Top 25 Favorite Video Games of All Time
11. Rock Band 2 -
When Harmonix Music Systems announced Rock Band, I immediately jumped on the bandwagon sight unseen. I was already addicted to their previous series, Guitar Hero, but Rock Band took the genre to the next level, adding bass, vocals, and my new obsession, drums. The first Rock Band was a pretty solid package that—stop me if you've heard this one before—was improved upon by its sequel. So today, we'll be talking about Rock Band 2.
Rock Band 2 launched with 84 on-disc songs with 20 free songs that came later. I could sit here and list them all, but that would be ridiculous. What I will tell you is that Rock Band 2's setlist is my favorite in the franchise. Up to this point, video game sequels tended to stand on their own, never carrying content over from previous releases. Harmonix decided to change that. Not only did all your purchased DLC songs make the jump to the sequel, but you could also export nearly the entire setlist from the original game as well. That support encouraged players to keep investing in more songs and continued with subsequent sequels, even when the franchise jumped generations. I should know—I currently have 1,421 songs in my Rock Band song library, and I never grow tired of playing them.
The release of downloadable songs was at its peak in this era of Rock Band, with three to six tracks dropping weekly, and sometimes more. Couple that with the ability to purchase iconic full albums, and boy, was my wallet hurting. As noted above, I didn't feel any apprehension about buying so many songs; Harmonix had earned my trust by actually trying to treat these games like platforms and not just a yearly song list update.
Beyond the streamlined song transfer process and DLC, drum kits were much improved, becoming quieter and more resilient. Previously, I went through two kick pedals and cracked the red drum pad, forcing me to put my DIY hat on to create some crazy mods just to get the original kit to last. The online experience added the ability to play through World Tour mode in co-op as a full band. Finally, the addition of filters and a better UI helped you sort through your library of songs—a welcome change considering the massive number of tracks you now had at your disposal.
Whenever I play through the setlist of Rock Band 2, I get flooded with memories that I hope never leave me. My friends, Annie and Bobo, would often host game nights, and this game was always in regular rotation. They called their place "Frost's Family Feedbag and Arcade," even setting up a Foursquare location so we could check in. I was never the mayor though—sad times. Bobo had a sweet bass guitar controller with a split strum bar so you could actually pluck it with proper technique. That thing rules, and he still has it. With my full band kit set up, we would deep-fry anything and everything, drink entirely too much, and play all of our favorite songs. Today, we still get together more than ever, but rarely to play games. However, Rock Band 2 laid the foundation of the bond between Bobo and me, and for that, I'm extremely grateful..
