Harmonix's Rock Band 4 is to Rock Band 3 as the Rolling Stones are to music today: inevitable, classic, and tried and true-and tired. Fans know exactly what they're getting with this newest iteration, because it's more or less exactly what they've gotten before.

Concept: Another phenomenal set list from Harmonix headlines this return of familiar mechanics Graphics: New animations and lighting look great, but repetition of movements from the onscreen characters isn't ideal Sound: Great tunes are accentuated by a clever crowd-response system, helping you to...

A little over five years ago, the rhythm and music genre was at the forefront of the gaming industry. Between Rock Band and Guitar Hero, games and plastic instruments for the genre were everywhere.

Rock Band 4 has a unique focus for a franchise that's been running this long: It's less of a sequel, and more of a migration. Through license negotiations, backward compatibility tweaks and a handful of smart feature cuts, Rock Band 4 has made it so you don't have to "start over" on your current-gen...

While it lacks some of the features of prior versions - most notably online mode - Rock Band 4 is a solid release that establishes the franchise as a platform that will be continually supported and updated in the future.

Rock n' Roll Dreams Do Come True

A welcome return for multiplayer music games, even if there's relatively little new to add to the experience – and a few things that have been taken out.

The most refined version of the idea so far, and much more accessible than Rock Band 3; Freestyle guitar solos and the other attempts to add dynamism work well; Good story mode

If you need multiple new instruments then the starting cost can be very high; Few major new features and some missing ones, including online and keyboard support

Harmonix are putting the band back together.

Consolidation might not sound very rock'n'roll, but what Rock Band 4 does, at its best, is work hard to melt away any distance between the player and the music. When you're in full flight on Rush's A Passage To Bangkok, locked into a groove with friends operating as a tight, responsive, giddy unit,...

Crooning, beefcake pop sensation Thom Yorke once sang, "whatever makes you happy, whatever you want". You get the impression that this was in the minds of Harmonix when they made Rock Band 3.