Mad Catz Universal Rock Band 2

Alot of people have been asking what exactly is the point in having the cymbals - they don't make a difference to the actual songs themselves (a yellow cymbal hit is the same as a yellow drum-pad hit) but when you actually try them out, there's no going back!

You see, the cymbals add that extra 'feeling' of playing real drums. It;s hard to explain but when using them you really feel like you've stepped up a bit in rocking ability. Although there's no instant difference gameplay-wise, and you will need some getting used to them (you will need Rock Band 2 game & Rock Band 2 drum-kit to utilize them, although you can still play the original Rock Band fine with the Rock Band 2 kit) it adds that depth to realism.

During fills, big rock endings, and freestyle mode you can use them as they're own - hitting the yellow 'hi-hat- cymbal will make a hi-hat sound for example - customizing your experience.

The cymbal kit itself is well built and sports the Rock Band logo each cymbal making it look like is actually an official item (which it is, but is made by Madcatz). The clamps hold pretty well to the plastic cover over the silver metal support poles on your drumkit (there's a small black plastic section on the main bit of the drumkit where you slide the metal poles into) although for me they didn't quite seem tight enough (a bit of tape fixed that). You can move the height and position of them pretty easily as it uses a simple screw to tighten up.

Beware to those on wanting to use more than 3 cymbals - there are only 3 ports on the RB2 kit for cymbals (yellow = hi-hat, blue = ride, green = crash) and the clamps for this set only include single connectors meaning you can only connect up a maximum of 2 cymbals at a time ( the Single Cymbal kit does include a doubled up connector for 2 cymbals on one support post).

Adding Cimbals on the rockband battery is really different. It could be difficult at the begining, if you already trained to use the yelloz drum as the charley, but it seems to be more realistic.

You just have to be careful that those cymbals are only compatible with the wireless battery, so the one with Rock Band 2 and Rock Band Beatles LIMITED edition. It does not work with the other edition of Rock Band Beatles.

An additional point is that in free mode, the game knows the difference between drums and cymbals, therefore you have 3 cymbals and 4 drums. The only restriction is that you can't play the cymbal and the drums of the same color at the same bit, because you will hear only the sound of the drum.

These cymbals are not a necessary purchase but perhaps would appeal to purists who might like the aesthetic value of the overall appearance of RockBand2 drums.

The odd thing here is that us Europeans never got the RB2 hardware yet these cymbals have been available throught 2009! So I would have to say that although they will only work with RB2 drums (and since there is strictly no such thing in Europe) what I really mean is that they are compatible with the drumkit that has been released with The Beatles: Rockband as of 09/09/09. This dumkit is really the RB2 drums disguised in The Beatles Livery.

The usage of the cymbals is an alternative to what is already there and not an addition. That is to say since the drums already can record a hit on Red, Yellow, Blue and Green all the cymbals do is give you an alternative item to hit to get the same result.

This is what I mean by purists and aesthetic value. Striking the cymbals with the drumsticks feels a bit dull and heavy. The rubber cymbals appear to absorb the hit instead of reflecting it and therefore you do not get a natural "bounce".

Because of this I tend to stick with the drums and ocassionaly hit the cymbals on a Big Rock Ending for instance, which can be fun and at least a different way of finishing a song.

So the cymbals provide variety at a price but nothing extra; just more of the same.

If you have spare cash and would like to make your RB2 drumkit look a little more fuller then it's a decent purchase. Remember: these cymbals will not work with RB1 drums or Guitar hero drums. You can also purchase the cymbals in packets of 1 or 2 cymbals. My review is based on three cymbals.

The cymbals were easy to fit but some care is needed to get it right first time. You can colour your cymbals easily in any of 3 from the following colours: red, yellow, blue and green. Mine are Yellow, blue and green but I have kept the red coloured screw in case I want to change one of the cymbals.

The cymbals are slightly heavy and sit on top of a tubular pole extended upwards from a plastic clip supplied. The cymbals are then secured with one of the coloured screws which fastened without use of any tools. The cymbals are all black, tough plastic which make a dull thud noise on contact. They get their colour from the screws that you use to fasten them with.

I am not surprised that RB2 drums do not have these cymbals as standard because as I said, they are not strictly necessary and some people might not like them.