The Games we play...

[ECG]

Still have to download ME, but I didn’t even get a chance to play when I got home from work last night and couldn’t pry FO3 away from the kid at all today, so I gave Fable2 a go for about a half hour (had to get back to the office). It wasn’t enough time to get a real feel for it yet, so I’ll post comments later.
Now on to Patrick…

Guitar Hero: World Tour

Got it yesterday, have been playing pretty much non-stop since. Here's how I break it down:

Game: 9.5/10

The game is near to perfect. The new instrument and rocker creators blew my expectations away, and I love the set list.

Got it last Sunday, the day it came out, and have been playing it as much as I can. Here's how I break it down:

Game: 6/10

The game is good, but not perfect. The instrument and rocker creators are an improvement, but the set list has way too many weak songs (On the Road Again, Monsoon, The Joker, Go Your Own Way, Do It Again, Band On the Run, etc.). The recordings are not of the same quality as other games (coughrockcoughbandcough) while crowd interaction (even in overdrive) remains lame & their sing-alongs are a joke.

Instruments: 6/10

The instruments are the game's low point. Note: I haven't used the microphone yet, as I'm not the best singer you've ever seen ( :lol: ).

Instruments: 7/10

Instruments are not the game’s low point (game itself is), but they could have done a better job with the drums and I can’t sing worth a

either.

The drums are pretty good, very quiet and have lots of bounce to them. However, my red drum is already starting to falter, and I have to hit it exactly in the center or otherwise it won't register. Occasionally when I hit the red on the edge the yellow cymbal goes off.

Agree again, but I haven’t had any problems with any of mine faltering. The right cymbal placement seems to be a issue for the kid however.

The guitar is fairly decent. I LOVE the new wah-strip. It's so great to tap instead of strum and the slide sections (albeit a bit hard) are tons of fun. It's also great to have a new effect on the longer notes.

Agree once more, though I have yet to get the slide sections down pat. The tapping and longer notes effects are ripped from Rock Band. :wink:
However the new guitar is a 100% improvement over the tiny original GH axe and the frets are better placed (closer together).

A few downfalls are as follows; the whammy bar feels like a wet noodle. Honestly, it's way too big. The strum bar is a bit too big and squishy for my liking. Occasionally my whammy and or strum bar squeaks. The wah-tap also goes off when I move the guitar too quickly, I guess it's too sensitive...

In the long run, I'd be willing to bet that the problems that I'm experiencing are solely because they are crappy first-gens with lots of bugs.

8.25/10

Nothing to add here other than…splitting the cash payouts with the best member of the band getting to biggest percentage is dope!

6.5/10

---
Now how about…*drum roll*
Rock Band 2
Had it for weeks, and been playing it a lot. Here's how I break it down:

Game: 9/10

The game is near to perfect. The new instrument and rocker creators are slightly improved, but even the original RB creators blow GH:WT’s away. The song list is class without a dud in the bunch. Being able to play 99% of the original RB tracks and all the old DLC tracks is pure genius. I also think that the ability to play bass in solo is a nice addition. Playing with friends on Live against other bands rules! RB also has an easier interface as far as viewing each player’s ability and the overall band performance. Going into overdrive is more exciting and looks cleaner on RB and I prefer RBs dropping bars over the round notes used by GH, but that’s no major issue.

Instruments: 9/10

The instrument improvements are great. The drums are solid with better cushions and a metal reinforced pedal. I added the Mad Catz cymbal pack and they are much better than GH:WT’s and are the same colors as two of the drums, making them optional rather than necessary to hit. Simply put. BR’s drum arrangement is superior to GH:WT’s.
The guitar is better than the original in that it feels more solid and is wireless (at last). I need to spend more time trying out GH:WT’s slide, but I really like RB’s second set of little frets at the base of the neck that only need to be tapped. Unlike GH:WT, the strummer feels about the same as the original, but at least it’s still silent (unlike GH’s click-click-click).

