@Kyattsuai: Go look at the "new" Pandora at the official Guitar Hero On Tour website. They did to her what they did to Casey Lynch...that is, they took everything away that made her who she was.

I fully expect Clive Winston to be a cross between Eminem and Celine Dion.

@Ghar: That's the problem. The scorehero community are the people who analyze overdrive paths for maximum points. They're a community built around blasting through hardcore solos and fiddling with vocal squeezing. I don't think they give a crap what song their playing as long as they can figure out if it's 2/3/3 or 4/2/2.

And then you point to one thread in scorehero as proof it's not overcharted? I suppose they know more than the hundreds of thousands of GH players who started with the first and realized right away that somehting really UGLY happened to the charts when Activision took over.

I kid you note, I am totally expecting at some point in GHWT you're going to playing drums and see some bizarre "triple chord" of R/B/G.

TRT-X

And then when Rock Band 2 shows up and smokes GH World Tour, we get to start all over again.

KaneRobot

This does look pretty interesting. My major gripe with Rock Band that I hope GHWT would fix is the vocals. The singing was great and all but it was a bit jarring when ever there was a female vocalist and she was "singing" with a mans voice.

TheDollHouse

ooooh everlong :D I like the idea of muting cymbals and presure sensitive drum pads...not sure im too happy with more bullshit fisherprice plastic equipment tho that will only get replaced next year :P

ali_g_84uk

I'm excited for this now. I thought Rock Band's biggest flaw was the guitar part was just too easy and uninteresting. The songs got repetitive, whereas I could play "Pride and Joy" on hyperspeed for hours. Guitar Hero, I'm coming back.

kylo4

@Ghar: How did we jump on the wrong ship? Looks like everyone that bought GH3 will still need to buy all new peripherals as well...

Looks like Activision is just screwing everyone.

... Yes, I know you can use the GH3 controller, but you won't get any of these "improvements".

thezman

@Saxboy:
Yeah, the gimped (and late) wii version really turned me off RB. The devs just came off like they have no respect for the wii-people. At least the GH team is going full-fledged in their port. plus, their hardware is better. plus, they have create-a-song. plus, I actually prefer the GH3 setlist to the RB list (or any other GHs, for that matter), and if they can maintain the level in GHWT, it's going to be great.

solar_tf

@svenhoek: Speaking of trolls...

Xerxes3rd

Was the game played? How was the timing in comparison to GH3?

If timing for drums is as forgiving as it was for guitar on GH3... then I could care less about any of these "improvements".

thezman

@Saxboy: "I then have $200 for ice cream."

LOL

CHU BOI

Really sounds like they're trying to be Rock Band 2. And since GH3's completely unfun and at times nonsensical note-charts-of-pain pretty much turned me off the series, the good news I can take from this is what innovations Harmonix is going to bring to the table with the real Rock Band 2. Hopefully more than "me too" one-upmanship.

Ber'Zophus

@Hendrixx: Rock Band is made by a team that love music and actually engage with the community.

Um, except it was Activision that got some of the better players from scorehero to test play GH3 before it came out.

Also, to any idiot that thinks GH3's notecharts were overcharted: [www.scorehero.com]

This game is looking great, sorry RB fanboys, you jumped on the wrong ship.

Ghar

I don't own any GH or rock band but have played them and enjoyed them very much. I could see myself getting this.

Metropolis

@gaijira:
They already distribute their own DLC content, which is *much* larger than any vocal track could be, since it includes actual audio files for each instrument track (whereas custom songs will probably use sample banks for the instruments instead). Also, vocal tracks would require the least musical knowledge to compose (as long as you can sing, that's all it needs, and you don't even need that if you're making a rap song). If the composer did it right the first time, he wouldn't even have to mess around with editing it. Now actually moving around and editing the wave files for the voice track *might* be a bit of a heavy load for console RAM, especially the wii. doesn't sound impossible, tho.

Anyway. I really hope they'll do voice tracks next time around. It's pretty obvious they're already cramming A LOT of content into GHWT, so I'm not going to hold it against em if they leave it for later.

solar_tf

@vanlingo:

You do realize the developers of the original Guitar Hero (and GH2) are the same people who made Rock Band right?

Guitaratomik

Just wait till Rock Band 2. Heh.

VixDiesel

@Scaraba: Fortunately I was keeping up with it. I meant it figuratively - when I saw that RB Wii was gimped, I refused to buy it. Now I have that $200 I was going to spend saved up for GH:WT until Activision comes out and says it's also a gimped PS2 port, in which case I then have $200 for ice cream.

Saxboy

@CHU BOI:
Well, Rockband already has an install base. They don't really need to do much of anything to compete with GH Worl Tour. A lot of people having the options of buying a 60$ game or a 200$ (somewhere around there) bundle so they can double up on instruments are going to go for the cheap option. They can probably just match what World Tour brings to the table and just try and add a few little extras.

