Rock Band - Impressions...

Naples39 · Post by **Naples39** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 8:57 am

Brando70 wrote:
Naples39 wrote:
sportdan30 wrote:Are all RB1 songs automatically unlockable once I export them over?
I also suggest deleting Green Grass & High Tides. Nothing ruins a random set on expert faster than hitting that song in the middle of the set.
The funny thing is I have one song left to finish for the guitar tour in RB1 (on hard), and it's not this. It's "Flirting With Disaster." "Green Grass" is obviously hard but the solo at the end of "Flirting" is killing me. I keep getting booed off around 75% of the way through.

Flirting with Disaster has a tricky rhythm. Trust me, if you play back through on expert, Green Grass is by far the hardest. I've never even gotten close while I beat nearly every other song on my first try on expert.

webdanzer · Post by **webdanzer** » Wed Oct 22, 2008 9:56 am

Here are the 20 free songs coming as DLC (on Nov 4):

• The 88 - "Sons and Daughters"
• Authority Zero - "No Regrets"
• Between the Buried and Me - "Prequel To The Sequel"
• The Cab - "Bounce"
• The Chevelles - "Get It On"
• The Cocktail Slippers - "Give It To Me"
• Dealership - "Database Corrupted"
• Endeverafter - "I Wanna Be Your Man"
• The Ghost Hounds - "Ashes To Fire"
• Hollywood Undead - "Young"
• Kutless - "The Feeling"
• The Len Price 3 - "If I Ain't Got You"
• Lesley Roy - "I'm Gone, I'm Going"
• Opiate for the Masses - "Burn You Down"
• Semi-Precious Weapons - "Magnetic Baby"
• Shaimus - "Like a Fool"
• Thenewno2" - Crazy Tuesday"
• Tickle Me Pink - "The Time Is Wrong"
• Underoath - "Desperate Times, Desperate Measures"
• X Japan - "I.V."

http://xboxlive.ign.com/articles/922/922241p1.html

I'm sure many of these will be fun to play, but I'm less worried about the angst I'll feel if my 360 is not repaired before these are released...

Naples39 · Post by **Naples39** » Wed Oct 22, 2008 12:07 pm

webdanzer wrote:Here are the 20 free songs coming as DLC (on Nov 4):

That's a bit disappointing, seeing that I've never heard of any of these groups or songs. I guess it's not surprising, because it makes no sense for Harmonix to hide a marketable song in a secret DLC pack.

At least in RB1 the 'bonus' songs were extremely fun to play. Hopefully that will be the same case here.

MizzouRah · Post by **MizzouRah** » Wed Oct 22, 2008 4:00 pm

Naples39 wrote:
webdanzer wrote:Here are the 20 free songs coming as DLC (on Nov 4):
That's a bit disappointing, seeing that I've never heard of any of these groups or songs. I guess it's not surprising, because it makes no sense for Harmonix to hide a marketable song in a secret DLC pack.

At least in RB1 the 'bonus' songs were extremely fun to play. Hopefully that will be the same case here.

I'm with you.. maybe I'll be surprised.

Teal · Post by **Teal** » Wed Oct 22, 2008 6:32 pm

MizzouRah wrote:
Naples39 wrote:
webdanzer wrote:Here are the 20 free songs coming as DLC (on Nov 4):
That's a bit disappointing, seeing that I've never heard of any of these groups or songs. I guess it's not surprising, because it makes no sense for Harmonix to hide a marketable song in a secret DLC pack.

At least in RB1 the 'bonus' songs were extremely fun to play. Hopefully that will be the same case here.
I'm with you.. maybe I'll be surprised.

The only one I can vouch for is the 'Kutless' track. Damned good rock song from a damned good band.

grtwhtsk · Post by **grtwhtsk** » Sat Oct 25, 2008 4:30 pm

I'm trying to decide between picking up Rock Band 2 or Guitar Hero: World Tour. I'm talking the complete set (guitar, drums, mic). As someone who hasn't owned either in the series, I'm torn which to pick up. If I read correctly, then the instruments in both are compatible with the other. Therefore, I guess I could pick up just the game down the road for whichever I choose.

