Rock Band

It's all wrapped up with some superb visuals too, even if you'll hardly get time to watch the virtual band performing behind the fast moving on-screen icons. If you're unlikely to play with friends Rock Band is hard to recommend, with Guitar Hero being the more sensible option, but if you're planning plenty of get-togethers, Rock Band will provide more than enough enjoyment to warrant its price tag.

Truly, Rock Band is really more than the sum of its parts. Taken individually, everything is a solid from top to bottom, yet nothing is quite perfect. If you're planning to buy the game and play it in your basement alone with a bag of Cheetos, Rock Band might not be for you. But in the company of friends who are willing to take the plunge and hop into a role, there's absolutely nothing that comes close to it on the market, be it in the music/rhythm genre or otherwise.

You once again match the notes on screen to the buttons on your guitar - this time, a black Fender Stratocaster with built-in effects and five extra buttons high up on the neck, intended for solo pyrotechnics. If you dutifully march through the single-player campaigns, you'll enjoy the variety of venues, the realistic animations, and the loading screens that illustrate your rise to fame. But playing solo misses the whole point.