Rock Band made a triumphant return last year with the generally well received latest entry, Rock Band 4. Rather than yearly instalments, Harmonix decided to go with an expansion system similar to what Bungie's Destiny saw so much success with. With a pair of shining new modes to try out in Rock Band Rivals, it might be time to grab a few friends for another shot at musical glory.
Rock Band Rivals doesn't actually do much to expand the game's base library of songs, but it does add a couple of features hardcore fans will probably be excited about. The new Rivals mode allows players to band together in groups to compete on an online ladder against other groups, and the new “Rockudrama” mode offers a twist on the traditional campaign that's definitely worth a look.
The Rivals mode accrues scores across all of Rock Band 4's content, so any songs played, any campaigns crushed, will all contribute to the player's clan. It's a cool way to pair up with friends to compete against other clans, and because of the way it tracks nearly ever stat available, it's a great addition for scorekeepers, or even those looking to see how far they're improving over time.
There's tons of ways to keep track of progress and competitive ranking, so it's easy to see just how much progress has been made towards mastery of a given track or set. It's an edge that definitely will strike the right cord for some people, but it's also not for everyone. Luckily, all these new features are extremely unobtrusive, and easy to ignore if playing casually.
Rockudrama, on the other hand, is more of an MTV “Where are they now?” special than anything else. Combining a solid campaign mode with live action footage, it captures the rise and fall of a randomly created band, which can be customized a bit to the player's liking. It's charming and more than a little cheesy, but it's pretty fun with a group of friends, and definitely worth a look.
Overall, this feels like a good first step for the future of Rock Band 4. There's still room to grow, and there's still some missing features that could really help new players to the series, but overall, long time rockers or casual fans will find plenty to be satisfied with in this expansion.
