Party Game: How does Rock Band for Wii stack up?

Posted by Jeff Shaw at 4:18 AM Jul 17, 2008

When I proposed a series "how to liven up your gaming parties" posts, Jonathan McNamara's first answer was "Buy a Wii." This was divergent from my answer ("Buy a host of bizarre and potent liquors"). But we decided to combine the two strategies anyway.

Before the release of Rock Band for Wii, we planned an epic online confrontation between the geographically disparate members of the Joystick Division staff. This was overtaken by two events: first, it turned out that the game doesn't support online play, which is brutal; second, Chris Ward's copy of the game was eaten by crazed weasels.

Yet in crisis there is opportunity. While we reconstructed Ward's copy using state-of-the-art nanotechnology, I invited a host of people over -- specifically, casual gamers who had never played Rock band on any console before -- with the intention of answering a different question. Is this the kind of Friday night game your non-gamer friends are going to enjoy when you stock the liquor cabinet with absinthe, pack the fridge with barley wine and fill the bathtub with Mystery Punch?

The Rock Band spectacle was the drawing card. Although I've heard tell of hardware problems from some users, we didn't experience any, and one of the guests -- an honest-to-god guitar player -- was excited to play some fake, white drums. If old people love the Wii, why wouldn't they?

Theoretically, a group game provides enough spectacle to entertain party guests. Even if you aren't one of the Chosen Four yourself, watching an expert musician try to play a plastic guitar after three glasses of Glenfiddich should be grade-A good times. Yet the most consistently fun aspect of the game was arguing over band names (we settled on "The Failed Pacifists" as the best of the night; I am still hoping a real band steals this).

Why is this? a few things. In terms of song selection, the 63 choices are pretty limiting, especially since you can't download new ones. For a one-shot deal, this isn't so bad; over the long term, it's disappointing. I figured this wouldn't be a huge deal, and that a little buzzy Weezer would be just what the doctor ordered for people. More choice would be better, though.

Ultimately, the problem was one of simplicity. Surprisingly, the Shaw family home remedy -- "pour beer on it" -- wasn't having the expected enjoyment effect. Fingers got fatter, thinking got thicker. As the night deepened, the less people were interested in Rock Band, and after just an hour or so, we were on to Wii Sports. More coordination is required to play drums and guitar than to drunkenly swing an imaginary tennis racket or throw punches at the air. Fortunately, no one went Keith Moon on the drum kit in frustration.

Rock Band is still a great game on the Wii console, and if you have the time and inclination to commit to it, go for it. But if you're planning a party? Buy $150 worth of liquor and play Wii Sports instead.