Guitar Hero/Rock Band LttP Question

CaspianX

Well, it's been a while since I posted here last, but you guys have always been helpful when I have questions like this, so I thought I'd ask you.

I got Guitar Hero on the PS2 when it first came out and loved it, but have largely missed out on the guitar-accessory games since. Now I'm considering getting back in the game, but I'm not quite sure how to go about it. You see, I know enough about the competing franchises to know that there's plenty to recommend both of them, so ideally I'd like to get... well, everything. The thing is, I'm not sure what direction to come at it all, since I'd really like to avoid paying for excessive accessories.

Out of the guitar/drum/mic sets that have been released, which of them are confirmed to work with everything? And by everything, I mean also backwards-compatible with previous games in the Guitar Hero and Rock Band series, as I know there was a lot of trouble with cross-compatibility previously. Also, if I'm looking at a choice between getting the Xbox 360 or PS3 versions... is there really a difference there? I mean, I know that with the 360 version I could go back and buy the games all the way to Guitar Hero 2, but are there advantages to getting the games on PS3 I should be aware of?

Also, might I be better off with a third-party guitar/drum/mic? I mean, I'm not looking for some super-expensive ultimate setup here, but at the same time, I'd really rather avoid getting a drum set that I'm going to break after a few months of use.

So, what's the best setup for someone wanting the complete Guitar Hero/Rock Band experience on 360/PS3?

ASimPerson

If your aim is to minimize equipment purchases, then 360 all the way. All the GH stuff is compatible with RB, and I believe GH:WT works with RB instruments (but not GH3). GH2 for the 360 does not work with new instruments, but the GH2 guitar works with all 360 guitar games.

I think it's getting better on the PS3 with GH:WT and RB2, but I am not sure.

Also, I don't know if there is a cheaper 3rd party drum set, but if there is it probably sucks. I'll let the drummers weigh in on the GH:WT drums (which work with RB2, I believe). The RB2 drumset is a noticable improvement over the RB1 drumset and also is wireless.

If I were you, I'd just buy one of the big packs of either GH:WT or RB2 and then get the 2nd guitar of your choice.

I personally like the RB2 guitar a lot, especially the auto-synchronize feature. In fairness, I have not used the GH:WT guitar, though.

McCly

Get the RB2 bundle for 360, and the GHWT game later.

CaspianX

ASimPerson, it sounds like you're saying I'd be better off trying to get a GH2 guitar on the 360... that'll work for all of the newer stuff too? And for the rest, why the Rock Band set over the GHWT set?

Also, to clarify, I'm not exactly looking for the "cheapest" hardware, but the best value. I want good quality if I can get it, but I don't want to spend a fortune.

ASimPerson

Well, the best values are going to be the bundles for each game, so your preferences are pretty much:

1) Which game and instruments do I like better?
2) Which guitar do I like as a second guitar better?

I like RB better, and nothing about the current GH instruments really gets me going.

But it also depends on what games you want. If you're not even going to get GH3, then you don't have to worry about the RB guitars not working with it. I believe GH:WT is compatible with everything so it really is just a matter of preference.

Fig-D

Neversoft has taken Guitar Hero in a direction that I'm just not happy with. Although the note charts in WT are better than GH3's, many songs add notes where there aren't any or turn single notes into chords for the sake of difficulty. Also, RB's downloadable content absolutely blows WTs out of the water. Now, as much as I'm not a huge fan of GH3, I do REALLY like its guitar. Then again, I haven't gotten my hands on a RB2 guitar, I just know that I wasn't big on RB1's.

I'd say grab the RB2 set on the 360. Then borrow RB1 from a friend and pay $5 to download all but 3 of its songs onto your HDD for use in RB2. Try the RB2 guitar, and if you like it then you can pick up another one I think (they are sold separately at this point right?).

McCly

I'd prefer the GHWT guitar over the RB2 one if it weren't so buggy.

Dirty

I would go the 360 route, get the RB2 bundle, and a GH2/Explorer bundle. If it turns out you don't like the RB Strat, just sell it and get another Explorer (I've heard a lot of complaints about the other 360 GH guitars compared to the Explorer). You'll probably still end up paying less than you would have getting an Xplorer, drums, mic, and the game separately. Then, of course, rent/borrow RB1 and export the tracks for $5.

I would rent GH:WT first. I hear it has the least offensive note-charts in the post-Harmonix era of GH. You might find that you don't like the new style, like Fig-D and myself. If you can still dig it, then give 3 and Aerosmith a try.

Its a damn shame about GH1 though. Even if you have the setup to play it (either a PS2 console and guitar, or a 60GB PS3, PS2 guitar, and an Ant Commandos adapter), there's no way to calibrate lag. If Activision would just re-release the GH1 track list as DLC for WT, preserving the original guitar charts and adding bass/drums/vocals, I would buy WT despite a lack of interest in the game proper.

Cullen

On a related note I need guitar help too. I currently have GH3 for the Wii, but will be getting a 360 for Christmas from the wife, and want to get into either WT or Rock Band 2. Do you reckon the added features of the 360 versions is worth swapping platforms and losing the use of my existing guitar.

