G l i t c h y G o b l i n !

Even though the music game genre is being flooded with endless titles, I still need them in my life. I consider myself pretty good when it comes to anything with fake instruments, and I constantly think about adequate charting, what a new game’s setlist could be, or what I will have to do to 5-Star every song on every instrument. The addiction hasn’t died in me yet. Since so many games came out toward the end of last year, I could only pick and choose what I bought.

Now, upon scouring the internet I have found that some games I chose to skip over are now $20 or under (like Spirit Tracks *gasp*). Therefore, I got Lego Rock Band.

PROS:

There are the occasional songs that should’ve been done before now. Songs like We Will Rock You, We Are the Champions, Ghostbusters, Two Princes, Final Countdown, and even Kung Fu Fighting are featured here and are the only place to find them on Rock Band.

There’s a ton of unlockable things. Since it’s a Lego game, there are many unlockable pieces for your character and even pieces of furniture you can buy for your Rock Den.

The gems look like Legos! The colorful gems falling down the highway that cross the strike line (music game terms meaning the notes that come down) are now shaped like legos. Kinda like how in The Beatles: Rock Band the gems are saturated colors.

There are bosses to fight, kinda. They’ll just tell you something like, “The harder you rock the more you blow up this building” and that’s what you do. It shows the building blowing up in the background while you play.

Rock Band DLC that the game finds “family-friendly” enough is playable automatically. I have mostly metal and stuff (so those songs weren’t in there), but some of my dlc and some of the Rock Band 1 songs were there to break up the monotony of some of the setlists.

CONS:

The overall song list isn’t that great. Some of these songs you’ll get tired of really fast, sometimes to the point of frustration.

It gets repetitive in the worst places. You’ll see a new song in the new venue you’ve unlocked and will say, “Cool!” Then the next gig will be a one song setlist with a “random” song. Guess what? It’ll probably be the song you JUST PLAYED.

With the characters being made of Legos, it kinda gets rid of the “I’m a cool rockstar” feel. It feels unrealistic… mainly because it is.

A lot of the different options and modes aren’t explained very well. At one point I was unable to progress any further in the “story” until I did… something. I just played every gig that had been unlocked that I hadn’t played yet for about 2 or 3 more hours until finally I could progress.

There’s no Endless Setlist. One of my favorite things about Rock Band 1 and 2 is the gig that makes you play every song in the game in a row. For the first game that particular gig was over 4 hours long, and for the second game it was over 8. This “Endless Setlist” is just 30 random songs, including your DLC, not in order of increasing difficulty. Argh.

This game is worth $20 but just barely. I’m glad I didn’t buy it last year.

I’m just talkin’ bout Boba!

No, seriously. I can’t post the video, apparently starwars.com wants to make it difficult for you.

However, if you want to see Boba in a shaft style intro, click here.

I would pay money for this show to be real, with Boba hunting Han to sweet Shaft music. I can dig it.

Hey guys. I need a break. M semester’s gotten really hectic here at the end, so I’m going to step back and get my life back in line. Until then, I’m giving GG a break. Check back near christmas, I’m sure updates will resume there. Later. -GG

Hey Goblinites. Well, between the rough week and a lack of ideas, my top five this week is why I love 4th Ed.

#5. Clarity 

For once, the manual is definite and to the point, with well laid out rules and regulations, making it very easy for you to pick up and play, without people ending up as super-broken 10 attacks per round half dragons due to shoddy rules and the D.M. saying, “It’s not really specified, but it SOUNDS plausible…”

#4. Customization

Thanks to the powers lack of ridiculous after effects, it’s really easy to skin powers as new powers. For example, my greenflame blade, which normally burns my foes with a eerie fire is now my Steamjet Blade, because as a Warforged (mechanical being) I shoot steam out when I slash someone. Very nifty.

#3. Game Speed

Finally, people have no need to sit and ponder for hours just because they aren’t used to the rules. It’s easy to explain, so the game runs really fast, meaning combat that would have taken hours shrinks to a more manageable time table. Very nice, especially when time is short.

#2. Power Balance

It’s nice to know that as a mage, you get jsut as many cool things to do each round as the fighter. It was always lame to be stuck in the back, just because of class difference. It’s a FANTASY game, so magic should be able to counter might, and vice versa. Thanks for that, it means mages are playable again.

#1. Forgiveness 

You can retrain skills and switch certain stats around when you level up, meaning that just because you chose the wrong feat doesn’t mean you’re stuck unable to reach that prestige class you wanted. It’s garbage to have to plan every number before you start playing, so thank you, DnD 4th Ed.

The MWMU is even in all categories, cmon guys, impress me with some originality! -GG