passionate music. I love eminem and I never listen to rap, the dude has talent up to his eyeballs. But when I listen to these Football singer stars like Jay-Jee, Kanya West or 50 Rand I feel nothing.

            Its all for ratings. Time for some real music 😛

          • Greylingad[CNFRMD]

            October 6, 2015 at 10:10

            Hehehe, lend me your ear, to a modern day classic…

          • oVg

            October 6, 2015 at 10:11

            Kind of like Chilli Peppers.

          • Greylingad[CNFRMD]

            October 6, 2015 at 10:13

            Hehe, yep, just off beat enough to make it stick… Definitely SA’s best Blues rock muso…

          • oVg

            October 6, 2015 at 10:13

            They are on par with music from LA

          • Greylingad[CNFRMD]

            October 6, 2015 at 10:15

            Well… he is touring with Joe Satriani.. 25 gigs over the next 6 weeks or so….

    • Hammersteyn

      October 6, 2015 at 09:51

      I love collecting tapes. Haven’t looked at any Faqs yet so I have no idea which song it could be which turns out to be a nice surprise

      Reply

      • oVg

        October 6, 2015 at 09:54

        When I have drink while playing I let the the music track on the iDroid play on auto and GET INTO THE ZONE.

        Nothing like going stealth with Rebel Yell pumping in the background 🙂

        Reply

        • Hammersteyn

          October 6, 2015 at 10:00

          XD

          Reply

          • oVg

            October 6, 2015 at 10:02

            lol I saved the drunk play to watch the next day with RinceThis. What I found was that all my actions went with the music lol

          • Greylingad[CNFRMD]

            October 6, 2015 at 10:05

            If you can syncopate extractions with the rhythm of a song, you know, you are good….

  3. oVg

    October 6, 2015 at 09:52

    So… you think you are good? “P

    Reply

  4. WitWolfy

    October 6, 2015 at 10:05

    No release date or price for SA?

    Reply

    • oVg

      October 6, 2015 at 10:13

      2 years in the post. Even then all Instruments would be either stolen or damaged 😛

      Reply

  5. HairyEwok

    October 6, 2015 at 10:34

    I wanna rock, ROCK! I waaant to rock, ROCK! No seriously give me a rock so I can throw it at our shitty Rand value. Getting hard to afford games now.

    Reply

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