So, given all that, what's not to love?

A lot, unfortunately. To be sure, nothing in Rock Band is bad. But the local World Tour multiplayer shines so bright, it does diminish the rest of the experience by comparison. And that hurts because, pending your situation, you may not have much chance of seeing Rock Band at its best very often. Regularly getting three or four people into the same room on a consistent basis will be a tall order for a lot of players. And to fit in all the equipment (the drums are not a small peripheral) you'll need a large room, and a large room really demands a TV of significant size. Trying to wrap four people around a 30" or smaller display does cause the game to lose a little bit of its luster. Make no mistake, once you've had this kind of experience playing the game, going back to solo play or even playing in a group online… it's just no longer the same.

Playing online is both functional and fun and a welcome improvement of the nonexistent online experience of Guitar Hero 1 and 2. It's also better than the more limited online experience of Guitar Hero III. However, citing technical hurdles, Harmonix was not able to implement the World Tour mode into Rock Band's online play, and it is sorely missed.

And the solo play, while still fun, still feels weak because it's the exact same format we've come to expect from the Guitar Hero franchise, where the available songs are each separated into their own venue in blocks of five, with each venue presenting tracks of increasing difficulty. It is still highly enjoyable, but once you've played the game on World Tour this far more restrictive mode of play just feels tired and played out. Worse, there's absolutely no reason I can see to not have the World Tour mode, or at least some form of it, available to the single player.

The instruments too, are a mixed bag. They do look good, make no mistake. And when you get a sturdy, functional set, they work very well. The guitar, modeled on a Fender Stratocaster, is the most authentic looking instrument we've seen from any of these games. It also includes a quieter (non-clicky) strummer, which some will love and others will loathe. (The lack of a click when you strum makes it feel mushy and less precise.) Ultimately, Guitar Hero III's Gibson Les Paul is a sturdier, better constructed device. (Plus, it's wireless.)

The drum setup works very well and playing them is a remarkable simulation of the real thing. That said, the drum pads are distractingly loud when you play them. Loud enough that if you're playing solo or online, you'll want to play using headphones and if you have a cranky spouse or close-by neighbors (in a dorm or apartment, for example), you're likely to annoy them.

The microphone is what it is. A very capable mic, which also doubles as a tambourine, cowbell, etc. in tracks like Blue Oyster Cult's Don't Fear the Reaper. That said, vocals really aren't about singing the song, so much as they are about hitting the right pitch. The game does not care what octave you sing in, which is fine, but it also doesn't care whether or not you're actually singing the words. You could sing the chorus of REM's Orange Crush as, "I've got my whips and chains, I've got my liquid latex," if you wanted to, as long as you hit the pitch adequately.

The real problem, though, is the durability of all this stuff. Clocking in at $170, the full Rock Band kit is not cheap. And unfortunately, the tubes of the Internet are loaded with story after story of these devices breaking after limited use or not working well out of the box to begin with. The problem is so bad the first thing you'll find upon opening the game box is a notice not to return any of the parts to the store should they not work, but to contact EA support instead. Many guitars are shipping with bad tilt sensors and the strummer often breaks after even light use. For the drums, the kick pedal is prone to snapping in two if you get too rough with it, and its a common problem for the pads themselves to not register every hit properly.

Frankly, it all makes the Xbox 360 itself look reliable in comparison. To their credit, EA and Harmonix have adopted a very fast and fair exchange program in which they'll send you a replacement instrument immediately, even before you ship the defective one back to them. But still, this kind of chincy production value for the instruments, in the short term, is an albatross around the game's neck that hurts the game's experience.