Guitar Hero/Rock Band?

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Malice

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So, I was always a big hater of these "guitar games", until I played Guitar Hero 3 at my cousins house. I loved it. It was simple, fun, addictive, etc. The only thing I didn't like, was the majority of the songs. I mean, out of the , I guess 30 or so, songs in the game, I actually like about 10. Although they're all fun to play.

So now I want to get one of these games. At first I thought I would just get GHIII, but I then thought why not come here and see if you guys would recommend a different game in the GH series, or a different game altogether. Such as the Rock Band games.

Which game out of all these "guitar games" would you folks recommend? And what deals for said games should I get in on?

Thanks for the help in advance.
 
While there are a few nuanced differences in gameplay, what will probably be the deal breaker will be the songlists. Firstly, I'd say skip GHIII and look at Guitar Hero: World Tour (having a full band makes for a much more fun experience). Also look at the songs that are available for download for GH:WT.

Then look at the songlists for Rock Band 1, Rock Band 2, and the downloadable songs for that (you can rip the songs off of RB1 to work with RB2...you can't do this for any of the GH games). For me, I'm a Rock Band fan...hard to argue with over 500 songs available (that, and the people who made Rock Band made the first two GH games).

None of the other instrument-based music games are noteworthy. I recommend RB wholeheartedly, but maybe there's a song on GH that you just can't live without.
 
[quote name='nochilinopity']While there are a few nuanced differences in gameplay, what will probably be the deal breaker will be the songlists. Firstly, I'd say skip GHIII and look at Guitar Hero: World Tour (having a full band makes for a much more fun experience). Also look at the songs that are available for download for GH:WT.

Then look at the songlists for Rock Band 1, Rock Band 2, and the downloadable songs for that (you can rip the songs off of RB1 to work with RB2...you can't do this for any of the GH games). For me, I'm a Rock Band fan...hard to argue with over 500 songs available (that, and the people who made Rock Band made the first two GH games).

None of the other instrument-based music games are noteworthy. I recommend RB wholeheartedly, but maybe there's a song on GH that you just can't live without.[/quote]Thanks for the recommendation. I'll keep it in mind while I research the song lists. One question I have, though... Is the guitar that comes with Rock Band as intuitive and easy to learn, but still hard to master like the GH guitar? How are the other instruments for RB? Are they well made? Ok, that was technically two questions. >_>

Thanks again for the reply.
 
GHIII is, by far, the worst GH game, so I'm not sure how much you are going to enjoy the real ones. Buy RB2, borrow a copy of RB, pay $5, and you instantly have about 130 songs. It's really hard to beat that. The best guitar to date, IMO, is the GHWT one. The RB and GH ones play completely different though. Find demos and check both out. Personally, I use the Strat 1 for bass and the GHWT one for guitar. GHWT has a higher fun factor than RB (i.e. they take themselves less seriously than RB), but some charting in WT is WAAAAAY off. Not GHIII bad, but pretty damn bad. RB certainly also has the widest range of DLC choices. If you can't find something to love there, I have no clue what the fuck you listen to. All the drums are crap, but the RB2 ones are probably the best. A mic is a mic, basically. My advise, if you have the cash: GHWT game+guitar bundle, RB2, RB2 drums, and borrow a copy of RB1. Also, if you REALLY suck, get GHWT. It has a beginner mode, which is SUPER easy. It will do you no good for whatever instrument you actually want to play, but if you, say, (like me) suck at drums and signing, you can succeed at them and not just be barely passing. RB is your safest bet for they are committed to being both forwards and backwards compatible. So far activision has only made one release FC, and has made no mention of any future plans. If you can only buy one game, make it RB2. It is the most diverse, contains fucking LUSH, and certainly has the best charting.
 
Any last minute Rock band 2 bundle deals out there? I got in on the Toyrus one last week but a friend of mine missed it. Was asking me last night.

thanks!
 
Here's my 100%, unbiased, in-no-way-going-to-start-a-fight analysis of the situation:

Rock Band 2, Rock Band 2, Rock Band 2, and Rock Band 2.

Just, you know... something to consider.
 
Well depending on if you think you'd be interested in getting more of these games I'd recommend getting GH:WT. The drums from WT are compatible with RB2 but not the other way around (at least for the Wii, think it's true of all systems) so that may be something to consider as well.
 
[quote name='Wooten']Well depending on if you think you'd be interested in getting more of these games I'd recommend getting GH:WT. The drums from WT are compatible with RB2 but not the other way around (at least for the Wii, think it's true of all systems) so that may be something to consider as well.[/quote]

This is NOT true of all systems. Concerning GH:WT and RB2, all the instruments are cross-compatible for the 360 and PS3. See this chart for reference:

http://www.joystiq.com/instrument-compatibility-matrix

Malice, what system do you intend on buying for? We could probably give more help knowing that. For example, I don't think you can rip the tracks off of Rock Band 1 for the PS2 or Wii versions.
 
[quote name='Malice']Thanks for the recommendation. I'll keep it in mind while I research the song lists. One question I have, though... Is the guitar that comes with Rock Band as intuitive and easy to learn, but still hard to master like the GH guitar? How are the other instruments for RB? Are they well made? Ok, that was technically two questions. >_>

Thanks again for the reply.[/quote]

The guitars are basically the same, right down to the order the buttons are colored. GH guitars have more of a click on the strum bar, which some people like because it gives more of a tactile feedback when playing. RB has a bit of a cushioned feel on the strum bar, but it's easily adapted to.

