The soundtrack is weak, and I personally liked the GH:WT interface much better. Having to switch between venues to see the songs available at each, and then only being able to see 3 songs at a time is a huge step backwards from the posters on the wall in WT. It is a real pain to find the songs you skipped this way.
I also miss earning money to buy venues, but that's a minor point.
As for Cobain and Cash, I don't mind them being in the game at all, and I doubt they do either. Shirley Manson singing songs with male leads is weirder, and Ozzy singing La Bamba in WT was much worse.
@BlueBeard: "Having to switch between venues to see the songs available at each"
One of the reasons I strongly prefer Guitar Hero over Rock Band. Guess not anymore. Glad I didn't rush out to buy this one. I think I'm tiring of music games. I love The Beatles but felt nothing sampling Beatles: Rock Band. I'm gonna take the money I would have put toward GH5 and Beatles: Rock Band and use it to purchase the remastered Beatles CDs.
@TheFamous1: Hey elitist, GH2 actually improved my rhythm strumming and finger dexterity on the real guitar. Why don't you go off into a corner and suck off an artist formally known as an artist and let people enjoy their games.
@jsvalen3: Rhythm? Maybe if you're new to guitar and never bothered to buy a metronome.
Finger dexterity?
Are you freaking kidding me?
Look, I'm one of the few guitar players who enjoys playing Guitar Hero, but finger dexterity? It's five plastic buttons all within reach of your handspread! Huge plastic buttons. There are no frets, string variation, or even a way to make your fingers blister for thicker skin.
I'm sorry, but unless you're so new to guitar that "Mary by the Seashore" is a challenge, then you're flat out lying.
@jsvalen3: Lol, rhythm is a easy thing to learn when playing an instrument. It might be hard if you're a tard - but I understand.
@TRT-X: I'm not trolling kid. I'm saying that instead of people staring at a TV screen with a plastic guitar, they might find playing a real guitar more rewarding. What's so great about pressing colored buttons on a plastic guitar? It's simply entertainment for the dumb.
@Paul_Is_Drunk: Yeah, I was new to the guitar at the time. I never approached the instrument independently, GH got me interested and now I actually play the real thing. So, I'm not lying and I'm sure many people have similar situations to mine.
Now, you saying that you're "one of the FEW guitar players who enjoy Guitar Hero"? I think that's more a stretch.... I'm sure there's more than you think.
@TheFamous1: "Tard"? Really, that's what you have? Actually, you don't understand, troll. You ever heard of training wheels? The same concept could be applied in this case.
And say what you will about people who enjoy music games-- it's more feasible for them to make the jump to real instruments than it is for jackasses like you to get over themselves.
The amount of fanboyism in any thread that even casually mentions Rock Band or Guitar Hero is disgusting. This kind of crap belongs on GameFAQs, not here.
Yeah I am so glad they included Cobain. He left the world wanting his image and name to be known by everybody. He really wanted to be an idol and loved the center spotlight.
As a predominantly expert guitar player (can pass the Malmsteen songs on Rock Band, can 5 star TTFAF on Smash Hits), I found Guitar Hero 5 guitar tracks to be the best charted in any rhythm game I've played in a long time. Those who just blanket complain about Guitar Hero versus Rock Band, or blame Neversoft for overcharting, clearly never played Rocks the 80s which was charted by Harmonix. Harmonix set the series on a difficulty progression that Guitar Hero 3 followed in their absence.
Harmonix rebooted the series and abandoned the hardcore player in Rock Band, stripping stats out of the game entirely (just percentage for each player in the middle of a setlist?). They also made the decision to stop charting piano parts, or mixing up guitar parts and sticking to one throughout. Guitar Hero 1 and 2 added some variety by switching between rhythm and lead guitar on a lot of tracks, so you wouldn't end up playing the same thing over and over again. Some people want it to be boring and 'realistic,' I just prefer it being more interesting and a 'game.'
I feel like at the moment, everything about the Guitar Hero 5 engine/menus/features is superior to Rock Band 2.
