Solid music game, perfect for Green Day fans.

User Rating: 8.5 | Green Day: Rock Band X360
By azollars | Review Date:
Important preface to my review of this game: I was not a Green Day fan until I saw the Bullet in a Bible concert on Palladia last year. I didn't own any Green Day albums, but I also wasn't a Green Day hater like a lot of people seem to be. I was in high school when Dookie was released and I remember the buzz it generated and all the kids who really latched on to it. But I also remember the kids who were into Green Day when they were on Lookout and their passionate opposition to the new fan base. I was never concerned with their status as a true "punk" band or not. I was more or less indifferent. However, I was so completely blown away by the whole Milton Keynes performance that I purchased American Idiot the next week. They've been a band for over 20 years and sold over 60 million albums worldwide. Like them or not, there is no denying the global popularity of Green Day and the reason for Harmonix to dedicate a game to them.

This game is perfect for me, with the highlight being the recreation of the Milton Keynes venue if not the entire Bullet in a Bible performance. The fact that Green Day really are somewhere between pop and punk is one of the things that makes this a good game for a wider audience. Although I like a lot of Green Day's faster songs, playing them can get tiresome and repetitive (and if you didn't already understand, this gives you a good appreciation of how much energy these guys bring to their performance). Green Day has just enough variety to give your fingers/hands/arms a break from the constant pounding. It is standard Rock Band stuff, with the inclusion of the three-part vocal harmonies introduced with The Beatles: Rock Band. For the true Green Day fan there are photos and videos that can be unlocked by completing songs with 3 and 5 stars, and for finishing 3-song sets at each venue. These extras are nice, although the quality of the videos are poor and don't look very good when blown up on a 55" high-def screen.

Since the game focuses on Green Day, it's nice to see representations of the actual band members in the game. One complaint I have about Rock Band is the absolutely ridiculous-looking characters that are randomly generated when playing a quick setlist outside of career mode. With Green Day:Rock Band, Harmonix did a great job capturing the essence of Billie Joe, Mike, and Tre with looks, instruments, and on-stage mannerisms that reflect the venue and time period of the song that is being played. The downside to this is that all songs can only be played in the venue they were intended and you lose the spontaneous feel of a live performance. So if you create a setlist of songs from different eras, you'll be playing that one set in multiple venues. You also quickly notice the same poses and camera angles as you replay songs. I don't know why there has to be a trade-off between authenticity and repetition, but I still think authenticity wins here.

I wrote this review because Green Day:Rock Band is, to me, a better game than a lot of reviews I've seen. If you don't like Green Day or pop/punk music then there is no reason to buy this game. But if you are a Green Day fan, or if you like music games and Green Day doesn't bother you, then this is a must have.

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