Rock Band is aimed at those of us that drum on the steering wheel in the car while passengers play air guitar and sing at the top of their lungs. It’s for those that own and love both Guitar Hero and Singstar but wish there was some way, any way, to combine the two games at a party. It’s for people that love fun, love to play in groups, and can never get enough solos.

Rock Band is four games all rolled into one. It’s a single-player guitar game, a single-player drum game, a single-player karaoke game, and a four-player party game featuring lead guitar, bass guitar, drums, and vocals. It’s completely reasonable to pick up the entire package for the multiplayer experience alone because that’s where Rock Band really shines, and that’s where you’ll have the most fun with it. Sure, it feels good to make it through a particularly difficult solo by yourself, but it is oddly better to fail the solo while playing with friends, have one of them save you by going into overdrive, and going on to earn four stars on the song as a team.

Mechanically, Rock Band is easy to learn but extremely difficult to master. Both lead and bass guitar work as in three of Harmonix’s previous releases: Guitar Hero, Guitar Hero II, and Guitar Hero Encore: Rock the 80s. Hold down the appropriate fret button and strum as a note crosses the line. Strum 10 notes perfectly and get an increased multiplier. Drums work similarly, in that notes fall toward a line and need to be played as the cross. Drums are easily the star of the show here, and they’re extremely true to life. By the time you’ve finished the expert drum tour you’ll be ready to pick up a real set of drums and join a band. Between the four drum pads and the bass pedal you’ll be busy for a long time – especially if you ever hope to earn 100% on a song at the expert difficulty. Vocals work like Singstar, Karaoke Revolution, and the like. Sing at the proper pitch to earn points, and don’t worry about the octave, ladies. If you know the words and the notes you’ll be able to sing Radiohead’s A