Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero: World Tour resolved... sorta

I've been reading up about both games, and I've come up with the following conclusions:

• In terms of songs, Rock Band 2 wins. The folks at IGN believe the RB2 song list is superior. There is also a bigger repository of existing songs thanks to RB1. Rock Band 2 is also giving away 20 free downloadable songs.
• In terms of instruments, Guitar Hero: World Tour wins. Wii Blog About It does a good summary (though it's a comparision of GH:TW vs RB1). That drum set is really the key difference between the franchises.
• In terms of game play, I can't make a call on that until both are out in stores... which is unfortunate because it's really a central issue. Some people say that RB2 game play is a lot like RB1... which may not be a bad thing. Some people hope that GH3 was just growing pains for NeverSoft, and they will tweak the gameplay right for GH:WT... but it's still a gamble.

UPDATE: The instruments are cross-compatible for both games.... EXCEPT for the Wii. There are some sources that say that the drum sets on the Wii will not be compatible because GH:WT drums require a WiiMote, while RB2 drums are standalone. Damn it, can somebody confirm this for me... because it sounds pretty dumb to me. It pretty much means that if Wii owners want to play the snazzy 3-pad drums with the cymbals... they won't be able to use them on RB2. Further to this, I've looked at the song lists and I like the RB2 song list a lot more. I don't see the point in GH:WT having 3 songs by Tool... no offense to Tool fans. This has me swaying heavily towards RB2, because the worst thing in the world is to be stuck singing vocals on a song that you don't like.

Rock Band 2... or Guitar Hero: World Tour???

I'm sure you've had your fill with talk about the global financial crisis. Let's about about something a little closer to home... my own crisis of whether to buy Rock Band 2 OR Guitar Hero: World Tour! I've held off buying the original games of either franchise, so I could wait for a more refined version of the virtual band experience... and because the Wii versions were damn hard to find.

I'll talk about RB2 first. The first time I played the original Rock Band, I was in a suit and tie. It was in between the ceremony and reception of my best friend's wedding. It was a hoot to play, though the drums are still challenging for me. I'm sure that would change with a little more practice. Overall, I thought the game was more teamwork focused, and the songs were more diverse.

In Rock Band 2, they've improved the quality of the drums, since the foot pedals tended to break. The drums are also responsive to how hard you hit them (and hopefully they won't make that terrible plastic clacking noise when you hit them). RB2 excels in terms of the song list. The song list is more diverse, and they have a large library of songs for download (RB1 downloads are compatible with RB2). Obviously, if you own the first Rock Band and have downloaded songs... then it makes more sense to go with Rock Band 2.


Now Guitar Hero was first on the scene with guitar controller games. It boasts a rock and heavy metal attitude that Rock Band couldn't quite capture. Guitar Hero was more challenging than Rock Band in terms of the guitar work... and it was more competitive. Guitar Hero 3 introduced elements to make the game more complex and challenging... targeting "hardcore fake guitar players".*

Well Guitar Hero: World Tour is a venture into new waters for this franchise. They've never done drums and vocals before. They're off to a good start though, because they've amped up their guitar with a slide bar and they have a cooler drum configuration with 3 drum pads and 2 cymbals. (I'll have a photo of the drum sets at the end of this post.) This benefits me, because I don't have a Rock Band instrument set. If you have Rock Band already, you can probably use your existing gear instead. The song list is more diverse than previous Guitar Heroes, but I'm told that they still focus on songs that are good for the guitar, and maybe not so much on drums and vocals.

I'd like to hear your opinion on this matter, because I sure as hell am not buying both games. It looks like GH:WT has better instruments and GH:WT is released a month earlier than RB2 on the Wii. That's 2 points for Guitar Hero: World Tour. Assuming that the instruments are cross-compatible, I could always pick up the Rock Band 2 (game only) to get their songs... but apparently they share 15% of the same songs. Yes, that's kinda lame. So let me know which of the two you like the best. I need to make a choice in the coming weeks... and I am easily persuaded.

Rock Band (original) drum set for the Wii. I couldn't find a photo of the Rock Band 2 drum set, but it follows this configuration, though the pedal is stronger and the pads are "velocity-sensitive".

Guitar Hero: World Tour drum set. The most noticeable difference is that it has 3 drum pads, instead of 4... and it has 2 cymbals. Now you can buy cymbal attachments for the RB2 set... but why pay extra if GH:WT has them by default?

* Yes, these games hone your skills in playing a FAKE guitar. Ask a real guitar player, and they will tell you the same. If you hone your skills on drums or vocals, then that's another matter.