Band Versus Hero
So when it comes to Rock Band vs Guitar Hero World Tour, I fall squarely into the Rock Band camp. Or rather, when it comes to Harmonix vs Neversoft, I fall squarely into the Harmonix camp.
Harmonix has always done good work with GH, GH2, RB and RB2. Meanwhile, Neversoft has only had one other hit, namely their Tony Hawk series which originally, I was a big fan of, that is until they drove the franchise into the ground with eight pointless sequels. With that I'm sure they drove away any real talent they had and now they couldn't even rip off Rock Band without fucking up. Case in point, Guitar Hero World Tour.
I picked up a copy of GHWT today because one of my old guitars was failing and I figured I might as well get the game along with a new wireless guitar. Now I already own RB and RB2, and I should have known better having hated GH3 and Neversoft's policy of substituting more notes and pointless boss battles in lieu of fun gameplay. But the one thing that GHWT has going for it, a good selection of songs, convinced me otherwise.
Having only played GHWT on drums for an hour or so, I can safely say that I hate it. I really hate it. Here's why:
-They cram all of the already hard to read progress meters, points, multipliers, and star power meters into the corner where it's really hard to read with your peripherals. If I'm busy concentrating on a bunch of falling dots, the last thing I need is to hunt to see how much star power I have or how bad I'm failing, that stuff should be up front and easy to read without having to move your eyes.
-There are very few fills on drums, and the few that I've seen aren't freestyle. Maybe I just haven't played enough songs, but that shouldn't even be an issue.
-Most of the songs I've played are very guitar centric. In other words, getting to play Michael Jackson's Beat It on guitar is likely to be a lot more fun than it was on drums, seeing as you're the equivalent of a drum machine. Harmonix may have more obscure songs, but at least they know how to pick songs that are fun to play for everyone and not just the guitarist.
-Billy motherfucking Corgan and his stupid silver skirt. Don't get me wrong, I used to be a big Smashing Pumpkins fan back in high school, but now they're a joke, or more specifically Billy Corgan is a joke. You don't even unlock him after playing Today, you unlock the privilege to buy his character with your hard earned in-game gig money. Why couldn't I just make my avatar in his likeness if I wanted to look like a bald sissy in a skirt and save my money for something else?
-Speaking of my hard earned in-game gig money, after completing three stages or so, I run into a whole set list of Tool. How fucking sweet is that? Apparently not fucking sweet at all because they won't let me play it until I have $8,000 of in-game gig money. What the fuck is that? I understand the concept of having to purchase or unlock songs in the GH universe, but why tease me with set list so early on when I don't even have half that amount? They made it look like any other set list too, but this one I had to pay to play when no other one I've encounter had that requirement. It's like they knew that all the Tool fans would get super excited at the sight of that set list, only to deny them from playing it and then forcing them to play shit like Wings. Yeah, that right, mother fucking Wings.
Neversoft, stop being dicks.
Harmonix has always done good work with GH, GH2, RB and RB2. Meanwhile, Neversoft has only had one other hit, namely their Tony Hawk series which originally, I was a big fan of, that is until they drove the franchise into the ground with eight pointless sequels. With that I'm sure they drove away any real talent they had and now they couldn't even rip off Rock Band without fucking up. Case in point, Guitar Hero World Tour.
I picked up a copy of GHWT today because one of my old guitars was failing and I figured I might as well get the game along with a new wireless guitar. Now I already own RB and RB2, and I should have known better having hated GH3 and Neversoft's policy of substituting more notes and pointless boss battles in lieu of fun gameplay. But the one thing that GHWT has going for it, a good selection of songs, convinced me otherwise.
Having only played GHWT on drums for an hour or so, I can safely say that I hate it. I really hate it. Here's why:
-They cram all of the already hard to read progress meters, points, multipliers, and star power meters into the corner where it's really hard to read with your peripherals. If I'm busy concentrating on a bunch of falling dots, the last thing I need is to hunt to see how much star power I have or how bad I'm failing, that stuff should be up front and easy to read without having to move your eyes.
-There are very few fills on drums, and the few that I've seen aren't freestyle. Maybe I just haven't played enough songs, but that shouldn't even be an issue.
-Most of the songs I've played are very guitar centric. In other words, getting to play Michael Jackson's Beat It on guitar is likely to be a lot more fun than it was on drums, seeing as you're the equivalent of a drum machine. Harmonix may have more obscure songs, but at least they know how to pick songs that are fun to play for everyone and not just the guitarist.
-Billy motherfucking Corgan and his stupid silver skirt. Don't get me wrong, I used to be a big Smashing Pumpkins fan back in high school, but now they're a joke, or more specifically Billy Corgan is a joke. You don't even unlock him after playing Today, you unlock the privilege to buy his character with your hard earned in-game gig money. Why couldn't I just make my avatar in his likeness if I wanted to look like a bald sissy in a skirt and save my money for something else?
-Speaking of my hard earned in-game gig money, after completing three stages or so, I run into a whole set list of Tool. How fucking sweet is that? Apparently not fucking sweet at all because they won't let me play it until I have $8,000 of in-game gig money. What the fuck is that? I understand the concept of having to purchase or unlock songs in the GH universe, but why tease me with set list so early on when I don't even have half that amount? They made it look like any other set list too, but this one I had to pay to play when no other one I've encounter had that requirement. It's like they knew that all the Tool fans would get super excited at the sight of that set list, only to deny them from playing it and then forcing them to play shit like Wings. Yeah, that right, mother fucking Wings.
Neversoft, stop being dicks.