Rock Band 2 is better than Guitar Hero World Tour on Wii
Tuesday, December 30th, 2008 at 12:00pm by David
Having played both Rock Band 2 (RB2) and Guitar Hero World Tour (GHWT), I can now deliver my final opinion: Rock Band 2 is better. That’s a pretty broad statement, so let me break it down.
Music selection: GHWT has a diverse selection, but lends itself to heavier rock, metal, and punk music. RB2 is more of a pop-rock selection with a few fun metal songs thrown in. RB2 has the better selection, though, since it appeals to a full band more than GHWT. The songs in RB2 lend themselves to singing along more than GHWT does.
Winner: RB2
Tour mode: GHWT sorely lacks in the immersion of your band into a world tour. Sure, there are a number of countries and venues, but you pick them simply by pointing at posters on a wall. RB2 turns the tour mode into a sort of role-playing game, starting your band out at a local bar, earning a van so you can get out of town, hiring a street team or an intern, and slowly expanding your global domination. RB2 tends to have you play songs over again, though, in its “mystery set lists” which consist of random songs. You can skip those if you want, as they only serve to gain you more stars, money, and fans.
Winner: RB2
Graphics: Both games are fairly even here. RB2 has great stages and nice lighting effects, while GHWT’s characters have choreography that better matches the song you’re playing (e.g. lead singer moonwalking during Beat It). RB2 is also more realistic in its character development. You start off with a very basic set of clothes, which is very appropriate for a new band starting out. Unfortunately, you can’t make too many modifications to your character’s facial appearance other than choosing from a dozen different pre-designed faces. The interfaces for playing music are fairly similar, but GHWT is more stylized while RB2 is very streamlined and simplified. Due to the over-the-top amount of products placements in GHWT, it suffers quite a bit.
Winner: RB2
Online store: Since the RB2 store for Wii has yet to go online, I can only say that the GHWT store has an ugly interface, but works smoothly when downloading songs, saving them to SD card, and then loading the purchased songs into setlists.
Winner: GHWT
Instruments: Rather than review the instruments themselves, I’ll rate the gameplay aspect of each one.
Guitar/Bass: RB2 gives you a neat percentage meter during solos, but otherwise plays very much like GHWT’s guitar. The bass in RB2 doesn’t have a solo meter, but instead has “bass grooves” which allow multiplier to go higher than the guitar player. GHWT has a new slider board on the guitar, which is fun for the flange effect it gives to notes, but using that section during songs for special notes really doesn’t work well at all. I played both games on Medium and found that RB2 was a little easier than GHWT and Easy mode on GHWT was way too simple.
Winner: RB2
Drums: Playing drums in both games is fairly equal. RB2 includes solo sections that trigger overdrive mode. I prefer the option of launching star power in GHWT with a dual-cymbal crash much more.
Winner: GHWT
Vocals: Singing in GHWT is a tough chore. The meter showing you your pitch is overly accurate and doesn’t have the nice directional arrow that RB2 uses. If you’re looking for a challenge, GHWT might be better, but the song selection is no where as fun to sing as the tracks on RB2. Plus you can play cowbell in RB2. Winner: RB2
Extra modes: Both games include some drum training modes and free play sections. You can jam along with Mii characters in GHWT or play drums however you want to in RB2, but due to the lag of a Wii Remote communicating to your Wii and then the playback of the song through your TV or stereo, it’s really hard to get into a groove. I played RB2 with the GHWT drums, so I can’t say if the free play drums still suffer lag using the new RB2 wireless drums or not. A cool bonus with RB2 is the online website for the game. Your band stats are shown online (as they are for GHWT), but you also have the option of buying t-shirts, posters, pins, and other merchandise featuring your band’s name and characters.
Winner: Neither – the extra modes really don’t do much to enhance either game.
I highly suggest that the overall choice between the two games should be based on your music preferences. Check out the song lists for GHWT and RB2 for yourself. RB2 lends itself to a party atmosphere while GHWT still leans heavily on its hard rock roots. RB2’s tour mode is vastly superior to GHWT in every way, so if you’re looking for a game with a bit more of a story to it, RB2 is better.
So based on these categories and my personal preferences, Rock Band 2 is better than Guitar Hero World Tour.
December 30th, 2008 at 12:18 pm
Nice review, though my allegiance is in the Guitar Hero camp. But I really like the Rock Band series, too. It is nice to know that the Wii version of Rock Band 2 wasn’t TOTALLY GIMPED like version one.
It is interesting how people can be so divided by “GH vs. RB”, when the core gameplay, pressing colored buttons corresponding to what’s flashed on-screen”, is identical.
December 30th, 2008 at 12:35 pm
Just buy the GH:WT full band kit and use THAT to play RB2. That way you get to experience the superior drums from GH:WT and what you say is a better track selection on RB2.
I own GH: WT and 10 DLC songs and I might purchase RB2 in 3-6 months once price on the stand alone game comes down. Otherwise, GH:WT, for druming and guitar, is better on WT.
December 30th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
I bought RB2 a couple of days ago, and I have zero complaints so far. Everything is more polished and just makes more sense. I’m glad I bought GH:WT first, because now I have both games and only 30 pounds of plastic instead of 60.
