Rock Band 2, created by Harmonix Music Systems Inc. hit the Xbox 360 section of your local game stores today. All new check list of goodies sure to make your fret-fingers itchy.

Taking the concept of music and rhythm games like the Guitar Hero series one step further, the multiplatform console game Rock Band, released last year gave players the opportunity to play a number of instruments together to play as a full rock band, using controllers for lead guitar, bass guitar, drums, and a microphone that has voice note recognition.

Less than a year after the first Rock Band was released, its sequel Rock Band 2 brings with it new features like the ability to fully customize the appearance and moves of virtual band characters, an online world tour mode, battle-of-the-bands tournaments.
The star feature of the new Rock Band is the battle of the bands. Harmonix lead producer Kasson Crooker says “You get to compete against other bands - generic bands from around the world or on your friends list, we have daily and weekly battles that you can choose from, and each one is created by us at Harmonix.” The battles will have a ladder system to see how you compare to other world players.

Rock Band 2 is compatible with most songs and all downloaded content from the original game which can be imported into part 2.
The prices are as follows: Rock Band 2 Standalone Software is available for $59.99, the Rock Band 2 Standalone version with Wireless Drums will cost $89.99, while the version with Wireless Guitar will be available for $69.99.

Come October 27, “Guitar Hero: World Tour” which will add drums and vocals for the first time to a GH game, is going to be serious competition to the new Rock Band, so there’s plenty of choice for all music-sim aficionados out there.

With the music game industry flourishing, it will be interesting to see what artists the new games will promote. While it might not have mattered much 4 years ago when the first Guitar Hero was released, today it and other games like it have made waves in the music industry, and they certainly not only affect sales, but also expose the public to music they may never have heard otherwise.