I am a product loyalist to a fault. As a kid, I stuck with Coke through the New Coke fiasco. I stick with bad shows like Heroes. You really don’t have to look any further than my incomprehensible loyalty to the Minnesota Vikings (yesterday’s victory notwithstanding). Therefore, it wasn’t even a question to me which music game sequel I’d buy this year between Guitar Hero World Tour and Rock Band 2. Guitar Hero III and Guitar Hero Aerosmith had treated me very well and they had been the first music games to hit the Wii. The way I figured it, they deserved my loyalty. Now after playing Rock Band 2 for a couple of days I think my loyalty was misplaced.
Released for the Wii just last week, Rock Band 2 sweetened its appeal right off the bat by declaring that it was compatible with Guitar Hero World Tour instruments. There’s no way I’d have purchased the game if I had to drop another $190 bucks on drums, guitars, and mics. The fact that Rock Band 2 realized they were coming to the party late and had enough foresight to anticipate the gripes of people like myself, was encouraging. For those that have lived under a rock, the game play is identical to GH; strum your guitar, beat your drum, hit your pitch. No matter which game you’re playing this is the meat of your music game sandwich and both deliver. However, Rock Band 2 beats GH to a bloody mess when it comes to all the stuff in between. The graphics are astonishingly better for one. Rock Band 2 pushes the Wii graphic envelope for a game of this type and the results are appreciated. The layout of the screen is also a dramatic improvement over its competitor. The meter, star/overdrive indicator, and point totals are laid out in a way where all band members can see and understand them clearly. Meanwhile, even the menu navigation puts GH to shame. The create-a-character aspect is far deeper and the song list is even longer. The only thing I can’t weigh in on are the instruments themselves but I’m happy to report that the GH instrument compatibility is definitely all there.
To put it plainly Rock Band 2 kicks Guitar Hero World Tour’s ass in every way possible.
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5 comments:
I had no idea that the instruments were compatible. Consider it bought in the next couple of weeks. I'll send you and Sherry my Wii Codes.
That changes EVERYTHING, for the same reasons you described.
I agree! I am surprised how all the "little things" add up to give RB2 such a clear edge.
My main problem right now is that I really want to use the GH4 drums with RB2, but you can't buy them by themselves for under $150!!! Ridiculous!
I'm wondering, since they are USB, if the PS3 equipment will work on the Wii? Or is all the Wii equipment wireless?
I'd be surprised if they worked without some kind of homebrew install on the Wii. It makes for an interesting experiment, though. I have to talk to my buddy Graham, who has both the Wii and a PS3...
All Wii instruments are wireless except for the mic which is USB. I'd wager the PS3 mic would work but would question anything else.
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