And the best guitar is the Nyko Frontman for the PS3 believe it or not...if you can find one on clearance I highly recommend it.
@ordchaos: Thank you for the insight/constructive post.
I've felt the same way, though to balance it out a bit, Harmonix still switches between Lead/Rhythm guitar (just not as often). One of the few charts I found to be more fun in RB than GH was Reptilia b/c RB threw in some Rhythm Guitar to break from the monotony of the lead. It is a game, and I'd rather have the charts be fun and switch between guitar parts than stick to one repetitive track.
Glad to hear GH5 has come through this time.
As for the Nyko Guitar, is there a wired version? I personally prefer wired instruments to minimize latency and do away with batteries (even though I have rechargeables, they generate lag as they start to run low--sucks when its mid song).
I like the comment about " the inclusion of some songs in a Guitar Hero game, in which you play electric piano, organ or the horn section on a guitar controller, are highly suspect" Not to bash Rock Band but I always like the fact that Early Guitar Hero was about Harder Rock to metal music, later Guitar Hero and ALL Rock Bands inclusions of Johnny Cash, Stevie Wonder, REM, the more "rappy" songs and in Rock Band's Case pure country songs are very slow and not challenge or IMO just boring, I mean really doesn't one of these music games include an Elton John song, I almost never realized any big song of his had anything but a Piano LOL
Kudos on mentioning the distasteful additions of cultural icons as negatives of the game. It really is incredibly tacky to include polygonal renditions of beloved rock figures (who have passed away) and have no say as to how they will be implemented into a piece of software. Guitar Hero is surely exploiting the ghosts of these artists for profit, as is the deceased artists' estates.
@ThisCharmingMan: I'm really getting tired of hearing this. all of these people had wills, all of these people had others who had been named executors of their estate, which basically means that they have been given the ability to make post mortem decisions for these people as if they are these people. whether these people are profiting from them or not, the decision was made while said person was still alive. therefore, by proxy, this person is making this decision.
@Ashkan.:
At least they're playing... Beatles songs... in RB Beatles.
Did no one else think the whole.. garage band attitude in the previous games was what gave them charm? Here you are, playing the story of a fake band on a fake guitar, becoming a fake guitar hero, playing cover- songs.
Thought that was great. Not pretentious without self- irony, not more silly than necessary.
@Ashkan.: The Beatles are protrayed with as much historical accuracy as possible. You're not going to be playing as George or John at Super Bowl 40, or have John singing "Ooops I Did It Again".
I just think that it's interesting that everybody started disliking this "dead people in guitar hero" at the same time. When they announced Jhonny Cash nobody said a peep.
@kathartik: Dude a WILL is exactly what it sounds like. It's someone's WILL after they have gone. Obviously others will be in charge of their estate. Do you REALLY think that Cobain or Johnny Cash would have been OK with this? Seriously? It's completely destroying the integrity of everything either of them ever stood for. It's disgusting and incredibly disrespectful. How would you feel if you died, and someone came along making a polygonal puppet of you, doing things you would have despised?
@Ashkan.: Your reply is completely meritless. The Beatles Rockband is the band placed in a game that is historically accurate singing songs THEY wrote and was overseen by two people actually IN the band. What kind of argument is that?
I'm glad to see a review that doesn't like the soundtrack... my group of friends and myself found that we only liked around 5 songs on the entire game... something is wrong when you have a 85 song list vs a 20 song list (lego rock band) and people like more songs off the 20 song list
I can't wait to sing the ghost busters theme song
"bustin makes me feel good"
NeoAkira promoted this comment
Edited by Michael McWhertor at 09/07/09 5:10 PM Michael McWhertor approved this comment
zulux21 was starred
zulux21 was unstarred
Man, Do You Feel Like We Do was long as fuck. I almost fell asleep during the middle talkbox solo.
I agree about the soundtrack, I loved playing Blue Orchid, Steady As She Goes, Under Pressure, All Along The Watchtower, etc. But there probably weren't more than 15 songs I really liked to play. Some are much more fun to listen to, ie 21st Century Schizoid Man.