Demonbird

@CHU BOI: I am pretty sure you have to code and program each song. Just saying... :/
Yes, because I need to keep that garbage bloatware on my PC.

PsycheE

Now I'm waiting to see how RB not only matches, but bests GH4. :)

Fatmumuhomer

Wait, i just had a thought. I was thinking of how Rock Band 2 could possibly surpass this very impressive new GH, and then it hit me...

iTunes.

Imagine if Harmonix collab'd with Apple to integrate RB and iTunes. When you buy certain new releases (as in, just rock songs) on iTunes you get a RB version at a premium (an extra $1-$2). So you can purchase your songs via your computer, have your Apple and XBL accounts tied together and be able to download them through Rock Band. That would be nuts! RB would get everything that's available on iTunes.

Probably will never happen, but just a thought.

CHU BOI

@Saxboy

I'm sorry nobody told you ahead of time that they half-assed the Wii version of Rock Band.

Also, everyone in this thread who getting all angsty because of Harmonix / Blizzivision going against each other, shut up. Wait until these games BOTH come out so we can actually see which one is better. One could say guitar hero has somewhat of an edge in this round since they are an older, more financially backed company (probably labels would give them more of their master tapes, stuff like that). But Harmonix still has that small company vibe about it.. so there are people on both sides of this field.

Either way this is going to be an awesome year in interactive music gaming. I can't wait!

Scaraba

@gaijira: Palmface! LOL give me a damn edit button Kotaku!!!

gaijira

I wish there were some viable path to a unified standard for instruments, so game makers could focus on the gameplay aspects (i.e. making better online experiences and better note tracks), consumers would be able to enjoy multiple games with a single set of peripherals, and we could as an industry take a slightly more environmentally friendly step.

I hate being torn like this between the hobby I love and my own sense of environmental responsibility.

PositivelyGreg

@TheHun: If not for the genius of Guitar Hero, we wouldn't have Rock Band at all.

Never underestimate the original, and never jump on the bandwagon of the first competitor to add crappy, expensive, half-hearted peripherals.

vanlingo

@solar_tf: @
Why does everyone think they're not having user-created vocals because of legal issues? It has nothing to do with swearing, bigotry or copyright issues...these things are already prevalent on XBox Live, and will be in Spore, Little Big Planet, and any other venue for user-created content.

I'm pretty sure the issue is creating, uploading and distributing vocal tracks. Even compressed audio tracks are very large compared to all the other instruments which will just use sequences of notes. And creating/editing them in the first place is way more complicated than the others also, since it has to be done in realtime. Not saying it's not possible, just probably very tough. On the other hand, Harmonix may surprise everyone by including vocals in user-created content for RB2.

gaijira

Also ROTFL at all of the people complaining about how video game companies are "forcing" them (you) to buy expensive merchandise...

vanlingo

I wonder, how many folks who already purchased rock band are going to buy this?

Demonbird

@mva5580: can you actually do that in frets on fire though? i sure can't on the version i have.

noliferuin (PSN)

@SpishackCola: Why does everyone think PCs cost $1000+? I built a quad-core machine for cheaper than a PS3 ($400). All you have to do is just shop around before you buy stuff.

You guys do realize that you can sell your instruments back, right? You don't have to save every guitar you ever get - just put it on ebay.

Harmonix lost my money when they screwed my Wii version of Rockband. Until Activision also says they'll screw me out of a decent Wii version, my money will go to them.

@AZTriGuy: In GH3 you could do a co-op career on two different difficulty settings. The difficulty it counted you as defeating was the lower of the two, but your particular note charts were picked from the difficulty that you chose.

Yes, Activision is a big evil corporation. Judging GH:WT vs RB based on that is hypocritical to all of you who jumped on the poster who said that he would buy this game to piss off the RB posters. If you aren't willing to judge a game by how it plays, then you can just go join Fox News. I hear they're always looking for new people to rip something without experience with it.

What I want to know is if the new guitars will work (perhaps sans new functionality) with the older GH games.

And please, for the love of anything you consider sanct, do not use the "but Harmonix are real musicians" argument. Speaking as a person who has played with real musicians for years of my life, that means nothing. There are people who are better musicians out there than many so-called "real" musicians. Playing music professionally does not imply you're good at it. I will give them props for getting the music genre started, but based on a lot of the covers they did in the first two GH games and (if I remember right) the bonus songs of theirs they included (at least on GH1), they're no musical geniuses. Implying that they are somehow "better" than Neversoft because they play music means nothing, especially when you consider that Neversoft probably employs professionals themselves.

Saxboy

Santeria!!!????!!! I'm in.

