Rock Band 2 vs. Guitar Hero

[Mercule]

So, I'm finally interested enough in these games that I'm willing to fork over the money (and living room space) to get one -- I think it was the drums that finally hooked me, honestly. The question now is "Which one do I get?"

I could list a whole bunch of stuff I think I know, but I really don't know jack about either one, other than I can't pass by a store display without playing. How does anyone else think they stack up?

FWIW, odds are that I'll generally be playing by myself. My wife might get sucked in occasionaly (I can hope), but that's it. I'll also be playing it on the Wii (I have a PS2, also, but I'm assuming the Wii is better than that, even if not in the league of the PS3/360). Finally, I actually play a bit (read: started putzing a few months back) of real guitar and, while I don't expect there to be any more similarity than Gran Turismo has with driving a real car, I didn't know if one or the other felt more "wrong" or "right" from that perspective.

 

[Arnwyn]

Wow. Even if it was RB1 vs. Guitar Hero: World Tour, there wouldn't be a competition.

RB (of any sort) blows GH out of the water. Twice on Sundays. (I own both, BTW.)

RB plays better, has better music (if you consider the downloadable stuff in there as well; they're about even [depending on taste, of course] if you just look at the disc stuff), and has a much much better World Tour mode - as well as neat things like challenges. GH:WT, though, does have better stat tracking (how well you did in certain portions of a song), which is pretty slick.

The good thing is that the RB2 instruments work with GH:WT. So if you get RB2 with the instruments, you'll still be fine if you get GH:WT at a later date (preferably used).

For the Wii, I don't know how the downloadable content works, so others might be able to better answer.

 

[Mercule]

The good thing is that the RB2 instruments work with GH:WT.

I was under the impression that the opposite was true: GHWT instruments could be used on RB2, but not the other way around.

 

[Lazybones]

It varies by platform. See http://cdn.guitarhero.com/ghhub/GHWT_compatibility.pdf. The Wii has more limits than the other platforms. Unfortunately, the Wii version also lacks one of the best features of RB2, the ability to rip all your RB1 songs (save 3) to your HD and play them in RB2 for a $5 license fee.

I'd look at the song lists and see which one you like most. RB2 comes with 84 songs, GH:WT with 86. There's a ton more downloadable content for the RB franchise (I think it's about 3x as much at the moment), but again the Wii gets somewhat shafted with fewer songs than on the 360 and PS3.

 

[Mercule]

Looks like what I heard about the Wii version and compatibility is correct. Which means I need to decide if I care. I could always pick up GHWT in the big box, then RB2 disk-only.

Which has better drums and guitar (the microphone will never see use)?

 

[Arnwyn]

I was under the impression that the opposite was true: GHWT instruments could be used on RB2, but not the other way around.

Hmm... guess that's the case for the poor Wii version (unlike the PS3/360 versions). Oh well... sorry about that.

Which has better drums and guitar (the microphone will never see use)?

I'd say it varies and depends on who you ask - different people like different instruments. I prefer the RB2 instruments, but others (including my wife) like the GH guitars more, as they are slightly smaller and the strum bar is more 'clicky'. The GH drums are known to have sensitivity issues (enough so that it's suggested one buys a MIDI-to-USB cable and download a program to test), so - again - IMO the RB2 drums are better.

However, this all relates (again) to the PS3/360 versions - it seems the Wii is quite different (and a little gimped) from everything else, so what I typed above may not even apply. Poor poor Wii.

 

[John Crichton]

GT:WT is also dropping like a stone pricewise. Check out amazon.com. I was just at Costco and Toys 'R Us and the prices were lower, too. But not as low as amazon.

It's worth noting that I haven't gotten GW:WT yet. Rock Band 1&2 are serving my needs just fine.

 

[Pants]

IMO, RB > GHWT. I own both and I was pretty disappointed with GH.

RB plays better, has slightly better note-charts (IMO), and has a slicker, more intuitive interface. GH's is pretty godawful by comparison.

AS for what GH does better? Well, I think the song list on the disc is pretty amazing. Lots of good songs and fewer 'this track is great on drums/guitar/bass, but sucks for every other instrument' than RB1/2. The music creator is novel, though I've never successfully used it. I really liked the guitar and sorta prefer it to the RB one.

The GH drums are known to have sensitivity issues (enough so that it's suggested one buys a MIDI-to-USB cable and download a program to test), so - again - IMO the RB2 drums are better.

To be fair, a good percentage of RB1 guitars were faulty on release (including my friend's). He also had to replace his RB1 drum pads since they stopped registering hits. Finicky little devils.

It's worth noting that I haven't gotten GW:WT yet. Rock Band 1&2 are serving my needs just fine.

It helps that there's just sooo many songs available for RB. It's quite ridiculous actually.

 

[Agamon]

I'll just reiterate what everyone else has said. I own both games for XBox, and RB is far better than GH. I prefer the RB2 instruments, too.

 

[Aeolius]

Alpine Legend ftw
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUBQknWUEYU"]Alpine Legend[/ame]