Picked up Rock Band 2

I *finally* got around to buying Rock Band 2. Since Adam and Joe are visiting from Louisiana for the week and I have our housewarming party the next Saturday I figured I'd rent the game from Blockbuster and have it on hand for both occasions. Immediately after I paid the rental fee for the game I noticed there were a few RB2 bundles behind the counter. I asked the Blockbuster guy about those and he said that they were being shipped back as they didn't sell even after being clearanced. I asked him how much the one remaining xBox 360 bundle was and he replied $140. I pulled out my iPhone and according to Google and Amazon.com, you can't find it from a reputible dealer for less than $190 so I went ahead and bought it.

I hooked up everything on Monday night and am blown away by the differences. Here is my take on the differences between RB1 and RB2:

1. The drums are so much nicer. The drum heads are softer so they're both quieter and you don't hit them as hard so less fatigue. Plus, they're wireless and you can plug in two bass pedals and cymbals for extra drum action.

2. Bands no longer have band leaders. This solves a lot of frustration on casual RB party nights.

3. Characters are no longer tied to one instrument. See #2.

4. No fail mode. See #2 and also great as I have a six year old who likes to play along.

5. The song selection is pretty groovy. I can't wait to get the xBox hooked up to the net (DSL guy comes by on Friday) and then upload the 54 or so songs from RB1 and download the 20 free additional tracks from Harmonix to have a total of 150 songs or so to choose from. There's a handful of DLC songs I'd like to get eventually, but this is a pretty great selection.

6. The guitar is improved from the RB1 guitar in that it is wireless and a nice wooden Fender strat head. I still like Guitar Hero guitars much better than RB guitars and prefer my GHWT guitar to all the others.

All in all, a good buy. Now I just need to get a new xBox 360 and I'll be set. (I'm currently borrowing Jacob's xBox. Hopefully a trumpet I'm selling on eBay will pay for the next one before the party)