Scaraba

If I can earn all of the achievements JUST with the guitar....then Ill buy it, coz Im not getting any accessories.

CanaryWundaboy

@TheHun: +1

CHU BOI

Activision has abandoned the guitar part of Guitar Hero. Some of my favorite songs in previous incarnations are those without lyrics (Jessica, Frankenstein, YYZ, etc) The whole point of GH is that all of the songs are guitar-centric. With the addition of the other instruments, they are forced to only include songs that are fun for all instruments. While this is perfect for a game like Rock Band, I was hoping that this brand would stay pure to it's roots.
I for one will continue to enjoy Rock Band and wait for Rock Band 2 and transfer all of my DLC onto it when it comes out. When RB2 comes out, there will be over 400 songs available. Why buy GH4 with it's 85 songs and it's inevitably expensive DLC?
This is a no brainer in my book.

BriGuy

"they should only allow players to play songs with vocal tracks that were approved by Activision"

I'd rather they let anybody record vocal tracks, but then the vocals are only available on the local machine.

So when you download a song somebody else made, you have the option to make up your own words.

TRT-X

and the full band arms race has started. i wonder what harmonix will do to top this. looking forward to it all despite teh fact that i will be poor as hell :/

demonknightinuyasha

@svenhoek: I have a feeling that the "make your own song" feature won't amount to anything spectacular. I doubt we'll be seeing people thrashing away at their plastic guitars on MTV anytime soon. Personally I'd rather play along to the kind of stuff you'd hear on the radio; and Rock Band has consistently delivered through their DLC releases. In previous GH releases, you'd get sparse updates of usually only one band and more often than not GH songs were covers. The new create a song system would improve that a little bit, but without real world economical aspects to GH's music creation system, like agents and publicity, you're going to be sifting through a lot of shit before you find the really good songs. Even then it's questionable how many people will have found that song or what kind of competition you're going to have on the Leaderboards for it. It's an awesome feature, there's no doubt about that, but there's still enough competition coming from Rock Band that it's not the be-all, end-all of rhythm gaming.

NeoStarr

"Something the noobs will appreciate is a new Beginner difficulty."

"Beat Beginner Tour" and "5-Star Beginner Tour" Achievements confirmed. Now let's hope they take RB's advice and stack them.

Anyway, as cool as this all sounds...I will NOT buy it unless the gear is compatible with RB. Because I refuse to have two sets of equipment in my living room. There's just no room.

TRT-X

"..you should earmark another $180 for the whole shebang."

Damn I saw the "shebang" part out of the corner of my eye and thought this game was going to have William Hung in it. what a let down.

liquid_kore

@vanlingo: If no one jumped at RB then we'd be getting GH:World Tour without drums and mic.

TheHun

This is really a dilemma. GH has (and most likely always will have) the better periphs while Harmonix has better song selection and DLC. I already own RB so buying World Tour will make me broke like I was last Fall. Hooray for competition! [/sarcasm]

All the journalists argue about a one-console future...let's talk about a single music game platform future. I'd much rather see that but I have a feeling it's less and less likely everyday.

CHU BOI

@mva5580: No it's not the same damn game. Okay, it is to the extent that it's pretty much plagiarism and would be illegal if they charged money for it. Yes that's true. But the timing sucks, the hammer-ons/pull-offs suck. There's no whammy bar functions. It only technically "ships" with like 2 unknown songs. It's glitchy as all hell, to the point of being unplayable. It has synching problems. The interface is ass. The graphics suck. I've never in my life seen a note chart that didn't suck. (I know it's funny to put a 5 note chord in there, but that's not actually possible to hit, really.)

I'm no big fan of Guitar Hero 3 and the direction Neversoft are taking the franchise. But man it's no competition when compared to Frets on Fire. Guitar Hero 3 is worth the money. Frets on Fire isn't worth the hard disk space.

Oh, and the note chart creation feature is also ass.

dowingba

I'm really excited for this game. There are only two things which I really miss:

First is a hi-hat pedal. Controlling two feet while drumming in time is *the* one thing tat's still setting this apart from real drumming.

Second, the vocal tracks for create-a-song. I do understand all the legal problems they would have with people swearing or being bigots or recording copyrighted stuff. However, there's one simple way around it: they should only allow players to play songs with vocal tracks that were approved by Activision. In other words, they should make it an online platform for independent bands, distributing a couple submitted and approved tracks every week for free, *like audiosurf does*.