With all that said, is anybody else trying to make the same choice...and if so, which are you going with? Has anyone read which instruments are supposed to be better? Also, 360 vs PS3...any major differences? Sorry...just a newbie needing some help.

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Sat Oct 25, 2008 5:02 pm

Naples39 wrote:
sportdan30 wrote:Are all RB1 songs automatically unlockable once I export them over?
I also suggest deleting Green Grass & High Tides. Nothing ruins a random set on expert faster than hitting that song in the middle of the set.

Are you guys that are deleting tracks doing it on X360? As far as I can tell there is no way to delete tracks on PS3. It's also SUPER lame that you can't backup the PS3 game save (that was the case in RB1 as well).

I love the game though!

Teal · Post by **Teal** » Sat Oct 25, 2008 5:30 pm

grtwhtsk wrote:I'm trying to decide between picking up Rock Band 2 or Guitar Hero: World Tour. I'm talking the complete set (guitar, drums, mic). As someone who hasn't owned either in the series, I'm torn which to pick up. If I read correctly, then the instruments in both are compatible with the other. Therefore, I guess I could pick up just the game down the road for whichever I choose.

With all that said, is anybody else trying to make the same choice...and if so, which are you going with? Has anyone read which instruments are supposed to be better? Also, 360 vs PS3...any major differences? Sorry...just a newbie needing some help.

I've always preferred the GH guitars over the RB ones. The new 'slider' bar actually serves two purposes: it will work as the little buttons on the RB guitar, but you can 'tweak notes and use it as an actual slide on notes, as well. The impressions of the GH drumkit have been very positive.

I'm picking up my GHWT kit tomorrow...

webdanzer · Post by **webdanzer** » Sat Oct 25, 2008 7:06 pm

I'm grabbing the GHWT game only tomorrow, as my RB1 stuff is still working really well right now, but I'm curious to see how the GHWT drum kit is reviewed because when my set eventually fails, I'd consider grabbing it because the I like the elevation changes and the extra pad of GH's kit.

I haven't read many reviews from people who have actually played it, though, and the one I have read was less than positive. Teal, if you have links to positive reviews, please post.

This one was from a poster on GAF:

Originally Posted by Alpha_eX:
Right, real impressions.

I played this for a good few hours today, mostly on the drums.

Before I even played it I noticed the thing wobbling about like jelly, not the stand, the stand is very strudy, surprisingly good, it's the actual head unit, with the drum pads on it. When I got to play, I made sure it was all tightened, it was but still wobbled but didn't affect gameplay.

The footpeadal, it's good, no problems with it function wise but design wise, it's awful, after playing Beat It, the pedal was out behind the drum kit, it moves as you play because it's not attached to the stand like the Rock Band kit! This was on carpet too and not just me, it was funny watching people play and try keep their foot on the pedal, most stopped mis song to pick it up and replace it on the floor.

Sensitivity seems iffy, some notes didn't pick up. Worst case was on kit, the yellow cymbal came loose after a bit of use, this made the yellow sensor pick up when the red pad was hit because of the vibrations. It was IMPOSSIBLE to get a 2x combo going with this kit so be careful, if your cymbal breaks, your kit is useless.

The pad placement is ok but it feels far too close together, takes a while to get used to, the orange pad is too low I think, the yellow is raised higher but the orange is just hovering over the green. It's difficult to do rolls because of the spacing on the kit, hitting the drums is nice and springy, I really like that.

Overall, it's good but a little cramped, as long as you don't destroy the cymbals the kit should be ok, just need to find a way to keep the foot pedal in place.

I prefer playing songs on the Guitar Hero drums because of the extra pad, it's so much better, a lot of fun to play. Spiderwebs by No Doubt is amazing, one of the better songs I played. Assasin and the Bullet for my Valentine are insane on the drums but passable, Everlong is the new Run to the Hills. Hotel California will bore expert drummers.

I really enjoyed Guitar Hero, one great addition for band mode is to change difficulty during song. In my opinion, Guitar Hero for drums is much better but the kit could be a little better.

Teal · Post by **Teal** » Sat Oct 25, 2008 8:57 pm

Tell you what: I'll give you my own impressions sometime after tomorrow. I'm no drummer, believe me. I won't be pounding the hell out of them, either. And I've never used the RB drums, so I won't have that as a comparison. That probably bodes well for me, actually.

