Austin360 blogs > Digital Savant > Archives > 2007 > November > 21 > Entry
‘Rock Band’ vs. ‘Guitar Hero III’: The judgment
And now the battle of the bands has begun.
“Rock Band” debuted in stores at midnight on Monday (notice the increasing number of midnight launches for video games; gamers can’t wait and they don’t sleep). Its launch sets up the battle of the holiday season among gamers: What’s better, a $70 game that comes with a wireless toy guitar or a $170 bundle that comes with a guitar, a set of electronic drums and a microphone for jamming together in a pretend band?
It makes the battle even more interesting that the creators of “Rock Band,” the virtuosos at Harmonix, were the originators of “Guitar Hero.” They left to pursue this multi-instrument dream while Activision took the reigns of the old franchise to work up the third in the “Guitar Hero” series, which came out last month and is already ubiquitous. Just look for the huge stacks of long, rectangular bundles at any Wal-Mart or Best Buy.
So what wins: old polish or new ambition?
For the gamer with limitless resources, it’s a win-win. Buy them both and use your “Guitar Hero III” guitar as an extra axe for “Rock Band.”
But for someone who has to choose, it’s going to be largely dependent on how you’re going to play. Between both games, we have incredible song selections, probably the best of any music-related video game we’ve ever seen: the Rolling Stones, Black Sabbath, Weezer, Radiohead, the Ramones, Sex Pistols, Muse, Kaiser Chiefs, the Clash, Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Some songs, like “Paranoid” and “Sabotage,” are featured in both games.
If you’re going to be playing alone — if you’re a loner, a rebel, Dottie — you’re going to want to stick with “Guitar Hero III.” There’s a slightly larger list of songs (although that will change as both games introduce pay-per-song/3-pack/album downloads; “Rock Band” already has downloads available.). But “Guitar Hero III” is polished to an insane degree, familiar and, even minus those stupid “Boss battles,” it plays wonderfully. It’s also cheaper than “Rock Band,” and you can get it with wireless guitars, which keeps you from being tethered to your game console.
“Guitar Hero III” tourney.
Now … If you have friends who are willing to rock: “Rock Band” wins by a landslide. Going from one player to two makes the game many times more fun and throwing in a third or fourth player (guitar, bass, drums, vocals) puts out exponential amounts of entertainment. It is the party game to beat for the foreseeable future.
“Rock Band“‘s hardware is sturdy and nicely constructed. The guitar has recessed fret buttons and feels more like a guitar and less like a toy. It also has a clickless strum bar, which I prefer to the “Guitar Hero” guitar. It also has an extra set of buttons higher up on the fret and a switch for different guitar effects you can use on the fly. You may feel differently, but I like the “Rock Band” guitar a lot more than the one bundled with “GH3.” It just feels better.
The microphone included in “Rock Band” is pleasingly heavy. But it has no buttons on it: the person doing vocals has to rely on a standard game controller to jump into the game and select their characters.
Now, the drums. This is going to be the deal maker for many. Put together, the drums take up a pretty large amount of space, although the adjustable height controls can make them pretty compact. They’re sturdy and the rubber pads can take a beating. The foot pedal can also take some punishment. You can rest your foot on it and it has some good springs to it.
The whole setup is wired, unfortunately. That means you have to use an included USB hub, which also has to be plugged into an A/C outlet. This makes a mess of wires and you may even need a USB extension cord to make it all reach your musicians.
Your living room could be this cluttered, too!
But once you start playing, you won’t care. There is indeed magic in making music together. “Rock Band” is as close as many of are ever going to get to being in a real band, and the effect is deep. Especially on drums — you really feel like you’re making music. The people around you can hear you if you’re singing or drumming; if you’re off, your bandmates can tell.
The game looks very similar to “Guitar Hero,” but has a lot more customization. There are tons of costumes, instruments and custom tattoos and makeup you can purchase in the game with your hard-won virtual money.
You unlock new songs as you go, playing new venues and adding fans. Like “Guitar Hero,” “Rock Band” is one of those “one more song” games. You keep playing and playing, hoping to try out new songs or improve on the ones you’ve already played. Pretty soon it’s 3 a.m. and your foot is cramping on the bass drum.
The first night we played “Rock Band,” I had my brother and dad come over, and hearing my dad wail on songs he didn’t even know (he didn’t want to try guitar or drums; he would only sing) was some of the most fun I’ve had playing a video game in a long time.
Some might balk at the $170 pricetag, but it’s pure fun in a box. Given that there are a lot of awful games out there being sold at $60 each, “Rock Band” is at least a value with all the included hardware and the endless replayability.
I’ve already seen kiosks set up for it at Best Buy (minus the drum foot pedal, unfortunately). I think this is one of those games where people won’t really get it until they try it for themselves and see how much fun it can be.
“Rock Band” at Best Buy.
Just don’t try playing it alone. As my friend Dave asked, “Does it come with three friends?”
So, the final verdict? “Guitar Hero III” is great. “Rock Band” is better, at least with willing friends and a big enough living room.
Permalink | Comments (2) | Post your comment Categories: Shopping, Videogames
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By Maurice
December 2, 2007 10:02 AM | Link to this
170 for the set is like free
By rocdabloc
November 28, 2007 4:20 PM | Link to this
I COULDNT AGREE MORE.