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?
August 19th, 2007 at 8:22 am
In looking at both games as of what I have found in contenet on the web, they are a dead heat. I am definatley budget sensitive in my house and have to make a decision either way. I will get one or the other but not both. I love GH2 right now. I can’t stop playing it to the point my children are learning all the songs and sing along. I originally was leaning towards GH3 but with all the great things being said about Rock Band, I am questioning my decision. I think it will come down to song lists and what my other friends (who live 1500 miles away) are getting. Multiplayer online is a big thing for me now that it will be available on XBox Live. Any suggestions?
Tough question, I know. It’s the same I have been asking myself since the games were announced. Did I read somewhere that the GH2 or Wireless 3 will be compatible with Rock Band? That could make a world of difference where the game can be purchased seperately from the guitar and therefor be in my library along with GH3. Great articles, I love reading the info you have! Thanks.
August 20th, 2007 at 5:48 am
“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.”
I don’t know, but it seems that the writer may have somewhat of a personal axe to grind against the Rock Band team.
August 20th, 2007 at 6:27 am
i don’t make $ to have a personal grind against the Rock Band team lol. that was my off sense of humor at play there.
but don’t be fooled into thinking the whole “band” element isn’t being counted on to cash in. come on. are you going to buy the additional accessories? if yes, then well my point exactly lol
August 24th, 2007 at 8:45 pm
[...] I even let my inner rock star out with some Rock Band action. The game is a lot of fun when you have a “band” with you. The Fender Stratocaster felt and played really good. I’m not so sure where I stand in the battle of Guitar Hero 3 vs. Rock Band. [...]
September 14th, 2007 at 6:12 pm
hey man, I’ve been torn between Rockband and Guitar Hero 3 for like a month, my friend got GH2 for his 360 and after playing that i knew i needed to get one of the new ones for my ps3, i think im gunna go with GH3 becuz the facts u gave me and also my friend prordered it although i wanna check the songs first to see what one has more songs i like and i also wanna check downloadable content for rockband.☺
September 14th, 2007 at 6:33 pm
well Rock Band is pretty solid. i’ve played it a few times recently. i really think they’ll both be pretty good.
October 1st, 2007 at 9:28 am
[...] know a lot of you have been waiting on this little gem for a while. I know personally I’ve speculated what the price might be but now MTV has let it out. Rock Band will retail for $169.99 and release [...]
October 9th, 2007 at 1:30 pm
hmm……really can’t we just play GH2 and turn down the sound. I tried playing the whole Metallica collection on GH2 with my ipod on and xbox360 sound down. I see no difference and no reason to buy more songs for these types of games.
October 10th, 2007 at 5:54 pm
According to the wikipedia page, the Rock Band bundle (guitar, drum set, mic) will cost $169.99 ($159.99 for PS2 version). Could be wrong, I suppose, but it could be true too.
For me, I’ll probably go Rock Band because of the drums and mic. Of course, the songs are somewhat complicating my decision. Both with feature Metallica songs, but GH3 will have Slayer and Iron Maiden. Being a metalhead, the songs may alter my choice, but with downloadable content, that might become a moot point, especially if both games get songs from the same artists.
October 10th, 2007 at 6:06 pm
look about 2 posts above yours Dave