That would be a really, really, really, great huge thing, joining musicians and players and creating an [PRspeak]innovative, vibrant and exciting online community[/PRspeak]

That said, the news on the game still make me impossibly excited. The implementation of hardcore music creation tools is one of the coolest things one could expect from a game like this. Maybe in the next installment, they'll actually add the two things I suggested here (the hi-hat could plug into the drumset, the online indie band community could be given a nice full featureset for submitting, downloading, maybe even refereeing custom song contests).

solar_tf

Woo! Pandora's back! I can only hope that they don't give her an extra chromosome like they did with Judy Nails in GH3...

Kyattsuai

ROFL at all of the people who jumped at Rock Band, and now wish they'd waited.

vanlingo

I'll be getting this one, sans everything but the game and guitar. Create a song mode should be interesting. With the availability of tabs all over the internet, I wonder how easy it will be to convert them? Perhaps I can finally enjoy Rhapsody of Fire in a guitar hero game?

Sir_Crocidile

@dowingba: ha, ok. Whatever you say. If you need the little things that go along with Rock Band and Guitar Hero, like the characters singing in the background that little crap, that's your choice.

But it's the same damn game, and it's not debatable. The Rock Band and Guitar Hero mods for those games make them look damn near exactly like those two, and the game runs/looks great on my PC. If you're someone who is just not capable of setting up the game to run, that's a you problem, not a me problem.

But you go ahead and keep dropping all that money to Activision and EA for "new" versions of these titles. I'm sure they love you for it. Meanwhile I'll play something for free that plays the core game exactly the same.

mva5580

"Guitar Hero World Tour also features Call of Duty-style accomplishments that reward with bonus money for pulling off hot licks and cool tricks."

Complete Rebel Yell on Veteran difficulty. ;)

Americo

Ugh. I want to not want this. I hate that Activision is running this franchise into the ground, and I want to protest. However, this game may warrant a purchase. Ugh.

Kirksplosion

Guitar Hero has gone from the most unique series in a good while to a series that is snatching up all the features they can from their competitors. They've already said they've annualized it, yearly copying and pasting the same code into the same game, the only expense being licensing and porting the song into the games. Lets just hope you can use your rock band peripherals, unless they did what they did with every other rock band feature, where they take whats there, add to it very slightly, just enough to say they're better. Either way, Rock band has already sold how many millions of songs? Sold how many millions of copies? Who REALLY wants an entire other set of instruments just for the same game they already have with a remixed sound track.

Talleh

Also, can anyone explain why that guy's microphone is shooting lightning in that screenshot?

Is he standing in a puddle or something?

Hendrixx

I hope someone sequences expod-digital in the music studio.

Torgen got his apology faceplate but not his fixed GH3 disc

@mva5580: Frets on Fire sucks. And I mean, sucks, bad. Like it isn't even worth the free that it costs.

dowingba

After the Guitar Hero guitar fiasco thing, I will never buy anything Guitar Hero. Ever

SnakeCL

@lapiz: Everything this one has, Rockband 2 will offer with better charts as always.

Time and time again, right? They have consistently blown away GH every instance! All... oh wait... just one time. :>

ReadNLearn

The only problem is I don't want them to rush it out with a ton of glitches like GHIII, also I felt that game was over-charted, the songs were meh and the DLC was a load of crap as well.

I know it was a learning step for them and if they get everything right this could really push everything forward in the genre, but I reckon Rock Band 2 and Harmonix will have something up their sleeves to offer something different to this.

I'm surprised they didn't mention that bass has a 6th note, that you play by not pressing any button and strumming and beginner sounds nice for people that don't want to press coloured buttons and just want to strum like a madman/woman. I think that this will be bigger then Rock Band 2 because it has the name and the brand.

Now let me save up £200 (cause you know this is going to be more then Rock Band), to buy this thing in May 2009 in Europe.

DHSlash

I dropped $100 on GH2
another $100 on GH 3
then $200 on Rockband.

There is no more money going to either EA or Activision from me, other than RB DLC...

AudibleDefect

I like the "Create a character" things, but typically features like that seem to be left off of Wii ports of the game. Best example would be the EA Sports series, like Tiger Woods in particular. The PS3 and 360 versions of that title had great character customization, while the Wii and even the PC/Mac versions got striped down versions. There was a character creation, but it was much less in depth than the PS3 or 360 versions.

Anyway, especially with the inclusion of the beginner settings, I'll be getting this for the kids. My 4-year old tried and tried to play GH3, but even the easy level was too much for him. If all he has to do is strum or smack any drum pad, he's going to have a blast.

Do the difficulty levels vary per player? Like if I'm playing the guitar and my kid is on the drums, can I play on Medium or Hard (so it's fun for me) and leave his on beginner (so it's fun for him) at the same time?

AZTriGuy

Oh, let's get this out of the way. Here is a sampling of some of the game's artists.

* Billy Idol - "Rebel Yell"

Rebel Yell?

Hell. Fucking. Yes.