That song (and Superstition) also proves Neversoft don't give two shits about charting anymore. Playing horns with guitars for everybody! The trademark GH3 overcharting returns as well.
It was fun for one-night gamefly before I beat it and sent it back, but not much more. Bonus points for Spirit of the Radio being the last song, though.
@SleepyAcorn: .... and on your right we see the "Music Game Troll" this special species is known for defending one of either the "Guitar Hero" or "Rock Band" games. This variety is not rare amongst these parts, however if you find one supporting "Wii Music" it is indeed worthy of taking a picture.
I think the dead avatars thing is reason enough to boycott this game. It's disrespectfully developed. Courtney Love may love money, but get some goddamn sense, Neversoft. It's clear which rhythm game is made by the caring hand of real musicians, and which one is not.
@Phydeaux: I prefer RB over GH, but the guy you replied to is right. Every time I see a mention of GH, there is someone(or multiple someones) in the thread riding Harmonix's junk hard. I almost wish I preferred GH just to not be associated with the Harmonix ball-chinners.
@astronautcowboy: You do realize that two of the Beatles members are deceased, right?
Honestly, the developers place these iconic stars in the games to honor them and their accomplishments as musicians, not because they're assholes. Yes, they do not need to put renditions of real artists in the game, but some people actually really enjoy it. Dead or not, why should they get any less acknowledgement?
So, it's fine using the Beetles but when Guitar Hero does it, it's in poor taste?
I see.
Regardless. Very fun game. I enjoy both Guitar Hero and Rock Band, and I keep expecting the glut of GH games get in the way of enjoying them, but similar to Tony Hawk, they've continually put out so some quality stuff.
@Bubbleman!: I am surprised to hear someone who likes the charts better in GH. I had World Tour for about a week and sold it, while I still play RB2 on a regular basis. The only reasons I could think of was because the RB charts somehow 'rock' more.
@hot_heart: put your fanboyism aside, most of the community agrees that the GH note tracking is more in-line with the actual note and chord progressions of the actual songs. top that off with the fact that the rock band guitars are even worse than most 3rd party manufacturers and yeah, id say that GH is more fun to actually play.
@Bubbleman!: Which community are we talking about? Most of my friends and the people I've talked to online think that the Rock Band charts are more accurate, whereas Guitar Hero is guilty of "overcharting" and adding notes and chords for the sake of artificially inflating difficulty.
As for Rock Band guitars...you know you can play the game with a third party or Guitar Hero guitar, right? Personally, I think that the Guitar Hero guitars peaked with GH3, and have dropped in quality since.
@Bubbleman!: Not trying to be a fanboy (last bit there was a joke) but I have to disagree. While I noticed an improvement in WT compared to the travesty that was III the best they could get would be on par with RB.
Harmonix are a development team made up of musicians. I wouldn't be surprised if they had at least one person (or a team) figuring out how to actually play a song before charting it. You can see in the animations that they are trying to accurately portray the fingerwork and that takes some knowledge of a song beforehand.
Now I'm pretty sure with the inclusion of the music studio and such that Neversoft now actually have some guys there that know their shit, but as I said: they would only be on par with what Harmonix is already doing.
I don't know who this community you refer to is, but from what I've seen people are of the opinion that RB is more fun and faithful.
Examples:
Poor drum chart for The Everlasting Gaze [www.youtube.com]
(no offbeat 'disco beat' hi-hat, that, as well as the bass pedal, is overcharted)
And an actual demonstration of a poorly-charted track for Black Betty [www.youtube.com]
I'm not saying GH is 'bad' per se. Just that I disagree with your initial point.
@hot_heart: Actually, GH does provide a more accurate note-tracking... so much so, that Harmonix took Neversoft's techniques and used it for RB2 disc-songs.
I'm referring specifically to HO/POs. GH manually added in HOPOs, so when they were used, it felt right. RB1 and the majority of RB DLC Harmonix releases uses an automated system to designate which notes become HOPOs based on their measure, which is what makes them awkward. They did this for GH2 also, which is why you had songs like "Laid to Rest" that had unreasonably long stretches of no strumming.
