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Green Day: Rock Band

by Neal Ronaghan - June 13, 2010, 3:20 am EDT
Total comments: 12

8

Am I just paranoid, or is Green Day: Rock Band still a good game despite its singular band focus?

If you're not a fan of Green Day, then there's no reason to rush out and buy Green Day: Rock Band, which contains 47 songs from the band that span 16 years. However, if you've ever liked the band, specifically the albums Dookie, American Idiot, and/or 21st Century Breakdown, then this game is fantastic. The songs are interesting to play, and there is a good amount of variety in the song styles from the band's punk beginnings to their recent rock opera tracks.

The presentation doesn't quite match the beauty of The Beatles: Rock Band, but it's good in its own right. The entire game features a Green Day influence, as the loading screens and menus are filled with references to them. Each of the three venues represents a different part of Green Day's career, and the band is stylized to represent how they looked during each era. They wear the black shirt and red ties from American Idiot, and look like a couple of young punks while playing in the mid-90s venue. Each song in the game is individually animated, providing an awesome effect that makes the game's presentation even more unique.

Playing through the Career mode will unlock photos and videos, which serve as the game's unlockables. The photos disappointingly have no explanation. So while there is a treasure trove of Green Day photos, you have no idea where the picture was taken, what they're doing, etc. Conversely, in The Beatles: Rock Band, each photo had a bit of trivia and information about the band and the photo, which was extremely interesting. The videos are mostly live footage, which is cool if only to compare the footage with how the in-game characters are animated.

Unfortunately, you cannot export the set list to other Rock Band games in the Wii version like you can in the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions, so the only way to play these tracks is with the Green Day: Rock Band disc.

Green Day: Rock Band is a well-presented game, but unless you're a Rock Band junkie or a die-hard fan of the band there isn't much of a reason to pick it up. Still, it's tough to deny the game's merits even if you don't care for the subject matter.

Score

Graphics Sound Control Gameplay Lastability Final
8.5 8 9 8 6 8
Graphics
8.5

The stylized graphics are unique and visually appealing. The presentation is also great.

Sound
8

While the set list doesn't span the entirety of Green Day's career, it does hit upon their three biggest albums and a few popular songs in between. The music quality is, like most recent rhythm games, great.

Control
9

With support for all Rock Band instruments and almost all other third-party instruments, Green Day: Rock Band is compatible with almost every relevant controller on Wii. There are no major control snafus, and the game controls just as crisply as every other Rock Band title.

Gameplay
8

It doesn't bring anything new to the series, but the songs are fun to play and have enough variety to not get repetitive.

Lastability
6

The 47 songs will be over before you know it, and since you can't export the set list, there's nothing else to do with them. There are six other Green Day songs from 21st Century Breakdown that you can download, but other than that, there is no DLC for this title.

Final
8

Green Day: Rock Band is great game…if you like Green Day. It's a quality title regardless, but there's no reason for people who don't care for the band to give the game a look. However, if you have a fondness for the band you should pick this game up, because it's definitely a fun rhythm game in its own right.

Summary

Pros
  • Great presentation
  • Songs are fun to play
Cons
  • Can't export songs to other Rock Band games
  • Primarily focused on three of Green Day's eight albums
  • Will really only appeal to fans of the band
Review Page 2: Conclusion

Talkback

I think that sound I just heard was the collective shrugging of shoulders at this game by the entire gaming world.

TJ SpykeJune 13, 2010

All of these music games are basically the same, the only real difference is the selection of songs.

Quote from: NWR_Lindy

I think that sound I just heard was the collective shrugging of shoulders at this game by the entire gaming world.

LOL.

This was a weird game to review, because it's very fundamentally sound, but I'm not a huge Green Day fan. That being said, it was fun playing through Dookie, and if you like that, American Idiot, and/or their new album, then it's totally worth playing.

But if you could care less about Green Day, just ignore it. It's like The Beatles: Rock Band, but a lot more people like The Beatles.

TJ SpykeJune 13, 2010

Quote from: NWR_Neal

But if you could care less about Green Day

Please tell me you weren't a English major. I am shocked at how many people screw up this saying. "I could care less" means you DO care. Maybe you don't care a whole lot, but it still means you care. The expression is that you couldn't care less.

vuduJune 13, 2010

Please tell me you weren't an Etiquette major.  I am shocked at how often you try to correct people on these forums.  "Who gives a fuck" means NO ONE GIVES A FUCK.  We don't even give a little bit of a fuck, because we don't care at all.  Piss off.

TJ SpykeJune 13, 2010

Wow, you are pretty damn rude. Luckily I don't care what people online say. I was being polite in my reply to Neal, while you act like a douche when you decide to comment. What is your problem?

vuduJune 13, 2010

You annoy me.

Actually, it's spelled Game Boy.  There's a space.  Technically, the game sold X amount in Y time period.

No one cares.  No one cares how reliable VG Chartz is.  No one cares if you consider a DSi release to be a game or an app.  No one cares that Spike used to be called Spike TV.  And no one cares that in the new Karate Kid movie the kid learns Kung Fu.

Congrats--you know how to use Wikipedia.

TJ SpykeJune 13, 2010

You think I care what you think? Hell no. I should point out how wrong you are just because I now know it annoys you, but I will show I am the better person by ending this now.

Good review Neal, I know Vudu derailed the thread with his un-mod like attack because he is insecure. I like Green Day, but I would probably get the Xbox 360 version so I could export the songs into the other games.

NWR_pap64Pedro Hernandez, Contributing WriterJune 13, 2010

I am sorry TJ Spyke, but you provoked it. Neal is first and foremost human, and thus humans are prone to error, especially in grammar. As much as we try to edit our stuff tiny mistakes will still slip by. We appreciate it that the users point them out to us so we can correct them as soon as possible.

But the way you pointed it out was insulting. You could have said "Actually, the correct expression is X, Y indicates something else". But instead you decided to mock and insult Neal's intellect by asking "Please tell me you weren't a English major". It isn't polite at all to add editorial comments when correcting other people.

In the future, please refrain from adding said comments and either politely point them out on the thread or via PM.

Vudu, I understand your frustration, but refrain from insulting the other person as well.

vuduJune 13, 2010

Quote from: NWR_pap64

Vudu, I understand your frustration, but refrain from insulting the other person as well.

You're right.  I apologize for the rant.  I was a bit grumpy.  Also hungry.

But tonight's taco night and now I'm in a good mood.  Sorry all!

NWR_KarlKarl Castaneda, Contributing EditorJune 13, 2010

Look, for all intensive porpoises, I think we should all just chill.

TJ SpykeJune 13, 2010

I wasn't trying to be insulting in my first reply and I sent a PM to Neal letting him know this (and other things), it was just supposed to be a friendly jab (something that doesn't always come off well in print, similar to sarcasm). I apologize for the comment about being a English major.

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Genre Rhythm
Developer Harmonix
Players1 - 4
OnlineYes

Worldwide Releases

na: Green Day: Rock Band
Release Jun 08, 2010
PublisherMTV Games
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