JerrD74: hates the media

Hey, the characters don't look like inbred Neanderthals! That's a step in the right direction.

chuffhoncho

I don't think people with RB are willing to shell out the money for another set. People who didn't buy RB aren't going to buy this either.

TheHun

I may pick up just the game so I can play other people's versions of songs.

def PD

@svenhoek: Is that a joke? First your usage of "pwn" instantly removes any credibility your post might've had. Also the "make your own song" feature is going to be filled with 99% death metal wannabes producing shit. 1% maybe quality songs.

The lack of vocals in it is going to hurt it. Also they will most likely heavily moderate songs put online for copyright infringement.

BonoMan

Spend an arm and a leg to get these new plastic monstrosities...or wait for Rock Band 2 for a fraction of the cost and it probably be better...hmmm.

justhesh

@noliferuin (PSN): you can't sing, play drums, play bass, play multiplayer, play online, create a character, etc. etc. etc. on frets on fire.

true, false, false, false, true, and true. And it's only a matter of time btw before you can play online in Frets on Fire. It'll happen.

Of course none of the things that you can't do in Frets on Fire effect me at all, so to each his own. All I know is the game is really, really damn close to GH/RB, and I don't pay a thing for the game, or the songs.

mva5580

@mva5580:
For me, FoF runs really choppy on a system that doesn't really have a problem running Crysis with most things on.

Other than that, my only problem is so many levels where the guitar makes no difference to the sound one way or the other, like a lot of BM98/Mixwaver levels.

fuchikoma

@svenhoek:
Mr Kettle meet Mr Black...

enewtabie

Santeria and Everlong. I'm interested now.

mikeko10

Clive winston? Sold!

monkey_87

As many have stated, I await the soon-to be-announced Rock Band 2.

DigiMish

I'll be buying this... Between the way the guitar looks with the touch button frets and the fact you can change around your strat coils.... This is a do want

NessD12

@mva5580:
$400 for two games you can play with friends in the same room versus $800+ to play one game at the reasonably high settings (40-60fps, AA, all that good stuff) possible (Crytek comes to mind here)

SpishackCola

Just like with GH3, though, there's something about the look of this thing that turns me off. It's all a bit on the grimy side, the interface seems clunkier, and it may be a stupid thing to focus on, but I hate the fonts. (Also: gradients? Really?)

Got enough stuff in my living room, anyway. I'm just going to wait for Rock Band 2....

janai

@noliferuin (PSN): u can sing anywhere.. as long as u have a voice. Bass, ofcourse u can play on frets. And as long as characters go, i never look past the chart on gh.. That leaves online and drums... well, u have to get something for the 650$ u need to spend for gh:wt and a ps3..

lapiz

Good news for people who have large amounts disposable income. Everyone else will mourn the loss of rhythm game genre. :(

Voteforme2020

@greeble:

Count me in as well. Activision have been bastards over the whole GH/RB affair. And Bobby Asshat Kotick's little 'first time you'll play drums, guitar and sing' line in the announcement trailer showed me that Activision truly are corporate wankers.

Rock Band is made by a team that love music and actually engage with the community.
Guitar Hero is now made by corporate suits, defining 'rock' on their own terms.

Count me out for this iteration, methinks.

Hendrixx

@svenhoek: you need to get your priorities straight man.

noliferuin (PSN)

You had me at bass career

JustFrozen

@svenhoek: lol you're gonna spend $180 just to 'piss off' people in a forum who disagree with your opinion? Wow...just wow...

gaijira

Sorry Activision, no sale here. You've lost yourself a customer with your consumer hostile stance. (Expensive DLC and screwing Rock Band ps3 users). I'm a Rock Band player now, you'll get no more of my money.

greeble

Considering I've already bought into Rock Band, there is no way I'm going to have MORE overpriced hunks of plastic littering my living room. Just like almost everyone else here, I'm waiting for Rock Band 2, no question. It'll have all these features and more.

Archaotic

PLEASE make them fix the learning curve. That, or kill slayer and all their songs for good. if they could also touch some other kind of music than rock, or at least some other groups. I was really happy to learn that offspring was going on RB, I expect some good songs from guitar hero.
More faith no more? :D:D

Phibius

guess i will just get the guitar and the game; no one ever uses the drums and mic in my house anyways.

Alpha85

*waits for details about Rock Band 2*

dj_fantastica

@mva5580: you can't sing, play drums, play bass, play multiplayer, play online, create a character, etc. etc. etc. on frets on fire.

noliferuin (PSN)

@mva5580: Funny how glorified Simon Says games with cool looks triumph.

Ashurahori

For once internet trolling has swayed my decision process. All those stupid RB fanboys that i see in every post about GH, have moved me to buy this new guitar hero. Just to piss them off. Plus the make your own song feature pwns Rock Band any day of the week.

svenhoek

Sounds great, Rock Band would have been an absolute slammer with the studio function.