Learn the facts. I would say both games have charts that are fun to play and feel 'right', and conversely, both have terrible charts.
Strategy wise, Neversoft came in with the right approach, while Harmonix arrogantly took shortcuts, because they HAD a rhythm game history and assumed they were the best at it.
09/08/09
I also miss earning money to buy venues, but that's a minor point.
As for Cobain and Cash, I don't mind them being in the game at all, and I doubt they do either. Shirley Manson singing songs with male leads is weirder, and Ozzy singing La Bamba in WT was much worse.
09/08/09
09/08/09
One of the reasons I strongly prefer Guitar Hero over Rock Band. Guess not anymore. Glad I didn't rush out to buy this one. I think I'm tiring of music games. I love The Beatles but felt nothing sampling Beatles: Rock Band. I'm gonna take the money I would have put toward GH5 and Beatles: Rock Band and use it to purchase the remastered Beatles CDs.
09/08/09
09/08/09
09/08/09
The Soundtrack"
...ouch. *wince*
09/07/09
09/08/09
09/08/09
09/08/09
Finger dexterity?
Are you freaking kidding me?
Look, I'm one of the few guitar players who enjoys playing Guitar Hero, but finger dexterity? It's five plastic buttons all within reach of your handspread! Huge plastic buttons. There are no frets, string variation, or even a way to make your fingers blister for thicker skin.
I'm sorry, but unless you're so new to guitar that "Mary by the Seashore" is a challenge, then you're flat out lying.
09/08/09
@TRT-X: I'm not trolling kid. I'm saying that instead of people staring at a TV screen with a plastic guitar, they might find playing a real guitar more rewarding. What's so great about pressing colored buttons on a plastic guitar? It's simply entertainment for the dumb.
09/14/09
Now, you saying that you're "one of the FEW guitar players who enjoy Guitar Hero"? I think that's more a stretch.... I'm sure there's more than you think.
09/14/09
And say what you will about people who enjoy music games-- it's more feasible for them to make the jump to real instruments than it is for jackasses like you to get over themselves.
09/07/09
09/07/09
09/08/09
09/07/09
......
09/08/09
^^It's an Arrested Development joke^^
I lol'd at your comment. Nice work.
09/07/09
Harmonix rebooted the series and abandoned the hardcore player in Rock Band, stripping stats out of the game entirely (just percentage for each player in the middle of a setlist?). They also made the decision to stop charting piano parts, or mixing up guitar parts and sticking to one throughout. Guitar Hero 1 and 2 added some variety by switching between rhythm and lead guitar on a lot of tracks, so you wouldn't end up playing the same thing over and over again. Some people want it to be boring and 'realistic,' I just prefer it being more interesting and a 'game.'
I feel like at the moment, everything about the Guitar Hero 5 engine/menus/features is superior to Rock Band 2.
And the best guitar is the Nyko Frontman for the PS3 believe it or not...if you can find one on clearance I highly recommend it.
09/07/09
I've felt the same way, though to balance it out a bit, Harmonix still switches between Lead/Rhythm guitar (just not as often). One of the few charts I found to be more fun in RB than GH was Reptilia b/c RB threw in some Rhythm Guitar to break from the monotony of the lead. It is a game, and I'd rather have the charts be fun and switch between guitar parts than stick to one repetitive track.
Glad to hear GH5 has come through this time.
As for the Nyko Guitar, is there a wired version? I personally prefer wired instruments to minimize latency and do away with batteries (even though I have rechargeables, they generate lag as they start to run low--sucks when its mid song).
09/07/09
09/07/09
09/07/09
09/08/09
And also where was this morality when everybody was complaining that Cliff Burton would not be in Guitar Hero: Metallica?
09/08/09
At least they're playing... Beatles songs... in RB Beatles.
