Rock Band 2

Rock Band 2 is the second title in the Rock Band series. The game was first released on September 14, 2008 for Xbox 360 and October 19, 2008 for PlayStation 3 before being released on PlayStation 2 and Wii on December 18, 2008. It features new songs, a new tour mode, and more customization options. Multiplayer has also gotten an overhaul, featuring massive band play online and expanded tour modes.

Tour

In Rock Band 2 there is no linear setlist for solo play like in its predecessor, it is more like the band play in that you get fans as well as money, and you play setlists as you go. Unlike Rock Band 1, you will get at least some fans if you play on a lower difficulty than usual instead of none at all. One person can play any instrument you want at any time. This can be single player or multiplayer.

The Endless Setlist 2

Main Article: Rock Band 2 Setlist

The Endless Setlist 2 is the sequel to the Endless Setlist in Rock Band 1. The Endless Setlist 2 contains all 84 songs in the game and it's played in Shanghai instead of Moscow. After gaining 900 stars, over (?) fans, winning a worldwide promoter, and getting into the Rolling Stone Hall of Fame, you will unlock this insane setlist. You cannot play on easy, so if that's what you're used to, maybe it's time you moved up a level. If you fail a song at any time during the setlist, you will not have to start it all over, you will just continue at the song you lost on. The number of fans you lose is not affected by how far along you are, it remains at a constant 71,000 or so. Completing the Endless Setlist 2 without pausing the game or failing a song will earn the player an Xbox 360 achievement or PS3 Trophy called 'The Bladder of Steel.' This is a reference to the player, who must endure over 6 hours of gameplay with very short breaks between songs. If attempting the Bladder of Steel on Guitar, you are given a short break during AC/DC's "Let There Be Rock." You may be able to take a quick bathroom break, but you run the risk of failing the song if you don't return to the game on time. Good luck, Rock Band maniacs.

The songs you have downloaded are not played. It's only the on-disc songs.

Characters

Session Musicians

Rock Band 2 boasts a great roster of well developed characters. Twenty of them are playable and are referred to as Session Musicians. The most notable is Moosejaw, who was born and raised in good old Ontario, Canada.

Non-playable characters

Many of the characters from the first Rock Band and some new characters introduced in Rock Band 2 also appear but are unplayable. However, exact replicas of the unplayable characters can be made in the Character Creator.

Alysha McBride
Alyssa Foil
Amy Valentine
Ashley Rubins
Big Boy
Bill Justice
Billy Boy
Bird
Blackie
Blinky
Brett Uniqua
Brian Regan
Bridge
Chris Cook
Chuck Norris
Dan LaMona
David Penderghast
Dill Johnson
Dude
Duty
Eddie Feygin
EGBDF
Emily Jones
Farrah Palmer
Hamilton Barsano
Helen Moonbeam
Izzy Stone
Jack Donavan
Jackson Valles
Jaime Hudson
Jasmine Brown
Jee Reyna
Jenna Goness
Jennifer Deja Dupree
Jeremy Kitty
Jimmy Kurtson
Joe Montana
John Mateo
Jonathan Riter
Jordan Jackson
Josh Price
Kaitlyn Suzi
Kathy Brecht
Kennedy Anderson
Kiki Rosalina
Krista Becker
Little Boy
Maggie Withers
Makenna Block
Marina Slade
Matt Hoseman
Max Cleaveland
Mercury
Moon
Morgan Scott
Nicholas Pooter
Perry Colby
Punk
Rachel Harmony
Raquelle Jihiman
Raven Saunders
Sarah Flores
Selena Factory
Smoke
Spike Lannister
Spikey Vandevanter
Spring Samson
Sqoggles
Squiggles
Summer Samson
Tanner Toddler
Taylor Snyder
Thirteen
Toby Turner
Tom Jedson
Tractor
Vanessa Jones
Yammy Flores
Zach Oliver

Importing songs from Rock Band 1

On the back of your Rock Band manual as well as in game, there is a code you are given to put in on the PSN. This will give you a patch to copy all of your Rock Band songs onto a flash drive/memory stick and be put into Rock Band 2. The cost for the patch is currently only $5. There are only three songs on the setlist that are not transferred over, because the makers of RB2 do not have the copyrights to those songs anymore. All of your downloaded content will be transferred over free of charge.

Instruments

The Rock Band 2 instruments have some improvements over the originals. The drum set has a softer pad system that reacts to lighter hits and makes slightly less noise. There is also a small plate of metal over the foot pedal, which does not make it unbreakable, but makes it stronger at the least. The guitar is slightly shorter and has a de-lagger built in, so HDTVs will no longer have trouble with it. The strum bar still does not click, but it has been made sturdier and easier to strum. The way compatibility works with this game is ridiculously complex, but this is making it simple.

What works:

Rock Band (for the same console you have RB2 on)
Guitar Hero 3 (For the same console you have RB2 on)
Most third parties (Though they have faults and aren't recommended)
SOME GH: World Tour instruments (Not ALL, SOME)
Guitar Hero 2 Gibson X-plorer on Xbox 360 version.
Guitar Hero 1 & 2 Gibson SG on PS2 version.

What doesn't work:

Cross-Console instruments (PS3 drum set does not work with Xbox 360 Rock Band, though they both are USB. PS3 drums do work on PS2 and vice-versa since they're the same hardware) However, the microphone does work on any platform.

The Leaderboards

As with Rock Band 1, the leaderboards have been added to online play. When you play a song in any mode, be it tour or a challenge, your score is submitted to the Leaderboards, which detail scores by player account, by band totals, or songs by band.

Not much has changed from Rock Band 1 besides a slightly easier to navigate menu and a tad faster loading time.

Battle of The Bands

In the game, a new feature that is updated every day is the new Battle of the Bands. When you pick a city with a trophy icon, or go to Battle of the Bands from the Practice Space, you will find several battles to play. In order to use these events, you must have online enabled, unfortunately. Some requirements for these battles could be any of the following, including:

(Instrument) only
Highest star rating
Highest note streak
No Overdrive
(Difficulty) only

Once you complete the battle, you will be notified of your place in it on the Leaderboards. You will be listed by band name, not by player name. The Battle of the Bands events do not affect your Tour score or fans.

The New Rock Shop

Now that everything else has been covered, we may move on to the customization. The outfits are now separated into categories like in the previous installment, with one new category. The instruments can also be purchased from here, as well as any accessories you may have come across. You can even change your hairstyle.

No Fail Mode

No Fail Mode is an option that prevents you from failing by hitting the bottom of the bar, making losing songs impossible. However, game saving and online play are disabled whenever No Fail Mode is on.