The great musical divide is what some are calling this upcoming battle of the bands on Xbox 360. Guitar Hero III and Rock Band are going to release soon and create an interesting choice. How will you decide to unleash your inner rockstar? Will you stick to the proven band or change venues for the new kid on the block?
I wanted to let you know that I’m right there with you and your frustration so I’ve decided to pit the two against each other. I hope this helps in figuring out which is the best title for you to shred guitar or dance to the beat of a different drum. I gathered as much information as I could to throw these two titles in the octagon. After reading this you’ll see my choice for unleashing your innner rockstar. (or I’m sure you’ll just skip to the end)
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
Publisher: Activision, RedOctane
Developer: Neversoft Entertainment
Price of the game: $59.99 Price of the game with accessories: $99.99
Accessories: Gibson Guitar’s Les Paul Wireless Guitar
Modes: Practice, Career, Battle Mode
Online play: Yes
Wireless: Yes
Songs (era): Various (not sure of the era)
Release date: October 28, 2007
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock isn’t being made by the fine folks at Harmonix who brought you previous Guitar Hero titles. Will this be a bad thing? I doubt it as RedOctane is still on board. It’s a “music” title though so the competition, as well as the comparison to Rock Band, is inevitable. That’s where I come in to hopefully help clean up some confusion.
The one question mark with GH3 is the fact that it’s being developed by Neversoft Entertainment. What’s the last title from Neversoft that you rocked out to? Exactly. They aren’t exactly known for their amazing music titles. Again though, with RedOctane still on board to guide the title I’m expecting good things.
The best part about Guitar Hero III is that you can do all of your rockin’ with one guitar. You don’t have to depend on your friends to have an additional piece of the puzzle to have the best experience on Xbox Live. It’s simple yet effective especially for those not playing the stock market. The wireless guitar lets you jam from anywhere and however you want. You’ll also be able to customize your guitar this time around with different guitar face plates.
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Trailer
Rock Band
Publisher: Electronic Arts, MTV Games
Developer: Harmonix
Price of the game: $59.99 Price of the game with accessories: $169.99
Accessories: Fender Stratocaster Guitar, Drum set, Microphone
Modes: Quickplay, Solo Tour, World Tour, Band Co-op, Head-to-Head, Practice
Online play: Yes
Wireless: No
Songs (era): 60’s 70’s 80’s 90’s 2000’s
Release date: November 20, 2007
It’s the stepchild of Guitar Hero. It’s like Sigourney Weaver in Alien: Resurrection when the uber baby Alien comes after its mother. Guitar Hero in this case is ofcourse Sigourney Weaver and Rock Band is the big bad Alien baby thing that’s coming to kill that from which it was born.
Having Harmonix on board to deliver Rock Band is a huge plus for the title. Harmonix brought fans the Guitar Hero series so you know they’re well prepared to deliver on how well Rock Band plays. The one question mark is if they can match the performance of the guitar with the drums and microphone. If they can do that then fans are in for a wild, enjoyable ride.
The band aspect of Rock Band is pretty intriguing along with the assortment of modes to play. You can form a band of friends who also have the game and rock out online together. (you’ll have to have some rich friends apparently) How many of your friends will buy the game and just the drums to play as your drum boy? Or only buy the microphone to sing vocal? The image of forming your own band is tempting, but I don’t suspect people will purchase the game and only one accessory. What’s the point of not owning them all? Everyone wants to play lead guitar in a rock band at some point ya know. And it’ll prove difficult to mail Rock Band accessories across the world to let Jimmy play lead while Sarah sings for the next match.
It’s called Rock “Band” not Rock Solo for a reason. I think someone behind the scenes is counting on this whole “band” thing a bit ya think? (cha-ching)
I don’t have much media on Rock Band because EA isn’t sharing. I’ve asked for a few things but no such luck. The last thing I heard was that Peter Moore secured all Rock Band accessories to fine tune his skills. So Peter, throw me a bone here. (Edit. I finally got some media for Rock Band and I’ve included the latest trailer and screenshots)
Rock Band Trailer
Pre-release Champ: Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
It came down to price for me. Despite the given unknown with developer Neversoft Entertainment, Guitar Hero III will cost less to get the full experience. Couple that with the fact that I want to try the other hot titles releasing this holiday and you have your winner. Buying Rock Band would probably make a severe dent in my hopes of also scoring BioShock, Mass Effect, Halo 3, GTA IV and others.