December 30th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
i’ve played both myself over the holiday with family and friends and must disagree only because of the music selection (like you stated above). we got so sick of playing the same songs on rockband 2 it just wasn’t fun anymore. it’s probably how the real bands feel themselves, “oh bloody hell we have to play this song again”. i also didn’t like that the songs were geared toward pop instead of rock. i guess it all depends on how you define “rock”, but i definately do not consider alanis morissette or cheap trick to be real rock and roll. so being able to play harder types of rock music won me over for ghwt. i didn’t care that the story mode was lacking since i came here to rock out in a glorified karaoke atmosphere not a role playing one. i did like how you could use your gh guitar for rockband 2 since i find my gh guitar more accurate. for some reason i miss easy notes with the rock band 2 guitar i guess i need that reassuring click.
December 30th, 2008 at 1:44 pm
as a self-proclaimed metalhead, i prefer gh’s setlist to rb’s, but unfortunately the set of drums i got with gh was malfunctioning and that really ruined the whole game experience for me :/
December 30th, 2008 at 2:13 pm
Great comparison, David.
December 30th, 2008 at 2:39 pm
Best read on these two platforms I’ve read so far. Maybe it’s because I *know* him, but whatever. I enjoyed it.
It also has me… *GASP* rethinking where my dollars will be spent if and when I pick up a full band rhythm game!
This is especially significant if you consider all the ink I wasted bashing Harmonix over their treatment of Wii owners in 2008.
December 30th, 2008 at 2:53 pm
here is my breakdown of what you’ve said.
Music: RB2 has a lot of the same songs that GHWT has. If you check out the song lists for both you will see what I mean. However they both have songs that the other doesn’t have. My vote: based on preference. You really can’t say which is better because everyone likes something different.
Tour Mode: Again this is based on preference. Although I must agree that the way RB2 has it set up is pretty awesome.
Graphics: I don’t see how you think RB2 is better. The fact that you can completely customize your character’s appearance in GHWT automatically makes it better. You can easily buy simple cloths when you start playing and as you work your way up you can buy better cloths for yourself (just like in RB2, although if I understand correctly RB2 forces you to do that). Personally though, I feel graphics aren’t very important when it comes to games however if I must choose I think GHWT wins this.
Game play: I’ve played both and I really like GHWT. It provides more of a challenge. Like you said when playing the guitar on both in medium RB2 is actually easier. Personally I think in this sense RB2 is more for people who don’t like challenges, but in that case you can simply play GHWT on easy. GHWT wins.
Vocals: I have to give it to you, some songs in GHWT aren’t that fun to sing, but it depends on your preference. Also you did make one mistake. GHWT isn’t necessarily for people who like vocal challenges. By putting it on Beginner mode you can sing without having to worry about your pitch. Which makes it fun when you just wanna mess around with friends.
Extra Features: I think they are about equal.
So in my opinion GHWT is better, and my sole purpose for saying that is because of the game play. It provides that fun challenge that makes video games become legends. Not to mention that the Rock Band series is simply trying to “reinvent the wheel” (the wheel being guitar hero for those who don’t know).
December 30th, 2008 at 3:31 pm
@ Leo: I thought RB was the first one to create a band gameplay! Wasn’t GH guitar-only until this last installment?
December 30th, 2008 at 3:49 pm
Graphics: Let me just say that the character animations in GH are still incredibly fucking awful. Every time I see a character drumming I see that baseball cap wearing uggo from GHIII. Overall I like the visual style of RB more. It’s more subdued and lends itself to a more realistic look, especially with all the stage effects. GH uses too many bright, neon colors that scream “THIS IS COOL, RIGHT?” The Tool Stage was a cool idea but it only does like three things ever and gets boring.
Online Store: David, be patient. Just wait until you see the online store. It’s amazing. You know how in quickplay you can categorize and surf through the songs to find ones you want pretty much any was you want? It’s like that.
Drums: I like the idea behind being able to activate your star power/overdrive at any time, but I don’t like how it will auto-hit a note for you afterwards if it’s in quick succession. Also not a fan of getting arbitrary points after a song in GH. In RB you have the big rock ending which give you extra points but require you (and your band) to hit some finishing notes to keep them. GH is just like, “Oh here you go– wait–songs over.” I’m not a scorehero type player, but I don’t think artificially improving your score is something that should… count.
Also, I love the fill sections to activate overdrive. Messing around and thinking up fills to accent the song is so much fun.
On the drums themselves, I just got a cymbal pack for my RB2 drums. Immersion ahoy! They work and feel so much better than the GH cymbals, and you’re not pigeonholed into using only two for everything. That’s where I feel the GH drums fail the most; having only two cymbal inputs. This just reflects what I feel about the…
Gameplay: I can’t play GH anymore without noticing notes that DO NOT EXIST within the song. Maybe not for drums, but definitely for guitar. Artificially raising the difficulty like that is stupid. I love RB because Harmonix goes for realism. Their charts make more sense musically for both instruments. And GH is overall more difficult not because of this, but because their songs are overall more difficult, which goes back to the music selection differences.