Naples39 · Post by **Naples39** » Sat Oct 25, 2008 10:00 pm

Leebo33 wrote:Are you guys that are deleting tracks doing it on X360? As far as I can tell there is no way to delete tracks on PS3.

I did it on 360, from the 360 dashboard. There is no option to do it from in-game.

Teal wrote:I've always preferred the GH guitars over the RB ones. The new 'slider' bar actually serves two purposes: it will work as the little buttons on the RB guitar, but you can 'tweak notes and use it as an actual slide on notes, as well. The impressions of the GH drumkit have been very positive.

I was in Best Buy the other day, and they had one of the new guitars out. I couldn't play it, but if those touch buttons work like the RB buttons except no clickiness, that would be very cool.

matthewk · Post by **matthewk** » Sun Oct 26, 2008 12:18 am

I've only played the past GH games on the PS2 and Wii. I'm also torn as to what to get. Whatever I get it will be for the Wii. I've heard conflicting reports on the compatability of the instruments between the games for the Wii. I already have a GH guitar, so getting the full GHWT kit would give me an extra I wouldn't use much.

At this point I may just wait until the reviews are out for both. $190 is alot to drop on a game. If I can hold out, I will (hopefully) figure out what I want by Thanksgiving and ask the wife to get it (whatever "it" is) for Christmas.

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Sun Oct 26, 2008 2:08 am

grtwhtsk wrote:I'm trying to decide between picking up Rock Band 2 or Guitar Hero: World Tour. I'm talking the complete set (guitar, drums, mic). As someone who hasn't owned either in the series, I'm torn which to pick up. If I read correctly, then the instruments in both are compatible with the other. Therefore, I guess I could pick up just the game down the road for whichever I choose.

With all that said, is anybody else trying to make the same choice...and if so, which are you going with? Has anyone read which instruments are supposed to be better? Also, 360 vs PS3...any major differences? Sorry...just a newbie needing some help.

This is what Grace thinks.

http://kotaku.com/5067776/activisons-ex ... -rock-band

webdanzer · Post by **webdanzer** » Sun Oct 26, 2008 2:09 am

Take with a grain of salt because this comes from Gamefaqs, but people seem to be having trouble with the GHWT drum set:

http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/genmessa ... c=46182011

(and others)

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Sun Oct 26, 2008 2:31 am

Not sure if it's been answered, but how do you import songs from RB1?

webdanzer · Post by **webdanzer** » Sun Oct 26, 2008 2:34 am

10spro wrote:Not sure if it's been answered, but how do you import songs from RB1?

You do it from RB1. There is an option to export.

Spooky · Post by **Spooky** » Sun Oct 26, 2008 2:38 am

Got the GH:WT Bundle...drums work fine (so far)...

Only issue I have is that the kick pedal is not anchored to anything. That will end up being frustrating. Other than that, they work REALLY well.

Teal · Post by **Teal** » Sun Oct 26, 2008 4:04 am

Spooky wrote:Got the GH:WT Bundle...drums work fine (so far)...

Only issue I have is that the kick pedal is not anchored to anything. That will end up being frustrating. Other than that, they work REALLY well.

I was looking at the set online, and I think I may have a fix for that pedal thing. I'll tell you if it works...

Teal · Post by **Teal** » Sun Oct 26, 2008 4:06 am

webdanzer wrote:Take with a grain of salt because this comes from Gamefaqs, but people seem to be having trouble with the GHWT drum set:

http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/genmessa ... c=46182011

(and others)

Boy, those kids must be die hard soap opera fans...sheesh. Talk about drama.

grtwhtsk · Post by **grtwhtsk** » Sun Oct 26, 2008 12:58 pm

Jason - looking forward to what you have to say. Some of these "user reviews" are downright scary with drums not working right and/or missing parts.

webdanzer · Post by **webdanzer** » Sun Oct 26, 2008 1:44 pm

Yeah, the GAF guys are having quite a few issues, too.

Also, if you are PS3, apparently the GHWT drums DO NOT WORK with Rock Band, so if you are thinking of one set for both games, beware. Hopefully a patch may take care of that, though.