Nakatomi2010

I'm hearing rumors that the GH:WT Wii instruments are going to work in Rockband 2... They apparently work in the AC/DC bundle Wal-Mart sells..

Omeks

Cullen wrote: »

On a related note I need guitar help too. I currently have GH3 for the Wii, but will be getting a 360 for Christmas from the wife, and want to get into either WT or Rock Band 2. Do you reckon the added features of the 360 versions is worth swapping platforms and losing the use of my existing guitar.

Honestly, I would make the switch. Word on the street is that, aside from a few minor things like the loss of tattoo creators, the Wii version of RB2 will be just like the Xbox 360 version. It should even have DLC. However, if you're going to be playing over the internet with people (which a lot of PAers here do, check out the RB2 thread), Xbox Live is going to be a better experience.

Plus, buying songs off of Marketplace/Rock Band Store is supposedly going to be a little worse on the Wii because Nintendo doesn't allow for bundling of songs. Therefore, if you want to buy all three Metallica Pack 01 songs, you'd be paying more on the Wii instead of saving on buying the three songs bundle on the 360. Plus, I don't think on day one, the Wii is going to have the entire catalog of RB tracks, whereas when you get RB2 for the 360, you'll instantly have access to over 350 songs to download. PLUS if you can get RB1 on the cheap somewhere or borrow it off a friend, you can pay five bucks and transfer over almost every RB1 song, something the Wii won't be able to do.

As far as World Tour is concerned, I can't see many benefits of switching consoles aside from improved online experience. I think some of the DLC that has come out hasn't shown up in the Wii Store, though I could be wrong.

KalTorak

Omeks wrote: »

Cullen wrote: »

On a related note I need guitar help too. I currently have GH3 for the Wii, but will be getting a 360 for Christmas from the wife, and want to get into either WT or Rock Band 2. Do you reckon the added features of the 360 versions is worth swapping platforms and losing the use of my existing guitar.

Honestly, I would make the switch. Word on the street is that, aside from a few minor things like the loss of tattoo creators, the Wii version of RB2 will be just like the Xbox 360 version. It should even have DLC. However, if you're going to be playing over the internet with people (which a lot of PAers here do, check out the RB2 thread), Xbox Live is going to be a better experience.

Plus, buying songs off of Marketplace/Rock Band Store is supposedly going to be a little worse on the Wii because Nintendo doesn't allow for bundling of songs. Therefore, if you want to buy all three Metallica Pack 01 songs, you'd be paying more on the Wii instead of saving on buying the three songs bundle on the 360. Plus, I don't think on day one, the Wii is going to have the entire catalog of RB tracks, whereas when you get RB2 for the 360, you'll instantly have access to over 350 songs to download. PLUS if you can get RB1 on the cheap somewhere or borrow it off a friend, you can pay five bucks and transfer over almost every RB1 song, something the Wii won't be able to do.

As far as World Tour is concerned, I can't see many benefits of switching consoles aside from improved online experience. I think some of the DLC that has come out hasn't shown up in the Wii Store, though I could be wrong.

Not to mention the question of pure storage space that's available on the 360 but not on the Wii. Those songs you download can go on the 512 MB of onboard storage or an SD card, but IIRC you can only actually play the ones on the onboard storage.

Valernos

So, has anyone here used the GHWT drums on Rock Band 2? They're supposed to be supported, but I want to know how everything maps. I know using the RB2 drums in GHWT makes the chart go down to 4 pads, and I don't expect the RB2 charts to get bigger when using GHWT drums, but I'd like to know if you can use the GHWT cymbals, and whether or not they map correctly in RB2.

bigwah

KalTorak wrote: »

Not to mention the question of pure storage space that's available on the 360 but not on the Wii. Those songs you download can go on the 512 MB of onboard storage or an SD card, but IIRC you can only actually play the ones on the onboard storage.

You can play songs directly off the SD card, and even use 4GB SD cards (but not SDHC).

Nakatomi2010

Yeah, and the latest upadte for the Wii makes the whole process much better now... honestly, aside from lack of proper HD, the other major down fall was the Wii's lack of DLC potential due to storage space issues...

I'm probably gong to buy an SD card specifically for the Wii later on...

CaspianX

Okay, so just to make sure I have this straight:

360 version(s) of the all games, the Rock Band 2 hardware bundle + Guitar Hero 2 guitar

Does that sound right?

Sir Carcass

Not sure if they still are, but Amazon was selling the GH2 Xplorer for $20.

XiaNaphryz

The GHWT guitar is pretty much the best music game guitar you can get (that doesn't cost hundreds of dollars by itself anyway). As for drums, while there is cross-compatibility it's still weird using GH drums in RB and vice-versa: yeah, they rearrange the notes as needed, but RB is fundamentally a 4 track drum game while GH is a 5 track. The native drums will always play better with their respective games.

Cullen

Thanks for the advice guys. I'll get WT or RB2 for the 360.