Overall, the only downfall is the lack of ability to record your own tracks (which I have yet to try on GH:WT), but I guess they had to leave something for RB3.
What counts is which game is more fun and that’s where Rock Band blows Guitar Hero away. Rock Band is easier to play due the hardware and game design (not the difficulty level). Both the kid and I have more fun playing Rock Band, whether solo or together in a band. We also have a hell of a good time doing the challenges against each other and friends on Live. I can’t really compare playing against other bands on Live, as we have yet to play against another GH:WT band.

9/10

So Patrick all I can say is trade in your GH:WT, save up you allowance and get Rock Band 2!

 

[PLCP]

I already have it, and I think that GH:WT kicks its ass.

Oh and by tapping I mean bringing my finger up to the slide and tapping that while keeping my other fingers on the frets (a la Eddie Van Halen). I never got good at tapping with the smaller frets on Rock Band anyways. :lol:

 

[ECG]

^I can understand liking GH:WT so much if you didn't have RH2, but you have both and like GH better? I don't know about you my friend. Are my RB2 points not valid? I'd like to know why you don't like RB2 as much.

 

[Ormerod]

Gears of War 2 next week, anybody pre-ordered?

 

[furie]

I think on the RB/GH front, there's a degree of "branding" going on. GH was the first, and people find the year on year updates very comforting - nowing GH has delivered for them each year.

What people don't realise though is that Activision didn't have the same vision as Harmonix - the people who have spent almost ten years producing Rhythm Action games - including the first 2 GH games. Rock Band is what Harmonix wanted from Guitar Hero, and if Activision and the guys at Harmonix could have seen eye to eye, then Rock Band would have been GH III.

What it says to me is that GH is just your generic year on spit and polish on the same game. RB is something more advanced.

However, people like to be loyal to a brand. Personally, I found GHIII really dull, but Rock Band excellent (even just playing the guitar part - taking the drums out of the equation).

I can tone match, even if I can't sing though - so I'm happy across the board on RB

 

[Ollie]

I haven't seen RB being played before so can only go by how good it is by what you say it is. Same goes for GH:WT.
It does sound like RB is the better game, and if I ever get it then I'd wait for RB2 to come out on the PS3.
Just some questions:
1.When is RB2 being released in the UK?
2.How much is it (cheapest possible)
3.Does the box with all the instruments contain a copy of the game, or do you have to purchase the game separately.
4.Does the RB2 kit work with RB1 if I decided to get the original?
5.I'm the only one in my house who plays computer games like this. As it's a game with 'A Band' would it still be worth getting if I'm the only one that's going to play it?

 

[furie]

Just some questions:
1.When is RB2 being released in the UK?

Nobody knows, but rumours are before year end (probably 360), then new year for PS3

2.How much is it (cheapest possible)

I picked up RB for £130. RB2 is likely to be pretty much the same.

3.Does the box with all the instruments contain a copy of the game, or do you have to purchase the game separately.

No, but I got a bundle from Game which included the game for a tenner less than the band in a box and game seperately Look for deals!

4.Does the RB2 kit work with RB1 if I decided to get the original?

Yes, and it will also work with GH:WT (with the cymbal attachments)

Also, the downloadable stuff for RB will work with RBII, plus, you can port all your RB tracks into RBII.

5.I'm the only one in my house who plays computer games like this. As it's a game with 'A Band' would it still be worth getting if I'm the only one that's going to play it?

Get friends???

Rock Band has a great single player mode. It changes the tracks depending on difficulty for each instrument. So a hard drum track will be later in the drum single player game, than if it's an easy guitar track.

The band mode is obviously the best, but there's still a substantial single player mode.

 

[Ollie]

Thanks Furie.
Also is this the Guitar for RBII as it looks ****ing awesome.

 

[PLCP]

^I can understand liking GH:WT so much if you didn't have RH2, but you have both and like GH better? I don't know about you my friend. Are my RB2 points not valid? I'd like to know why you don't like RB2 as much.