@ Leo: Rock Band is not trying to re-invent the wheel, they’re (Harmonix) only adding to a formula that THEY created. Remember, GH1, 2, and 80’s were all developed by Harmonix, Activision just bought the rights to a cash cow franchise.
December 30th, 2008 at 3:55 pm
I bought my GHWT set and then scored RB2 for Christmas… best of both worlds, baby!
December 30th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
Interesting review, definitely hyped for Rock Band 2 now when it comes out solely on disc, since I have GH:WT already. My loyalty will probably remain with GH, but I’ve only played Rock Band once, and it was pretty fun.
Also, the Music Studio for Guitar Hero was never mentioned.
December 30th, 2008 at 4:11 pm
Because unless you like spending an enormous amount of time to compose something that you can’t create a separate playable chart for, it’s crap. Unless I’m mistaken and you can create separate scores and charts.
December 30th, 2008 at 4:42 pm
EdEN and DocOctorok got it right. Buy the GHWT instruments, then get the stand alone game of RB2. You’re set to rock throughout 2009.
December 30th, 2008 at 5:02 pm
I should also say: If you have the GHWT instruments already, the RB2 disc should be a no-brainer. More songs, more online DLC (eventually), more rock!
December 30th, 2008 at 5:11 pm
I totally agree with most of your points.
I love RB2 way more than GH, but I use all the GH instruments as they are better quality in my opinion.
I suggest getting the software only for RB2 and buy the GH hardware and you have yourself the best rhythm game so far.
If anyone wants to join my rock band let me know!
December 30th, 2008 at 5:45 pm
It’s indeed better, go buy it kids, I endorse it all the way, so you know it’s good, lol.
December 30th, 2008 at 10:34 pm
If you are interested in drums, I think the GHWT is superior for drums because it has a separate orange “skittle” track. This is one extra track that RB2 does not have. I am an amateur drummer and I think having the extra orange track is a deal breaker. Eventually, ION (or some other electronic drum 3rd party) will put out a specialty drum set compatible with GHWT on Wii. ION has the specialty drum set for RB2, but it is not currently compatible for RB2 Wii.
Other than the drum tracks, I think RB2 is a superior game to GHWT. I really like the “no fail” option for the family and kids to play. Also, the font size of the lyrics on the vocal track are much easier to read. It seems to me that RB2 was designed as cleaner and better product for multiple players, whereas GHWT band kit is a rushed add-on with little user interface testing. The font choice of the lyrics is one example of a poor user interface in GHWT.
December 31st, 2008 at 1:40 am
I’m with Leo. I prefer the gameplay in GH:WT by FAR. The note charts in RB2 are not as good and for some reason the timing is a bit different and gets annoying on expert. The GH hammeron/off mechanic is so much better it’s not even funny. On expert this is a MUST. The instuments on GH are also vastly superior. The only thing RB2 really has going for it is a more interesting user experience in career mode. Both are good games, but GH:WT is far superior in my opinion. So, like someone else said, pick up the full GH band game and then grab the RB2 disc and use your GH instruments. Best of both worlds!
December 31st, 2008 at 9:28 am
GHWT gimped the character creator mode. They can blame it on the Wii being less powerful all they want, it doesn’t change the fact that there are wrestling and sports titles for the Gamecube and the Wii that have way deeper character creators than the POS they gave us in GHWT.
Apparently they didn’t think it was a feature that Wii owners cared about.
December 31st, 2008 at 10:20 am
One thing that isn’t mentioned that I view as huge – the need for wiimotes with the GHWT hardware and the ability to use the RB2 instruments without them.
It’s an additional $60-$80 cost over the base cost of the game for those of us (the majority I believe) that only have 2 Wiimotes for what amounts to 4 player functionality in very few games.
December 31st, 2008 at 2:54 pm
MAN! YOU COULVE SAID BEFORE I BOUGHT GT:WT 2 days ago.
As much as i love GH:WT, im not that much into heavy metal or metal for that matter. I mean i like it, but i barely know some of the songs.
But apparently, the peripherals overall are better to, or equal to those of RB2 (the things you mentioned were software based- ei. easier mode being too easy, arrow in RB2, etc.).
So… i can buy the RB2 disk (by itself) to have the best of both games, right?
December 31st, 2008 at 6:48 pm
Get GHWT for the instruments and the exclusive songs (Hendrix, baby!) and then buy the RB2 disc for the better single player and the (EVENTUAL) better DLC.
But wait for the Music store to open on RB2 before picking it us, since the back of the box is full of dirty LIES!.
(Holiday 2008 my butt…)
December 31st, 2008 at 7:20 pm
@Used Cisco: The hammer on/pull off (HOPO) time window on GH(III & WT) is much wider than it is in RB(1&2). Which means it’s easier. RB’s HOPO window is a little bit more lax than GH2, but just enough where you can’t do it that much in advance, like you can with the Neversoft developed GH games.
So people may say what they want about RB being easier, but Expert charts with high difficulties are actually harder, at least when you take that into perspective.
January 1st, 2009 at 12:58 am
I posted a similar comparison on the forums and came to the pretty well the same conclusion. RB2 rocks!