A really addictive rhythm game but it's a shame there's no multiplayer
+ Good choice of 41 songs to play
+ Band customization adds more to the game
Negatives
- No multiplayer
Rock band unplugged is basically rock band, or guitar hero but for PSP- the basic idea is you use 4 buttons, in this case triangle, square, up and left in coordination with the rhythm of the song.
As you can probably tell from the name you'll be playing rock songs, this includes grunge, emo, metal and alternative.
Track include songs from the killers, system of a down, nirvana, audioslave, lamb of god and the police, your given a wide variety of different music to play which is really good and keeps gameplay fresh and fun.
The catch is you have to play not just 1 but 4 instruments, it sounds complicated, but in fact it's really simple- you can switch from instrument to instrument using the shoulder buttons, once you complete a chord of an instrument it will begin to play automatically for a limited time allowing you to pay attention to the other instruments.
If you miss notes or mess up the instrument will not play and eventually if you are really struggling to complete a chord the track will go red and it will 'fail' and you'll not be allowed to play it any longer, unless you use overdrive.
Overdrive involves completing a certain amount of chords and charging your overdrive- then when your overdrive is ready you can use it to resurrect one instrument and it gives you a multiplier on points you earn from every chord.
If you get 3 fails then it's game over, you fail the whole track.
I think the gameplay is fair, it may sound repetitive but with the variety of songs and many difficulties to choose from the gameplay is fresh.
As you improve it's recommended you choose higher difficulty, once you begin to get the hang of the harder tracks on the harder difficulties it feels rather good, like your listening to the track but also playing it as well.
There's 4 levels of difficulty, easy, medium, hard and expert.
Easy only involves 2 buttons, triangle and up, and yes, the notes come really slowly and it's very easy, this isn't that all fun, but it will get you to grips with the gameplay.
Medium then goes onto involve all 4 buttons but remains the same speed.
Hard- now this is how it's meant to be played, the notes come a lot faster and you'll also have to do more button combo's.
Then finally there's expert- and be prepared it's really hard.
The variety of difficulties gives you a reason to keep playing and improving, however so does the band/tour mode.
Basically you make your band (out of 4 members) you choose their sex, hairstyle, basic clothing and style (emo, punk etc..)
As you play songs on tour and take part in concerts (of set songs) you earn money and gain fans- this allows you to play in more cities and more concerts.
You use money to buy new hairstyles, clothes and instruments for your band, there's a lot of variety in clothing and it adds a great hint of customization to the game giving it a simulation feel which is great fun, like your really managing a band.
There's also extra modes including band survival- in which you need to get every note right or you fail, warm up mode in which you only have to play one instrument and finally there's cheat modes which disable saving but can unlock all songs if you really want to play one you haven't unlocked on tour.
Overall, rock band unplugged is great, despite there being no multiplayer modes, what so ever it's a solid rhythm game which should rock/metal/punk fans a really good experience and a lot of play time, it's definitely worth it.
I hope this review has helped, thanks for reading!