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Have you ever wanted adoring fans to scream out your name? How about having them sing along with you during the chorus of your most famous song? You can't play an instrument? No problem.

Rock Band, the latest game developed by Harmonix, embodies a wide range of rock fantasies and assumptions that were a given since KISS first took the stage. With an impressive track list and the best co-op game in ages, Rock Band becomes the best party game of the year and possibly of the century.

The Sound of Music

The most important factor in any rhythm-based game is the sound, and Rock Band delivers one of the strongest track lists in a long time. Bands such as The Foo Fighters, Nirvana, KISS, Deep Purple and Jet all make an appearance with some of their biggest songs ever. Fifty-four of the fifty-nine songs are the original studio recordings and the other five sound close enough.

Although fifty-nine songs may sound like a lot at first, you will constantly find yourself repeating songs due to difficulty problems and for the sake of story progression. To address this problem, however, Harmonix has already started offering downloadable content to add songs to your library, which will automatically be updated straight into the story's campaign (World Tour).

As in Guitar Hero, the notes represent a part of the song and when played incorrectly, the only thing you will hear is the harsh sound of a wrong note or the awkward sound of a string break. On the flip side, play them correctly and you will be rewarded with the sound of your instrument playing correctly and hearing the song the way it was truly intended to be heard.

Playing in a band has never been so easy

The thing that has generated the most hype for Rock Band is, of course, the instruments. Rock Band is packed with a guitar, a microphone, and an electric drum set with a kick pedal and all. As for the guitar, not much has changed since Harmonix's last game, Guitar Hero II, but it does feature a much more realistic guitar with a majority of the songs having easier passages than in the Guitar Hero series.

The microphone works very well by accurately measuring pitch and successfully creates the ultimate karaoke experience. Having had the game for a few months now and having several people over to play, I don't think even the worst of singers could fail a song on easy, however, even the most talented of singers will have trouble on expert. Somehow Harmonix managed to find a way to make a fun and challenging experience for everyone...except

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