It’s a funny thing to think that a week or so back I wouldn’t have even thought of picking up Rock Band on the Wii. First off it’s a stripped down version of the superior XBOX 360 and PS3 title lacking any online or downloadable support and secondly the high price. £130 isn’t something you can spend whenever you feel like it. However four traded in games, an old copy of Guitar Hero and a little bit of cash later though and I was on my way home carrying a giant box with what could have been an entire band (musicians included!)

Heading off to university I figured Rock Band would be the ideal activity to pass those nights where going out to bars and clubs just isn’t an option. Getting three (or four) people together and playing drums, guitar or singing (more often than not badly) is so much fun and definitely one of the highlight multiplayer games yet seen on the Wii. But would I say it’s worth the £130 or are EA simply asking for too much?

The idea of rock band is a simple one. You take control of a member of a band and play to rock, metal and pop songs. Each musician plays his or her part and together you form a score based on your timing, pitch (if singing) and ability to hit buttons or pads quick enough. Like the dance mats coloured buttons scroll down the screen and when it reaches the bottom, then is the time to hit the corresponding colour on your guitar or drum set. Playing guitar you have five coloured buttons on the neck which you press whilst flicking the strum in a somewhat similar fashion to a real life guitar. If you’re on the drums however you simply hit a pad or step on the foot pedal. And as for singing you just simply make sure you get the timing right and also match the pitch instructed on screen. That’s all there is to it.

One negative point to the Wii version is the serious lack of modes. There is no online battling, no online downloading and no real in depth career mode. What you have is a very very limited practice, free session and a simple Guitar Hero style single/multiplayer mode where all you do is play through each song in turn without failing. That’s it. So I must admit if you’re buying this simply for yourself. Just don’t. This is a multiplayer title and what with the cut in a proper single player adventure you need friends to truly appreciate it.

But with friends this title is a blast. With a wealth of songs and four difficulties you will want to play and develop your skills so you’re all eventually playing at the Expert level. If you wish you can play together or against one another however this requires two drum sets or two guitars which can get too pricey. What’s also a neat feature is the option for each person to select their own difficulty. So if the singer wants to be on hard while the drummer and guitarists want to be on medium they can. Furthermore if players perform poorly and get kicked out they can be brought back in twice more if need be before actually failing completely. It shows that teamwork really pays off here.

While the track listing here isn’t as good as its sequel what you’ll find here is at the current time the best available on any music game yet. Yes there is the problem that you can’t download new tracks like on the other next gen versions, but what I’ve now learned is that Harmonix is instead releasing track packs on discs since the Wii lacks a hard drive. In total though you have around seventy songs here with twenty more due out tomorrow for around £20. That’s an awful lot.There are a decent range of genres here ranging from pop-rock, punk, metal and emo so you are bound to find something that you like here. Bon Jovi, Metallica, The Killers, The Rolling Stones, The Ramones, the list goes on and while some aren’t the best songs the developer could have chosen from each band they are still great to play along to.

If you’ve played Guitar Hero then you know what to expect from the presentation. For those of you who don’t though in the background you’ll see a generic band playing on stage whilst in front is where you’ll spend most, if not all of the time focusing. This time however since you have more instruments, lead guitar, bass and drums each have their own series of notes scrolling down the screen in which you must follow with their respective peripherals (but more on them later) while the singer has words scroll across the top screen also showing the pitch they should be sung at. It’s nothing special but it does the trick.

Now the actual “instruments” themselves. Starting off with the microphone, thoughts are extremely positive. It reads your voice really well and is actually a lot bigger and weighs pretty heavy feeling like it won’t break easily if you drop it. Then the guitar. Some like it, some hate it. I don’t mind it. It certainly looks much more realistic than say Guitar Hero 3’s attempt, and feels different too. For one the strum doesn’t click and neither do the buttons either. They feel cushioned and that may bother some gamers. The drums are the peripheral most will be interested in and I must say they feel and handle very well. The foot pedal is nice and tough while the actual drum pads feel like they can take a beating too. Height is also not an issue since you can adjust how high up the pads are. Overall the equipment you get is great and of an excellent quality.

Yes Rock Band for the Wii is a barebones package and there is its sequel just around the corner, but get this and you’ll still find an unbeatable game when it comes to multiplayer fun. It’s a lot of money though and only need be considered if you’re going to play this with friends. What’s more if you buy this you only need to pick up a copy of the game for Rock Band 2. Think ahead!