Rock on! Oh, sorry if I sound like a middle-aged parent trying to sound cool ... well, actually, I am a middle-aged parent trying to sound cool. Get over it.

Rock Band 2 for the Wii was a little late coming to our house. I had given up hoping for it, and so was really surprised and excited when I found out that we would be receiving a review copy. We have Guitar Hero World Legends of Rock and also Guitar Hero World Tour, but we don't have Rock Band, and we were curious about how they would compare. Well, after many hours with Rock Band 2, it is my family's opinion that the main features are basically the same type and quality for both GH and Rock Band and rate about the same, and that most players will be happy with either game. However, it's in the smaller details that the differences become apparent.

The good news is that the Guitar Hero World Tour and Legends of Rock peripherals will work with Rock Band 2, so players that already own the band kit for GH can opt to just get the game Rock Band 2 and use the GH instruments with it. However, it doesn't appear that the Rock Band 2 instruments work with GH, as GH requires the use of separate Wii-motes for each instrument. They wouldn't work with GH on our systems, anyway.

The absolutely best feature of Rock Band 2 is the flexibility offered in the World Tour mode. Band members can play any instrument at any time, and members can drop in and out at whim. Freedom to choose! It is the easiest thing in the world to design an awesome character to personify one's innermost rock musician. Once created and incorporated in a band, this band member can play either the guitar, bass guitar, drums or sing with the microphone. The band can't have duplicate roles, though. For instance, players can't have two sets of drums playing at the same time. This would have been fun, but the lack of this feature doesn't mean all that much in the realm of things.

Players can choose pre-designed sets of music for their shows, or choose their own songs for the sets. At first, only some of the songs will be available, but the rest will become unlocked during the course of the game. The online store is now up and running with downloadable content. The promised 20 free songs are there, but we weren't too impressed. The other songs can be purchased for 200 Wii points apiece, which is $2 a song. Woohoo, Kansas! The downloaded songs will appear in the game after purchase. The back of the case states that players can "rock out to previously downloaded songs," but this information wasn't in the manual. As we don't have Rock Band, we couldn't verify if Rock Band songs could be used with Rock Band 2.

The band characters are realistic and many physical features can be chosen. Accessories like guitars, hairstyles and clothes can be added later as players earn money touring.

Once a band has been created and the instruments chosen, it's time to take the show on the road. At first, dear old mom is the staff. She is free and will wash your underwear. There is a neat feature in Quick Play that lets the band continue even if a member fails, but this isn't available in World Tour. So, it would behoove everyone to be honest about their expertise for the sake of the band's success. If the band fails or starts over, the band will lose fans. A neat feature is the ability to use the Overdrive function when the Energy meter is full to save band members.

As the band advances and earns fans and money, the game will begin to reflect this success. Mom can be replaced with a professional, and soon other staff members can be added. The band can have only one staff member at a time, though. Signs, logos and all sorts of items bearing the band's name will begin appearing at the different venues and locations. The actual tours seem very realistic as the countries are grouped together in regions.

The animations during the sets are pretty cool. However, I don't know about you, but when I'm playing, I'm too busy watching the notes to watch the band avatars. It's only when I'm not playing that I can appreciate them. The graphics on the Wii aren't as detailed or crisp as the same game on the other systems, but it looks good nonetheless.

Each individual player can set their difficulty level for each song in the set. A nice feature is the chart showing the different difficulty ratings for each instrument for a particular song. Thus, if I want a mid-range of difficulty and I'm the drummer, I will choose a song that is a "3" for drums on the 1-5 scale.

The songs appear to be a little easier to play in Rock Band 2 than in Guitar Hero World Tour. As to the instruments, I prefer the Rock Band drums and the Guitar Hero guitars, but my husband prefers both the Rock Band drums and the Rock Band guitars. The kids don't care either way. We all appreciate the special connector for the Wii console that allows the instruments to wirelessly connect to the Wii, without having to have a separate Wii-mote in each one. The karaoke component is about the same, except that the words are easier to read than in GH because of the better font for the screen.

Besides playing the regular tour gigs, players are presented with periodic challenges. If successful, players can earn new staff members, TV spots, and many other cool things. And that brings me to the Battle of the Bands mode, the online competitive mode. This is where players can really show their stuff against friends or strangers. Contests are posted daily. These battles aren't head-to-head in real time; rather, they are rated by each band's performance with scores. These scores are then ranked. Needless to say, this is a popular feature for us, as competition is our middle name. Our board game nights are always pretty interesting, to say the least.
The initial song offerings aren't much of what we like; that is to say, there's not much classic rock from the 70's at first. However, other players may enjoy these songs more than we do. Thankfully, though, soon more familiar songs like "Round and Round" by Ratt and "Carry on My Wayward Son" by Kansas will be unlocked. These songs will also show up in the challenges as mystery songs, too, before they have become unlocked and listed.

Rock Band 2 is a blast. It rates very high as either a party game, or for solo play. The ability to drop in and out at will is what makes this game a must have for the Wii. The interface is smooth and intuitive, all the features work as expected, and the competitive boards in Battle of the Bands add a challenging component, especially against friends.

As to which is better, Rock Band or Guitar Hero, it will still come down to personal preference. Frankly, there are features we like better in each game, such as the song list and difficulty settings in GH, and the “drop in and drop out” ability for band members in RB. RB also seems a bit more personal and interactive than GH, but that is just opinion. I’m glad we have both games.

Gameplay: 9.0
This is a game that just about everyone can play and have fun with, if they aren’t dead. And, the replay value is very high. The price is steep for the whole band kit, but if your family is large or has teens, then it is definitely worth the money. For all the singles out there, it’s a great game to get together with friends or play solo.

Graphics: 8.0
The graphics are good for the Wii, and the band characters look like people that would fit in well with the band scene.

Sound: 9.0
The songs are by the original artists, and they all sound just as they should. Many more songs are available for purchase online. The song list is large and varied, but maybe a bit too varied for us. We like the old stuff the best. But, there are some great classic rock songs available for purchase online. And, many others are probably happier with the newer songs.

Difficulty: Medium
The difficulty ranges from insultingly easy to fairly difficult. Different songs are easier or harder on different instruments.

Concept: 8.0
The concept isn’t new, but the presentation is very good.

Multiplayer: 9.0
Play your friends! Compete with daily challenges and get ranked! Buy more music!

Overall: 9.0
This is a must-have game for the Wii. It transcends generations, and even though expensive, will last for a long time. Families with teens will definitely need to have this in their Wii library. Hey, even our church has the first Rock Band and a version of Guitar Hero in the Youth Center, and the teens love to play them both. We took Guitar Hero to our parents’ lake cabin last year, and will certainly be taking Rock Band 2 this summer. Too funny to watch all the relatives jamming out! According to people familiar with the original, Rock Band 2 is a very worthy upgrade. I absolutely and enthusiastically recommend it.