Now the next logical step for Blizzievision with its hoard of money is to partner with gibson/yamaha and mass produce a cheap, real guitar for a videogame. A sensor-tie in when replacing strings perhaps?. At least parents won't be able to complain that their children can learn a real guitar.

PsycheE

Everything this one has, Rockband 2 will offer with better charts as always.

lapiz

@Struct09: it's not great if it descends into the 2 companies fighting over exclusive bands/songs. that only hurts the customer.

noliferuin (PSN)

I know the GH:WT drums have more to hit than the the Rock Band ones, but I wonder if it will be compatible with the Rock Band drums for lower levels (probably no higher than medium difficulty).

I seriously don't want another set of drums taking up more space that I don't want to give up.

DerrickDS

And every single awesome feature about World Tour will be nulled by the simple fact that Neversoft makes the absolute worst unfun notecharts ever.

BonoMan

I'd look into this if some 3rd party made a drumset/guitar that is compatible with RB and GH, I do not want 2 sets of plastic drums in my house.

spaceape

I might need to get this. I like GH better than RB (though I don't have too much experience with RB) and hopefully this game delivers. The song creation sounds cool and I'm psyched "Everlong" finally made it. I could do without Goddamn Linkin Park, though.

broomperson

OR we can just wait until Rock Band 2 comes out, and has all of the exact same features.

Or better yet, just play Frets on Fire for PC and get the majority of this stuff for free.

All I have to say is that if you buy both the Rock Band and Guitar Hero World Tour sets, you're talking about $400 worth of stuff, after tax. The price of a PS3 or 360.

And people bitch about the price of PC Gaming being outrageous. Funny.

mva5580

I think I'll wait and see what Rock Band 2 brings to the table. Any word on whether the microphone actually motion senses your dance moves yet? Cause that was the major turn off for me.

NeoStarr

Look interesting,but I already have enough plastic in my living room.Three gituars,a drum set, 3 microphones.

enewtabie

It bothers me that Guitar Hero is abandoning its arcadey roots to compete with Rock Band. Rock Band's one flaw is that it isn't an arcade game like Guitar Hero.

dowingba

Competition is a great thing. This game sounds awesome, and I also await what Harmonix has in store for us. Great news all around for fans of rhythm games :D

Struct09

As long as you can just take a guitar, play really hard levels, and play from start to finish, not feeling like there are gaps missing where they switch to other instruments, then I'm probably in! The rest... eh, it'll be nice making a character probably.

fuchikoma

Im preety much sold on the Wii version. Now, if only I can find the space to set up all those nice shinny plastic instrument placebos...

Shiryu

@Ghar: "because they can't just easily breeze through them all on expert..."

Nice counterargument. Does that come standard with the Defense Force membership?

I beat GHI Expert, I beat GHII Expert. I beat RB Expert. I'm currently stuck on "Before I Forget" in GHIII Expert (which is, for those keeping score at home, the second to last set) It took me longer to beat GHI than it did GHII, and less than that to do RB.

Why?

It has nothing to do with GH's I and II being harder or easier, or RB being easier than those...it's because I GOT BETTER!

That's the problem with GHIII. They designed the game not with the average player in mind, but the hardcore scorehero type player.

It's like what they did with Mario Kart single player. People who were good at N64 Mario Kart are likely just as good as DS, NGC, and Wii Mario Kart. But what do they do? Each iteration they juts make the AI crueler and crueler.

GHIII isn't hard or challenging in that fun way like the first two or RB. Or like the Mario Kart 64. It's hard in that "Well let's just make it hard for the sake of being hard" way. Like Mario Kart DS and especially now Wii.

TRT-X

@Ghar: i loved GH3, but that one did smack of neversoft artificially increasing the difficulty on certain songs.

noliferuin (PSN)

@TRT-X:
You didn't read that thread at all eh? Well sorry but the scorehero guys also care plenty about the accuracy of songs.

And hundreds of thousands of players? Way to overestimate things in my opinion. And from what I've seen people only complain that the notecharts must be overcharted because they can't just easily breeze through them all on expert... "BAWWW I can't play this easily so something must be wrong" I'm not sure why people play these games on expert anyway if they're not looking for a challenge, it doesn't make any sense. There are different difficulty levels for a reason.

Ghar

i dont like rock band.

me and my friend play it in versus mode a lot, and he always has double my score.

we play GH3, i beat him easily, although not twice the score, i like GH3 for these reasons:

Round targets
harder
better songs
faster songs
better guitar construction

what GH4 is bringing, is all the extreme licks and solos of gh3 and mixing them into multiple instruments.

mentalboy11

@thezman:
Except that people who stuck with GH will only be buying their first drumset and mic. Oh and I'm going to laugh so much when RB2 comes out with a new drumset that has cymbals/hihat/something else that makes the old set incompatible.

