Rock Band 2 for Xbox 360

The main gameplay in Rock Band 2 is generally unaffected from the original Rock Band, where players make use of controllers designed to look like musical instruments. The idea is of course to replicate the performance of a real rock band, hence the very apt name. Players use these gadgets to play rolling musical "notes" on-screen in time with the song.

During music performances, the game shows up to three tracks of perpendicularly scrolling dyed music notes, one part each for drums, lead guitar and bass. The dyed notes on-screen symbolise drum hits and keys on the guitar. For bass and lead guitar, performers strum their notes by pressing dyed fret keys on the guitar peripheral and pressing on the controller's play bar; for drums, performers are expected to hit the corresponding dyed drumhead, or tread on the pedal to replicate singing bass drum notes.

On top of the display is the lyrics monitor, which rolls horizontally. The words show below green bars, which stand for the sound of the individual choral aspects. While singing lyrics, the player hums in key with the song, and is graded on performance. A pitch gauge shows the singer's precision compared with the original. The rest of the monitor is there to show the group's virtual personalities while they perform together.