Unless you've been living under a rock for the past few years, which would be ironic given the nature of the game in question, the chances are good that you've heard of a little gem by the name of Guitar Hero. Bundled with a unique guitar-shaped controller that makes you feel like you are really rocking out in what is otherwise a fairly by-the-numbers music and rhythm game, it was an instant hit, and one that quickly spawned a sequel. However, Activision jumped in and bought Guitar Hero's publisher, RedOctane, giving them the rights to the Guitar Hero brand, while MTV Networks snapped up its developers, Harmonix, meaning that they couldn't work on any further titles in the series. With Activision overseeing the development of Guitar Hero III, Harmonix teamed up with EA and went back to the drawing board to create a new music series that would use more than just a guitar. Progressing their concept to the next logical step, they designed a game that utilises not only a guitar and a bass, but a microphone (something that Harmonix are used to working with after their hit series Karaoke Revolution) and, best of all, a nice set of drums, adding an authentic 'band' feel to the game. And so Rock Band was born.

Now the stage is set, if you'll pardon the pun, for Harmonix to rise to fame all over again with another potential hit. After making such a good game the first time around, they took the 'if it ain't broke then don't fix it' approach and so the guitar mechanics are exactly as they were, meaning that fans of Guitar Hero will slip into this role with ease. For those unfamiliar with the series, playing the guitar in Rock Band involves watching the screen and holding down whichever colour fret button on your swanky new guitar controller matches the coloured note scrolling down the screen, strumming when it hits the bottom, tilting your guitar vertically to activate overdrive (more on this later). Next up is the microphone, which follows pretty much the same rules as Sony's SingStar series and involves getting your pitch right in order to stay in line with the pitch of the song, which is indicated by an arrow on the left of the screen, while the words are displayed in the middle. The drums are probably the hardest part to play (unless you actually play the drums, for a living or as a hobby), which follow the same rules as the guitar, only this time you have four colours for each of the drum pads and an orange line rolls down the screen, which means that it's time to hit that kick drum. This can be very hard to do when you're so focused upon trying to hit the right pads; you can be keeping a steady rhythm and then all of a sudden one part changes that messes you up for a good few seconds while you try to get back into the beat.

There are special white notes or lines for each of the different roles in Rock Band, which when hit properly build up your energy bar, allowing you to go into overdrive (which is star power in all but name, for all you Guitar Hero fans!) When in overdrive your score gains a multiplier and your performance really gets the crowd going. There's a bar on the left of the screen than indicates the crowd reaction, changing according to your performance; if the bar is in the green then you're rocking hard, but if it starts dropping into the red then you're in danger of being booed and kicked off the stage. Anyway, activating overdrive is pretty easy whichever role you are playing; you tilt your guitar so its neck faces the ceiling, or when on drums a series of coloured lines scroll down the screen, allowing you to play whatever you wish, then there's one green note at the end that you must hit. Last, but not least, some of the lyrics are displayed in yellow; get these right and you can really go with your singing and sing whatever you want, with an echo added to everything you say.

Although Rock Band relies heavily on its multiplayer aspect, there is still a solo Career for every role to complete, and with seventy-five songs and four different difficulty levels, it will take you a good few weeks to complete these. You won't want to spend all your time going solo though, because the multiplayer is where Rock Band really comes into its own. When you have friends over and there's a group of you all doing your bit to keep the song going, it makes for one of the best multiplayer gaming experiences you're ever likely to have. It really does feel like you're in a band, and the elation you experience when you're all hitting every note and putting in a near flawless performance is like nothing else in gaming. It'll bring out the wild side in your friends and family too; let's just say that a certain member of my family is a bit crazy when it comes to singing - he knows who he is!!

The multiplayer careers are the same as the single player ones, but this time you're told how many fans you have gained or lost depending on your performance. If any individual's performance is too bad then they'll be kicked off the stage - but don't worry, because doesn't fail the whole song. You see, if one member finds that the guitar riffs are too much, or they don't know the words to a song, or even if one of their drumsticks flies out of their hand mid song (yes, that's another dig at someone in my family!), your band mates can keep playing but the crowd indicator begins to drain. If someone manages to go into overdrive before the indicator empties then everyone (including those who have been kicked) are brought back into the song, giving you the chance to get through it. You can also join any online session to find yourself a complete band over Xbox Live, which can be fantastic if you find some gamers who want to take the experience seriously and play the best they can, rather than people who just want to mess around.