Also, GH notecharts > RB notecharts.
They're more fun to play, more challenging on the highest difficulty, and fairly accurate.

On an semi unrelated note... why does kotaku keep putting price tags on this game... from the article I read, Activision has only stated that the game will be competitively priced so far.

Ghar

okay GH:WT. you won me over with your new enhanced drum set and your song creation mode but im not leaving the rock band universe until i find out your song list and how two cymbal symbols come at you during the game. will there 5 buttons across. a dark yellow one and a lite yellow one? the bass going to have a pedal line too? this might be getting a little bit more complicated for the average video gamer

skyur45

Features look awesome, but could do with some better songs.

The biggest selling point over rockband for me will be whether or not they choose to rape their European customers.

creepwood

@TRT-X:
That mario kart stuff just makes you sound like you're trolling now >_>

The AI didn't exactly change much they moreso just changed some things with the items and added a few more opponents... but to say that game is hard at all is a joke, I got at least 1 star on everything on my first playthrough and it was my first mario kart game since SNES.

But that's getting pretty off topic now so uh yeah about GH... I don't think 3 is any harder than 2 was, sure the challenge to it may be a little different with more chords but I found both games equally challenging. And again I'll say it... It's expert difficulty for a reason. If it's too much for you then just go back to hard mode.

Ghar

@FanDam: I think a keyboard would be best as an optional add-on for a game. Tapping out the organs of 'Highway Star' or 'Won't Get Fooled Again' would be all kinds of awesome though!

Xylophone: Just for that, it's now 7/10

If it's possible to play the game with a controller, I'm sold.

Xylophone: Just for that, it's now 7/10

Wow, this looks so much better then RB. Cannot wait to get my hands on this. The set-list needs to be good, but I am sure they will have a good mix like always.

Muisee

"ROFL at all of the people who jumped at Rock Band, and now wish they'd waited. "

@vanlingo: Yes, "ROFL" indeed.

I've got two guitars, a mic, and a drumset. I will not be buying any game (not even Rock Band 2) that requires the purchase of a new peripheral.

And I really expected keyboards this time around: Van Halen, The Who, Ben Folds Five, "November Rain", etc.

FanDam

@skyur45:
Since they decided the bass guitar, of all things, is going to have a sixth position (no frets pressed), then it's very likely the drums' bass pedal will have an extra line for it.

solar_tf

Music creator ftw! I can see it now. Today on TRL, the fornicating fondue folds, a new band who doesn't play the ordinary way...they make their songs through guitar hero...

hoopesk2

PS: Now, if another Rock Band came out that uses my existing peripherals, sign me up. That I can & will get excited about.

Oceaniax

1 GH guitar for PS/2.
1 GH guitar for Wii
2 RB guitar & 1 Drumset for 360

Not to mention the wii balance board, random other peripherals and all that pesky "furniture" that clutters up the living room. World Tour would have to be the absolute best thing ever to get me to buy it, as i'm simply put running out of room to store all this stuff.

Oceaniax

Yeah I'm in the I still don't care boat. I don't have the money or the space for all this equipment and I definitely don't have any intention of trading what I have in or selling it.

Tough luck Activision, but your previous asshole ways have lost you a GH customer for life. I don't need or want any more peripherals and I'm not buying any more of your games that require me to do so.

If they go the smart route and realize that they're limiting sales by keeping RB equipment from working, then I might, possibly buy the stand alone game, but thats a mighty big if.

Activision may have a better product, but that doesn't mean its going to get my or anyone else's buisness.

iameleveneight

I'm gonna go ahead and make this simple via a paraphrase of another comment I read on Kotaku.

Harmonix understands music. Neversoft does not.

Quod erat demonstrandum.

Sparden

@Ghar: Huh? That thread you linked to pretty much universally agrees, and provides tons upon tons of backing to the argument that GH3 overcharts the songs.

dowingba

@Archaotic: Yeah, I'm in the same boat. I live in a small, SF apartment. No way am I clearing room for another set of fake instruments. Rock Band 2, it is. Also, the Guitar Hero IV song list has yet to wow me in the same way Rock Band's did. I hope they announce some good music for it. The Eagles? Bleagh.

Dirk Dorkelson

Jesus Christ it was a freaking joke! People need to calm the eff down. The internet is not that serious!

svenhoek

@Ghar: And you honestly believe GH:WT will be as hard as GH3?

Come on. Rock Band's guitar sequences are easy because they choose songs that fun on Drums, Guitar AND Vox. They were no longer focusing strictly on the guitar alone. Therefore it had to take a hit to find an all-around fun song.