I'm not as much of a fan of RB2 for the same reason that I liked RB over GHIII-it feels like I payed $60 for a new set of tracks. The only new thing I found to be exciting was all my DLC still there. Other than that, its just some small tweaks to the interface. I like GHWT better because it revolutionized its own game by adding the bass, vocals, and drums to the mix. For that reason, I really think that GHWT and the original RB are even, but GHWT beats out RB2 because RB2 didn't do anything new, really.

Ollie:

RB2 Instruments:

GHWT Instruments:

 

[Ollie]

I want to get RB2 just for the guitar. I looks ****ing lush. :shock:

Just ordered Uncharted for £9. I've wanted to play it since the game was announced and the demo just made me want it more.

 

[ECG]

...I really think that GHWT and the original RB are even, but GHWT beats out RB2 because RB2 didn't do anything new, really.

Ok, now my head is spinning. RB2 is clearly better than the original (even if it didn't revolutionize the game) and you think that the original is equal with GH:WT, so how the hell can GH:WT be better than RB2? It's like saying that you liked Boulder Dash as much as El Toro before the improvements were made to Boulder Dash, but now you like El Toro better because the improvements aren't spectacular enough even though Boulder Dash is clearly better with the improvements. :?

And Ollie, the new GH:WT axe is a huge improvement over the original whereas the RB2 guitar is only marginally better than RB's, therefore (following PLCP's logic) the new GH axe is better than the new RB one - regardless of how much better the RB one looks and plays.

 

[PLCP]

GH guitars>Rock Band Guitars

Oh and another reason why GHWT is better...I just played as Jimi Hendrix. That was a religious experience. :lol:

 

[spicy]

I picked up Quantum of Solace at the weekend not really expecting anything too amazing but its brilliant.

It uses the COD4 engine and is really good. Picks the best scenes from Quantum of Solace and Casino Royale and is definitely the best Bond game since Goldeneye.

If anything it is too short though, like COD4. I finished it already but I am probably going to do it again because I enjoyed it so much.

 

[Ormerod]

Should wait for COD5 sir.

 

[Ollie]

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune arrived in the mail today so I've started playing it.
So far it's excellent. The story is great and is going along at a nice pace. The graphics are superb and the water is AMAZING! :shock:
I also like the fact that I can now start collecting trophies.

10/10 so far.

 

[Rush]

^That is a great game! I absolutely loved it!

Though Chapter 18 made me jump ****ing out my skin. :lol:

 

[furie]

Drake was superb until the last couple of levels - then it just completely ruined the entire rest of the plot (in my opinion). Cheap ending.

Sorry if that makes you not want to play it, you may like it.

The rest of the game though is pretty much solidly excellent all the way through.

I went and got Little Big Planet last night anyway - gave it a couple of hours and it's a very complex game, hidden behind a very simple game mechanism. I don't know how long it will last (depends on new the quality of online levels I think, and how much you get into the creator)?

The controls aren;t 100% great either, but there are some nice little "cheats" the coders have put in to make it work better. It's nowhere near are frustrating as I thought, and the level design and music is gorgeous.

Very captivating game, makes you feel all warm inside. Lovely thing, and if you like platform games, I doubt you'd ever need buy another in your life

 

[Ormerod]

Gears of War 2 is released tomorrow, so I hope you all have spare £40 :wink:

Expected to be one of the best FPS ever.

 

[Pierre]

Drake was superb until the last couple of levels - then it just completely ruined the entire rest of the plot (in my opinion). Cheap ending.

Sorry if that makes you not want to play it, you may like it.

The rest of the game though is pretty much solidly excellent all the way through.

Exactly what I thought, it just decided to throw away any realism it had.
Still tempted to get it again though

 

[kimahri]

Gears of War 2 is released tomorrow, so I hope you all have spare £40 :wink:

Expected to be one of the best FPS ever.

All my money is reserved for. L4D, COD5, ME and LBP.

I dont buy **** Third person shooters.