I’m sure Rock Band will be enjoyable but for average people like myself it may have priced itself out of my “affordable” range. I suppose I shouldn’t worry about the price though because just thinking about the premium downloadable content in store for both scares me. What say you?
good stuff DeaconBlade. glad to be a part...
July 17th, 2007 at 12:43 pm
dude, you’re the man! i love your articles! and i’m picking up GH3 too. Rock Band costs too much.
July 17th, 2007 at 1:48 pm
$240 is insane, you can get a real electric guitar les paul on ebay for less.
July 17th, 2007 at 1:55 pm
thx JTR. i make it a point to write good articles for you guys to read up on.
and yeah, the complete package should cost around that much. insane i know.
July 17th, 2007 at 1:57 pm
Good analysis.
I am torn here. While cost is an issue for me and that pushes me towards GH3, I don’t like the way the GH2 downloadable content was (and is being) handled. They were offered the chance to defend their pricing (on Major Nelson’s show) and declined. That peeves me more than anything and, as much as I’d love more songs, I absolutely won’t buy at $6.25 for 3 songs of their choosing. As far as Rock Band goes, while it looks great, I can’t speak to it until prices / bundles are announced.
July 17th, 2007 at 2:07 pm
supposedly Rock Band will have loads of DLC. i’m sure it won’t all be free if any. GH3 has plenty planned as well. both titles will cost a pretty penny in the end if you plan to download any of the following DLC.
Rock Band’s DLC i’m sure will be more extensive than GH3’s.
July 17th, 2007 at 3:45 pm
Guitar Hero 3 for me.
July 17th, 2007 at 5:02 pm
When I play Guitar hero it is the only game I play that gives me the feeling of “This just isn’t productive at all”. When sure no game is productive. I don’t know I like playing it and all, but part of me thinks its not worth my time when I could be leveling my CoH character, or playin a match wit my friends in Shadowrun or photoshopping a new background for my computer. But I really don’t see my self ever buying Guitar Hero 3 or Rock Band I’ll get enough of it from the 20 of my friends that will be buying them.
July 17th, 2007 at 5:22 pm
David DeMartini is the in charge of Rock Band and I can tell you if he is on board for this project it will be done right. I have a backround in music so for me buying everything offered would make sense, I doubt anyone would pick up everything at once. I like the idea of an online session with freinds.
As for GH III yes the wireless controller looks sweet and it looks so far to have a great selection of music. I am in the same boat with Deac. I will get an interview when they allow it for Rock Band and after that I’ll need to way out both in the end I think both will do well to pick a winner right now would be like quessing that Peter would go from MS to EA and both news items would hit within an hour of each other. All I can say is it should be interesting to see the battle play out.
On a side note I would love either or both to be able to teach younger gamers how to read and play real music. It would help those schools who had to cut thier Music programs. I am old enough to had the pleasure of learning to play while in school (Yea I am that Old) but I think both projects show amazing potential to do more than entertain.
July 17th, 2007 at 7:30 pm
I agree with EvilTodd.
While I’m leaning towards my unhealthy love of Guitar Hero, I abhor how Activision/Neversoft/RedOctane are handling the DLC issue and pricing. They had a chance to defend it and make amends but they have no interest in appealing to the customers. Because of that, I refuse to buy their product new. I’ll wait until someone puts theirs on eBay or resells to Gamestop. I’ll be damned if they get my money ever again.
On the other hand, Rock Band has MTV and Harmonix backing it (and EA’s supple, yet insatiable wallet) so you know the songs will be plentiful. I see the $200 price tag as a bit high though and it’s holding me back. I would bite at $150 ($60 for the game and $30 for each instrument), but $200 is a bit greedy.
It will all come down to pricing in the long run. I will own both, but GH3 will be used and Rock Band will have to be cheaper than $200 (used or new).
July 17th, 2007 at 11:02 pm
well no doubt GH3 has the better looking guitar
i’m excited to try the new Les Paul.