Guitar Hero and Rock Band are two of the most innovative console games of the last ten years. Now you can enjoy the wonders of virtual instruments on the go, by installing Rock Band on your iPhone.

I must admit I had a touch of stage fright before playing this, because I was worried about how it could recreate the magic of the Rock Band experience on a small screen. The console version is played with lifelike instruments that you plug into your PlayStation or XBox, whereas the iPhone of Rock Band is just played by tapping your fingers on the screen. How on Earth could it be as fun as the original?

Of course, it would never be the same as playing with the full Rock Band kit, but the iPhone version is a lot more fun and responsive than I was anticipating. You get to choose from four different instruments - bass, guitar, drums, and vocals - and all of them are excellently presented. From the animations above the game board to the vibrant neon colors, the graphics are almost worthy of a console - and the sound is superb too.

This free version of Rock Band lets you sample all of the various instruments in Quick Play mode. Unfortunately, it only gives you one song ('Learn to Fly' by The Foo Fighters). I know it's free, but I thought just including a single track was a little tight on the part of EA.

This said, Rock Band is easily one of the most fun to play iPhone games of this year, and it's well worth upgrading after trying out this free version.