Did no one else think the whole.. garage band attitude in the previous games was what gave them charm? Here you are, playing the story of a fake band on a fake guitar, becoming a fake guitar hero, playing cover- songs.
Thought that was great. Not pretentious without self- irony, not more silly than necessary.
09/08/09
Big difference.
09/09/09
I just think that it's interesting that everybody started disliking this "dead people in guitar hero" at the same time. When they announced Jhonny Cash nobody said a peep.
09/10/09
09/10/09
09/07/09
I can't wait to sing the ghost busters theme song
"bustin makes me feel good"
09/08/09
I personally loved the setlist for the game. So clearly the only thing that's wrong here is you and your friends' tacky tastes.
09/07/09
I agree about the soundtrack, I loved playing Blue Orchid, Steady As She Goes, Under Pressure, All Along The Watchtower, etc. But there probably weren't more than 15 songs I really liked to play. Some are much more fun to listen to, ie 21st Century Schizoid Man.
That song (and Superstition) also proves Neversoft don't give two shits about charting anymore. Playing horns with guitars for everybody! The trademark GH3 overcharting returns as well.
It was fun for one-night gamefly before I beat it and sent it back, but not much more. Bonus points for Spirit of the Radio being the last song, though.
09/07/09
09/07/09
Moving on.... on your left you will see....
09/07/09
I AM ADVANCED.
I AM THE FIRST MAMMAL TO MAKE PLANS, YEAH.
09/07/09
09/07/09
go suck Harmonix off somewhere else, boy. I like playing as Johnny Cash
09/07/09
It's okay, you're just the shining example of the kind of person who prefers GH over RB.
09/07/09
09/07/09
Honestly, the developers place these iconic stars in the games to honor them and their accomplishments as musicians, not because they're assholes. Yes, they do not need to put renditions of real artists in the game, but some people actually really enjoy it. Dead or not, why should they get any less acknowledgement?
@I_Hate_This_Place: you hit in home.
09/07/09
So, it's fine using the Beetles but when Guitar Hero does it, it's in poor taste?
I see.
Regardless. Very fun game. I enjoy both Guitar Hero and Rock Band, and I keep expecting the glut of GH games get in the way of enjoying them, but similar to Tony Hawk, they've continually put out so some quality stuff.
I know the bubble will burst but it hasn't yet.
09/07/09
09/07/09
09/07/09
RB4LIEFFZ!
09/07/09
09/07/09
As for Rock Band guitars...you know you can play the game with a third party or Guitar Hero guitar, right? Personally, I think that the Guitar Hero guitars peaked with GH3, and have dropped in quality since.
09/07/09
Harmonix are a development team made up of musicians. I wouldn't be surprised if they had at least one person (or a team) figuring out how to actually play a song before charting it. You can see in the animations that they are trying to accurately portray the fingerwork and that takes some knowledge of a song beforehand.
Now I'm pretty sure with the inclusion of the music studio and such that Neversoft now actually have some guys there that know their shit, but as I said: they would only be on par with what Harmonix is already doing.
I don't know who this community you refer to is, but from what I've seen people are of the opinion that RB is more fun and faithful.
Examples:
Poor drum chart for The Everlasting Gaze
[www.youtube.com]
(no offbeat 'disco beat' hi-hat, that, as well as the bass pedal, is overcharted)
And an actual demonstration of a poorly-charted track for Black Betty
[www.youtube.com]
I'm not saying GH is 'bad' per se. Just that I disagree with your initial point.
09/07/09
I'm referring specifically to HO/POs. GH manually added in HOPOs, so when they were used, it felt right. RB1 and the majority of RB DLC Harmonix releases uses an automated system to designate which notes become HOPOs based on their measure, which is what makes them awkward. They did this for GH2 also, which is why you had songs like "Laid to Rest" that had unreasonably long stretches of no strumming.
Learn the facts. I would say both games have charts that are fun to play and feel 'right', and conversely, both have terrible charts.
Strategy wise, Neversoft came in with the right approach, while Harmonix arrogantly took shortcuts, because they HAD a rhythm game history and assumed they were the best at it.