Battle of the console rockers: Guitar Hero III vs. Rock Band (Part 2)

So, you’ve seen videos of 9 year olds wailing away on a Guitar Hero controller on expert and you caught the bug for video game rock? You have more than one option, and they come in the form of either Guitar Hero or Rock Band; however, each are different. How do you choose?

If you’ve read the first part of this series, you’ll know where I stand in regards to Guitar Hero III; this segment I’m dedicated exclusively to a breakdown of Rock Band.

I’m not going to spend the amount of time I did in the first segment explaining how the game functions; it functions in the same way as guitar hero, except with the addition of a couple different musical elements.

As opposed to Guitar Hero, which is obviously a game about guitars, Rock Band includes a vocal microphone and 4 piece drum set. The drums function similarly to guitars, in that the different drums correlate to different scrolling notes on the screen; the vocals are unique in that, very similar to karaoke, the words are scrolled along the screen as the song plays, and the player must sing the words on a pitch that is displayed, like sheet music in a way.

Those are really the only differences in regards to gameplay itself. However, adding those instruments makes Rock Band a bird of a completely different color, in that more players can get involved at the same time.

Visually speaking, the background images that are displayed are less cartoonish than Guitar Hero; MTV really did a great job with the visuals. I find the visuals more appealing in that the focus of the game shouldn’t actually rest on the background images, and the toned down look isn’t quite as harsh to take in as the flashy attempts that Guitar Hero makes at visuals.

The soundtrack for the game is fantastic; I would imagine there was quite a power struggle between Guitar Hero and Rock Band creators to get the best artists and songs, because the playlist is really compelling.

One of the greatest differences between Rock Band and Guitar Hero is the actual guitar controller. Rock Band’s guitar has a much more realistic feel and look; as opposed to buttons on the different frets, the frets themselves are suppressed entirely to function. The Rock Band guitar also adds a second set of the exact same notes on the guitar an octave higher for “solos.” There’s a control switch for varying effects on the guitar so users can customize their solos, which is novel.

The strum bar is different as well; I have to say, I don’t care for it as much as the Guitar Hero strum bar, because it doesn’t provide as much tactile feedback, which is crucial when playing notes at rapid speeds.

Though I really enjoy Rock Band, one of the largest issues I have with it is that the guitar tracks don’t feel quite as tight with the actual songs as Guitar Hero. What I mean is, as a musician who can actually play most of the songs on the playlists on a real guitar, I feel that Guitar Hero does the song more justice on higher difficulties as far as the linking of the notes and the song. Rock Band doesn’t feel quite as tight.

Aside from that, there isn’t much more fun to be had than getting 3 friends to come over and pound out a few songs. I love the inclusiveness of the game, and with a few adult beverages downed, just about anyone is willing to belt out the lyrics to “Run to the Hills” by Iron Maiden.

That’s my take on Rock Band; in the last entry in this series, I’ll give you my opinion on which game will fit you better, and how I feel about the two as competitors.

• Battle of the console rockers: Guitar Hero III vs. Rock Band (Part 3)
• Battle of the console rockers: Guitar Hero III vs. Rock Band (Part 1)
• Forget Guitar Hero and Rock Band – Play D-Pad Hero instead
• Have Guitar Hero/Rock Band been milked to death? And is DJ Hero the final straw?
• Guitar Hero World Tour for PS3, Wii, Xbox 360 and PS2 – Rock Band clone