I've played a few songs on (RB1)drums so far, and it's fun. MUCH easier timing window than the RBs, though, allowing you to play pretty sloppy at times without penalty. You'll see what I mean on 'On the Road Again.'

I'm not a fan of how you have to activate Star Power, either, but I'm used to the fill sections of RB right now. You have to hit Blue and Yellow at the same time, which can be quite annoying depending on the song.

They did a good job of picking well-known songs in the earlier career tiers.

Song select interface in quickplay is pretty poor, IMO. No way to see stars here without scrolling over the names, and career mode doesn't have them easily displayed either.

I really thought GH would do this better than RB.

Teal · Post by **Teal** » Sun Oct 26, 2008 11:37 pm

Steve-I put my initial impressions in the GHWT thread. I love what I've seen so far. Admittedly, I haven't had a ton of time with any of it, but I plan on rectifying that...

...right now.

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Mon Oct 27, 2008 9:54 am

Well, I've had a full week with RB2 and all I can say is that I'm so extremely happy with my purchase. I must admit I was questioning the price and whether or not I'd really feel as though I'd get my money's worth. In one week's time, I can say without any hesitation that this game is going to last a loooong time in my collection.

Here are some quick notes (no pun intended):

- The tutorial is fantastic. Admittedly, I am a novice when it comes to these type games, and the tutorials (both guitar and drum) are very informative.

- The menus are clean and extremely easy to navigate. It's cool being able to use the instrument instead of the controller.

- What can I say about the RB2 interface? It's clean, it's not cluttered, it's crisp looking.

- I am having zero problems with the responsiveness from both the guitar and the drums. However, I did have to go in to calibration settings a couple times to get them just right.

- Right now, I'm enjoying the guitar more than the drum set. I'm not familiar with the RB1 guitar or the GH guitars, but I love the RB2 guitar. It's long and just the right weight. The strum bar is perfect IMO. However, the wammy bar could be in a better place.

- With regards to the drums, I'm struggling to find the right positioning to where my leg/shins don't hurt from pressing down on the kick pedal. I'm hoping a better chair (drum throne) might help alleviate this problem. Right now, it's just tiring after a minute in to a song.

- I can't believe how many songs there are to download from the Music Store! The replay value is off the charts. I also love how they have broken them down in to different catagories (by song, by band, by music, etc.)

- I love the atmosphere. If you're rockin' out and hitting your notes, you'll hear the crowd singing along with the song. I mean you can really hear them!

- For the first week, I played both the drums and guitar on easy. A couple days ago, I moved up to medium on the guitar and that's when the game really started to shine. I'll be on this difficulty for perhaps forever, but it's just sooo dang addicting.

- I'm not familiar with all the terminology, but I really like hitting the the "white" notes. Love exciting the crowd and bringing my level back up and saving me from getting kicked off the stage.

- It's crazy how involved some of these guitar rifts are. It's amazing how the difficulty sways from song to song. It keeps me coming back for more. The challenge is great.

- Going through the challenges right now in hopes of unlocking some new songs. I really hope I don't have to play Whatcha Want ever again. That song is just a bore to play.

- The song selection thus far is pretty darn good. I'm playing songs I never thought I would have enjoyed, but they're an absolute blast to play.

- Being able to practice and slow down any of the verses is cool as all get out. I played one song where I started at 50 percent, and gradually moved the speed up to 100 percent. Initially, I only got through the song at 26 percent, but by practing the different verses, I was able to get through the entire song after 10-15 minutes of practicing.

- I can't go down in the basement and just play one song. It's just ridiculous how much this game consumes you.

Naples39 · Post by **Naples39** » Mon Oct 27, 2008 10:00 am

Welcome to the club sportdan!!

webdanzer · Post by **webdanzer** » Mon Oct 27, 2008 11:01 am

sportdan30 wrote: It's just ridiculous how much this game consumes you.

I'm pretty much a 'guitar and drum' gamer first, now. Everything else comes later. Works out good for me in times like now, where there are tons of games coming out that I would have otherwised grabbed.

Now I wait for Gamefly, or for after the holidays, maybe.

Bad news is that I'm going to need to upgrade my 360's harddrive soon...