MSNBC: Rock Band 2 or Guitar Hero World Tour?
Follow the yellow brick road to MSNBC and I’ll tell you my thoughts… sorta. For those that have played both, which do you prefer?
Follow the yellow brick road to MSNBC and I’ll tell you my thoughts… sorta. For those that have played both, which do you prefer?
Lindsey and I have been playing World Tour all weekend with friends. The game is Guitar Hero’s response to the popular Rock Band. The early verdict: World Tour improves upon Rock Band in almost every way, save for scoring, star power, and when someone fails. Plus, anything that has Van Halen gets bonus points from me. My full review at MSNBC…
“There is no way we’re putting that there,” my wife tells me.
We’ve just spent 20 minutes surveying our 1,100-square-foot apartment in search of a spot for our new “Dance Dance Revolution” pad. The only place to stash it is under the couch, and my wife knows it.
”OK,” she concedes, allowing the unorthodox storage given our growing game-related gadgetry.
I’m not the only one with an increasing stockpile of video-game peripherals. According to The NPD Group, the official bean-counter of U.S. video game sales, consumers spent a record $1.3 billion so far this year on plastic guitars, steering wheels and other add-ons, the result of games like “Wii Fit,” “Guitar Hero,” “Mario Kart Wii” and “Rock Band.”
I was driving home last week heading south on I-15 in Salt Lake City when I saw the above billboard for Mozy, an online backup company.
The ad is esoteric but brilliant, because it appeals to the precise type of people that Mozy seemingly wants to recruit: young, sociable talent who share a common interest — good music, multiplayer, and Rock Band in the afternoons instead of mindless meetings.
Well played, Mozy. I’m sure they’re not the first company to use video games to entice young talent, but more tech companies would be wise to follow suit. Perhaps being well-versed in Nintendo is more valuable than it once seemed.
Ars Technica has a nice summation of the rhythm wars, aka the battle between Guitar Hero and Rock Band for rhythm game (and profit) supremacy. So who will win? From the article:
For rock fans, picking a title could be as simple as one track or one band that tips that scales; assuming that both games are fun to play and the hardware works well enough, the track list is what will move rhythm games of the future.
It’s worth noting that Guitar Hero sells significantly more games, while Rock Band sells significantly more digital downloads. And save only the music creator of Guitar Hero, both games are near-identical in features, including separate online stores.
Personally, I prefer Guitar Hero to Rock Band (having played both extensively), because the music is more rocking, the peripherals are sturdier, and the difficulty is more challenging. Plus, it’s the original gangsta of rock video games in America.