27. Rock Band 2

(Xbox360/PS2/PS3/Wii, Harmonix, 2008)
I'm sure you know how rhythm-action games work, so I'm not going to bore you with details of how to play this game. Instead, I'm going to make pithy observations on the concept and legacy of this style of game. Rock Band 2 in particular.

Now, I don't care what you believe, there is NO music experience better than ACTUALLY CREATING SOUND with a REAL instrument. Rhythm-action games make you press buttons in what is essentially a dressed up quicktime event, so that the program plays a sample of someone else playing an instrument. Not only that, but there is no real room for improvisation, just "Play this note at this exact time" There is simply no freedom.
This isn't up for debate, compared to playing a real instrument, rhythm-action games don't even come close.
HOWEVER, this logic could be applied to any game, as a result, pretending to play a guitar is no more ridiculous than pretending to be a footballer in FIFA, a WWE wrestler in Smackdown or a murderer in Modern Warfare. Whilst I'd encourage EVERYONE who enjoys rhythm-action games to at least try an instrument, even if its a frickin' Recorder, I don't think people should be judged with the hoary old "Play a real guitar, loser" cliche.

Rock Band 2 is, in my opinion, the very best of all the rhythm-action games. I'm not talking just in soundtrack, I think it has the best design, presentation, art, character customisation and atmospheric "live gig" venues, crowds and on-stage camaraderie. I think it shits on Guitar Hero in all of the above departments and leaves the Activision trail-blazer looking like The Jonas Brothers to EA's Slayer.
I have spent many hours playing guitar and bass in RB2, with occasional mis-juged forays into vocals (My residential situation prevents me from enjoying the drums, unfortunately) and over the years have gotten very good, but not excellent, at the game.

I have used the character design to create an awesome band of girls who like to gob in your fucking mouth before kicking your mum's face off. I've been playing as Back Drop Driver for so long now they're starting to feel a little too real, almost as if I've watched them build a career, a career miming to other people's songs, but more of a career than my short-lived real life band got, meh..
RB's true glory lies in multiplayer, many hours have been spent bashing along amongst friends with the sound cranked up to eleven. With hours passing by in minutes and chronic back pain and finger cramps, a marathon RB session can leave one feeling truly beaten, especially on the harder songs or higher difficulty level.
The music warrior in me (See entry #64) truly abhors the fact that these games make music so fucking corporate, strict and cliched (Hey kids, buy another shit load of "Punk" songs so you can fight the power on your Sony/Microsoft console in this Activision/EA game) but so little integrity is left in the majority music scene now that this is more a sign of the times than anything else.
The simple fact remains that when it comes to multiplayer experiences for two or more wannabes, euphoric levels of fun can be had whilst simultaneously enjoying some of the finest music to grace the local popular music beat combo hit parade.

Rock Band 2 is the peak of rhythm-action games, I guarantee you it all goes downhill in that genre from here. Guitar Hero have already resorted to crappy compilation packs and desperate grave-raping celebrity appearances. Even the very best rhythm-action gamers are starting to show signs of burnout and boredom and we all know that anything remotely gimmicky in videogames never lasts forever.
So get some friends together and enjoy a few hours of some of the finest team gaming known to man. Also, please consider learning an instrument, because when you play music, I promise you, it's five Gold Stars everytime.