The band gives it their all in new trailers Rock Band 2: The Opening Act

Although we Europeans still have to wait for the first Rock Band part for all platforms to hit our stores, the second part is already on the way for the United States. Rock Band 2: The Opening Act aims to bring out the band feeling among gamers again and today we get to see seven gameplay trailers.

Rock Band 2: The Opening Act is a game that transfers the musical boyhood dream in a virtual form to the next-gen consoles. The Rock Band games are being developed by Harmonix, a developer who pioneered the Guitar Hero series. The game can be played with four people who use controllers in the form of instruments (microphone, two guitars and a drum kit) to imitate music from major rock stars. The vast majority of the songs contain heavy rock, of course, but genres such as classic and country are also included.

Rock Band is not a game, Rock Band is a music platform. Rock Band 2: The Opening Act is therefore not a normal sequel, but an ‘update’ of the platform. New are a slicker interface for managing your band, a laundry list of new songs and a set of new plastic tools to let your hair down. But because it’s all part of one platform, you don’t have to buy new instruments, or re-purchase songs to play them with Rock Band 2. Everything will work together without any problems.

The new guitar is another Fender Stratocaster, but this time with a softer neck, a better strum bar and finer *****. The drum set is now sensitive to how hard you hit, your strokes are muffled and the pedal has been drastically improved. Both are now wireless, including for the Xbox 360.

Rock Band 2: The Opening Act should be in American stores from September for the Xbox 360, the PlayStation 3 version will follow later.

A European release date of Rock Band 2 is as yet unknown. The first part has already appeared here for the Xbox 360 and will also be released on September 25 for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2 and Wii.