Who needs a Guitar Hero copycat when you can have the real thing for a fraction of the price… right? My first impression of Harmonix’s latest 170 dollar release called “Rock Band” was just that right up until the reviews started rolling in. Considering Harmonix was the original developer for Guitar Hero before they sold the title to MTV, I guess it shouldn’t be a surprise that they stepped it up a notch for Rock Band. After finally having a chance to demo Rock Band first hand with a few friends, you should know that this game is not intended to be another “Guitar Hero” wannabe. In fact it’s hard to even compare the two simply because they are so different. Rock Band is a fantastic party game that should only come out of the closet when you have a group of people to play it. As a single player, it just doesn’t hold up, and you will find that Guitar Hero takes the cake for solo riffs. As a multi player game however, Rock Band has more to offer by giving you the option play the drums, lead guitar or even hit the mic on lead vocals. The game play environment and characters are both more realistic than what you are used to in Guitar Hero, and tour mode will guarantee you hours of fun. All in all, Rock Band is a quality release, but with a 170 dollar price tag, I think it might have a hard time selling against Guitar Hero this holiday season. You should check out IGN’s full video review here to get a better idea of what Rock Band is all about.