And if you don't think they will do the same for GH-WT you'll be unpleasantly surprised when they do... because they're not going to have a bunch of songs that are hard for guitar... and boring on drums and completely unrecognizable on the vox. It'd be a complete waste of the new peripherals. Metal songs are usually pretty boring to play on drums... so have fun.

thezman

@dowingba: Go back and actually read everything, thanks.

Ghar

IGN did an interview with Vicarious Visions where they confirmed DLC for the Wii version. In game store, download to and playback from SD card or main storage, and free re-download if you delete it. [wii.ign.com]

Torgen got his apology faceplate but not his fixed GH3 disc

The most in-depth feature is one that will be used by hardly anyone. I do not get that. At least Clive's back. Darn shame he isn't bringing his cherry red ES-335 with him. But at least I can make him a Prince guitar. I'm sure Clive will appreciate that.

BStu

Everlong? You mean, greatest-song-in-the-world "Everlong"? Damn, I'll have to get Everlong Hero World Tour now.

Absent Blue

well...looks like GH has sucked me in again.

That sounds VERY promising.

DesmondHume

I'm buying this game as soon as it comes out. Of course I'm not shelling out $180 for the peripherals; I'm just gonna buy the game itself. AND ACTIVISION, IF YOU DON'T RELEASE THE GAME BY ITSELF I WILL... Ummm. Cry. Yeah. That's what I'll do.

lenandude

i rather play real intsruments and not worry about one trying to beat out the other when in fact making real music is much more interesing than plastic candy wrap whistling

Null-Python

@Ghar: I did. Stop being stupid. Thanks.

dowingba

@dowingba: Then please get some reading comprehension skills. The intelligent posts in that topic show that there are only a couple truly overcharted songs in GH3. Sure, there are some others charted a little oddly but only a couple overcharted ones which is also the case for GH1 and GH2. The bigger problem with GH3 is the differences between difficulties.

Ghar

Wow! I can't wait. It's customization seems so much deeper than Rock Band. I hope they can fix some of the issues rock band had in rock band 2 or this will just be a better game IMO. I really hated how easy they made medium mode and they could have had more 90's/modern stuff on the setlist.

Dalren

Ghar = GH Troll

DO NOT FEED THE TROLL

ckranger11

Cool! So I can make a character with a big ass chin! Still not sold on Guitar Hero though, sorry.

Fireblast

@TheDollHouse: ...you can fix that... You just turn the mic volume or vocal track all the way down so you can't hear it.

This actually seems like it might turn out. However, the main thing is going to be how they chart the notes. Harmonix was incredibly good with that and the drums is where the Neversoft team could really screw it up. I also really don't want to buy another set of drums but if it has a lot of songs I want, I may just buy the disc since the guitar and mic will be compatible. $60 to sing a bunch of songs I like is worth it to me. The music creator would make a full purchase worth it for me but the problem is you can't put in a vocal track. It's understandable why they might exclude it but in my opinion the benefits outweigh the risks and problems they may have. And without a vocal track, a song just feels odd to me (if it's a rock song). Hopefully Rock Band 2 will put that in.

Samos42

@solar_tf: Hopefully the GH:WT Wii version will include some sort of DLC, create-a-song mode and online play =\

Xisuthros

Since HMX/EA totaly screwed us over here in Europe and GH4 looks alot better, im going with this one.

Xisuthros

ive got to see wat Rock Band 2 is bringing to the table before i make a decision.

TF2Soldier914

@ TRT-X: No, I'm pretty sure they set RB's difficulty for the elderly.

gophzero

Sounds cool, the changes are welcome as long as the charts stay good and they don't flood the soundtrack with pop music.(Ya know, like rock band's craptastic soundtrack)

gophzero

im excited for peripherals that dont suck
rock band had a really shitty guitar and drums, they felt cheap and broke easily
gh has much more sturdy and well made stuff, i hope it applies for the drums too

superjap

I think the real mistake Rock Band did is that they completely gimped the Wii version, thus making potential players less willing to buy it.

Then comes GHWT, which tells us Wii owners that not only will we get online ability, we will get DLC, save it to SD, AND play songs directly from it without copying to main mem... and possibly apply to user-made contents, too. Throw in the fact that GHWT-Wii allows customization of character and guitar (lackign in RB-wii), GHWT is just better than RB1, while RB2 is not known if a wii version will come out.

That begs the question: why didn't they make a wii version in the first place? I am sure that had they did, GHWT will definitely be a failure (Wii do have bigger install base.) Instead, by allowing the Wii version to have full feature (san the graphics) of its bigger cousins, I think GHWT will be successful enough despite most newwave music game player dislike on activision.

Activision is not an asshole. Just a magnificant bastard.

Jestersage