If you look at the matrix I posted above, there are a lot of choices out there for instruments. You can drop $15 for a Guitar Hero II guitar that will serve you just fine, or go balls out and get the $300 ION drum set. My advice is to go to a Best Buy or something and give the instruments a hands-on test drive (though most of the ones you find will probably be busted...). Generally people prefer GH guitars and the RB drumset, but really it comes down to personal preference.
 
[quote name='nochilinopity']This is NOT true of all systems. Concerning GH:WT and RB2, all the instruments are cross-compatible for the 360 and PS3. See this chart for reference:

http://www.joystiq.com/instrument-compatibility-matrix

Malice, what system do you intend on buying for? We could probably give more help knowing that. For example, I don't think you can rip the tracks off of Rock Band 1 for the PS2 or Wii versions.[/quote]Sorry, I should of mentioned that. I plan to get it for the Xbox 360.
 
I'd like to add a more detailed two cents here, since I now have time to:

After playing through the careers in both games, I felt that the fun factor of the note charts for Rock Band 2 was enough that I really enjoyed working through them. On the other hand, most of the charts in GH:WT were bland and left me thinking "god, is this song over yet?" as I was playing through them. Not true for all songs, there were a few winners in GH:WT, and a few stinkers in RB2. However, the overwhelming trend was that Rock Band 2 charts felt fun while the GH:WT charts felt tedious.

Going into the two games, I felt that the tracklist favors GH:WT. It has more big names and serious hits. However, it became pretty obvious to me that the tracklist for GH:WT was chosen on a basis of "How many people liked this song when it was released?", while RB2 tracks were chosen with the question "How much fun would this song be to play?". Case and point: Alanis Morissette - You Oughta Know is more fun to play than any track on the GH:WT setlist. Who woulda thought?

Just one man's opinion, obviously, but it's something to keep in mind. Hope that helps.
 
you can find the xplorer guitar (came with gh2, wired) for 10 bucks now, look around this site. I picked up mad catz portable drum set (though i haven't tried them, can't find my f'ing rock band game!!), it was only 40 bucks and seems to be heavily padded=soft. as far as mic's go, you CAN use your xbox live headset (you want for 360?), it works (it's not fantastic, but it does work).

IMHO the longer you wait on this the better deals that can be had. there is simply too much of this plastic crap floating around in retail outlets, taking up their floor/stock space, so a lot of this stuff will drop in price. i'm already seeing it start to happen.
 
[quote name='Malice']Thanks for the recommendation. I'll keep it in mind while I research the song lists. One question I have, though... Is the guitar that comes with Rock Band as intuitive and easy to learn, but still hard to master like the GH guitar? How are the other instruments for RB? Are they well made? Ok, that was technically two questions. >_>

Thanks again for the reply.[/quote]

I HATE the Rock Band guitars. I love the game, but IMO their guitars suck. I've been using the GH:WT controller, but overall, I'd have to say that the wireless one from GH3 is my favorite.

TBW
 
since everyone here is already seeming to help quite a bit with all the information...I'll just put my two cents in: RB2 with RB1 imported = alot of song variety.
 
[quote name='shadowkast']since everyone here is already seeming to help quite a bit with all the information...I'll just put my two cents in: RB2 with RB1 imported = alot of song variety.[/QUOTE]

+1

Also, Harmonix's apparent commitment to keeping their DLC cross compatible is a must for me. I don't want to have to buy these songs again.
 
[quote name='TheBlueWizard']I HATE the Rock Band guitars. I love the game, but IMO their guitars suck. I've been using the GH:WT controller, but overall, I'd have to say that the wireless one from GH3 is my favorite.

TBW[/quote]Yeah, I really loved the GH3 wireless guitar controller. Though, I haven't been able to compare it to any of the others...

Is the GH3 wireless controller compatible with Rock Band 2? After looking at the song lists for RB and RB2, I'm starting to lean towards it.
 
I still don't like any of the RB guitars, the GH guitars has that nice "chunky" feel that just feels easier to play then anything RB can offer. With that being said, I find the slider bar on the GH:WT guitars absolutely retarded, cool, but retarded.

Just in case anyone is looking, KB toys is selling the Rock Band 2 Special Edition for xb 360 for $169.99, I have no idea how reliable their website is, but this seems like a pretty decent deal if you can find one in stores.
 
[quote name='Malice']Yeah, I really loved the GH3 wireless guitar controller. Though, I haven't been able to compare it to any of the others...

Is the GH3 wireless controller compatible with Rock Band 2? After looking at the song lists for RB and RB2, I'm starting to lean towards it.[/quote]

Yeah, they're compatible. Also, since you're getting 360, DLC is something you should look into. Every week Rock Band puts out new songs (my poor, poor wallet), and you can usually find YouTube videos of people playing them if you're unfamiliar with the song or you want to see how hard it is.
 
Alright, I've decided for sure that I'm going with Rock Band 2 thanks to you folks suggestions. Now where to find good deals on it?

Thanks for the help everyone.
 
It is fairly difficult to find any significant deals on the bundle, but whatever you pay, trust me, it'll be worth it. With the amount of $ I've spent on DLC songs, I could have bought a second bundle already.
 
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