As well as having access to the entire multiplayer career via Xbox Live, you can also play Tug of War, a competitive mode that involves swinging the crowd in your favour, indicated by a bar at the top of the screen that moves left or right depending on how well you and your opponent are doing. Then there's the good old Score Battle, which, obviously, involves trying to get a higher score than your opponent. These modes are well-implemented and great fun, but most people will probably prefer to just play through their Multiplayer career with a little help from their friends.

Not that it's a major factor in a game such as this, but the visuals in Rock Band are great, especially when you get to the really big gigs where your gamertag is displayed in big lights and you can hear the sound of the crowd as they sing along to your track. Not that you'll have much time to pay attention to them when you're concentrating on playing, but every song is accompanied by the stylised cartoon graphics of your onscreen virtual band, performing their role with gusto as the crowd cheers on. These snazzy graphics do come at a price though, as there can be a slight drop in frame rate that puts the onscreen singer's lips a bit out of synch with the lyrics, so while it doesn't look quite as good as GH III, the rest of the graphics more than make up for this.

One thing that many people had talked about in Harmonix's last series was customisation, and although a few extra guitars look nice, some found that this just wasn't enough. Thankfully Harmonix have redeemed themselves with Rock Band; you can customise pretty much every aspect of your band members, from their clothing and footwear to a range of funky hairstyles and even face paint, as well as a ton of shiny new guitars and even some vintage ones. This also makes for some interesting encounters over Xbox Live, because there are some really funky rockers out there!

The range of songs on offer break you in gently, starting off pretty easy and gradually increasing in difficulty as you pass each of the levels. There's more than enough variety to suit your musical tastes too; from Oasis and Blur to Fall Out Boy and Mettalica, every song is a genuine anthem, giving you even more incentive to just turn up the sound and rock out. And if, for some reason, there aren't many tracks here that do push your button, there are over one hundred and ten songs available for download - and more being added every week - which is more than enough to keep anybody's music fetish alive. One other thing that is better than before is the way the downloads are set out; heading into the Store menu, you can browse and preview any of the songs available, and purchase them if you want them. Each song can be bought either on its own for 160 Microsoft points, or purchased in a three-song pack for 440. There are also some free songs, including the awesome Still Alive from the end of Portal, which is highly amusing to hear someone trying to sing!

The only real downside to this dose of gaming awesomeness is its prohibitive price; while US gamers got a fairly reasonable deal at $170 for the game, a microphone, the drum set and one guitar, making a total of $230 if you want a second guitar for the bass role too, UK gamers are being charged more than double the price - £130 for the mic, drum set and one guitar, £50 for the game itself and another £60 for an extra guitar controller, totalling up to a whopping £240 for everything you need for a four-player session in your living room. The peripherals can't be any more expensive to make for the UK market than they are for the US, so what possible reason can there be for this price gouging? You can buy a Wii and a couple of games or even a new Xbox 360 Elite for that price! Of course if you shop around then you can find a slightly better deal, but you shouldn't have to, and given that the downloadable songs aren't exactly cheap either, Rock Band is, in some regards, something of a rip off. I say 'in some regards' because the peripherals are all very sturdy and of high quality, so they shouldn't break or wear out any time soon; if it wasn't for the fact that they're half the price in America then you might feel like the deal was reasonable value for money. And while it is a lot of money to part with, if you have a group of friends or family members who are going to regularly get together and rock out then there's no disputing that you'll get your money's worth. If, however, you're more likely to be rocking away with friends over Xbox Live then it might be better just to pick up one or two peripherals to begin with.

Harmonix have taken the idea from their old baby and really run with it here; Rock Band is arguably the definitive music game experience, one-upping Guitar Hero due to giving you a feeling that you've never had from playing a game before - namely that of really being in your own rock band. It's a big investment to make, but if you've got friends or family who are up for regular sessions to practice their skills and progress through the lengthy multiplayer career then it's undoubtedly money well spent; Rock Band offers a fantastic and unique gaming experience, there's a huge range of songs available with more on the way and it all looks and sounds wonderful. Price issues aside, Rock Band has given Guitar Hero some serious competition, and with the battle of the bands underway it'll be interesting to see which game takes the lead over the coming months. Either way, one thing at least is for certain: this game rocks!

Reviewed by Graham Hill for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).