So, I've never played a music game...

[GohanX]

Okay, I seem to be the only person on the planet who has never played a Guitar Hero or Rock Band game. Ever. Not once (except for a demo, that was stuck in hard mode...argh.) The main thing keeping me from playing was always price-I wasn't going to pay $100+ bucks for anything that wasn't a super awesome Neo Geo game, and most of my gaming buddies have moved away so we can't go half on expensive stuff anymore. However, with Christmas here there are deals to be had everywhere, plus I have a better job and can afford more stuff.

So, my question is this... with about 200 versions of Guitar Hero and Rock Band, where the heck do I start? There are about a billion versions of both games I see running around, and I remember people saying that certain ones weren't that good. Anyone have some recommendations for the musical noob? Most people seem to think Rock Band is superior to Guitar Hero, but I have neither the room of the friends for a whole band set. I was thinking of grabbing a Guitar Hero 3 with guitar set that I see showing up everywhere cheap and then buying Rock Band 1 separately and going from there. Does that sound like a plan or should I start elsewhere?

[havok666]

Don't even bother unless you want a fast track to getting carpal tunnel syndrome.

[InternalPrimate]

Guitar Hero Metallica.

[Kollision]

... or one of the Rock Bands (1 or 2).
Guitar Hero III has the best music selection for me though.

[Honey the Cat]

Try Frets on Fire. It's free and allows you to put your own songs in the game. It's Guitar Hero, but way better.

[GohanX]

Well, I've solved the hardware problem...I went to Newegg's black friday sale and they had this guitar for $16:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16874117023

Reviews seem to indicate it's one of the better guitars. Gamestop is supposed to have some of the Guitar Hero games dirt cheap over the weekend (if they have any.)

[Nunzio]

http://www.sega-16.com/review_page.p...0Funky%20Bunch

Who needs Guitar Hero?

Actually I was looking at DJ Hero the other day. Seems like a good idea, but it's all about the songs! I am not buying a game that's all Paul Oakenfold and Tiesto!

[Baloo]

http://www.sega-16.com/review_page.p...0Funky%20Bunch


Actually I was looking at DJ Hero the other day. Seems like a good idea, but it's all about the songs! I am not buying a game that's all Paul Oakenfold and Tiesto!

I tried DJ Hero, and boy is it a complicated game. I had an easier time working real turntables (this was at my local game gathering, where they had real turntables and then DJ hero set up. I didn't try DJ hero until I saw the demo set up at Toys R Us though.) than playing DJ Hero.

[mick_aka]

Spend you're money on a real instrument, and your time on learning to play it.

[Baloo]

Spend you're money on a real instrument, and your time on learning to play it.

I definitely agree there. Playing these music-esque games are NOTHING like playing a real instrument. They'll only cripple your ability to play said instrument really.

I play piano myself.

[WarmSignal]

Okay, I seem to be the only person on the planet who has never played a Guitar Hero or Rock Band game. Ever. Not once (except for a demo, that was stuck in hard mode...argh.)

I've never even played a demo.

I also, was thinking of giving it a try this holiday season. Yes, there are too many choices, but it doesn't really matter imo. I'm going with the Guitar Hero 5 bundle, I don't even care about the songs. I've come to accept that I hate every song that's ever been or is going to be on any music game, so it's not really about that. It just want to see what all the hype is about. I keep hearing about how it's "fun", even if you don't like the music.

[GohanX]

Yeah, same here. If you want to try it cheap, gamestop has various guitar hero games cheap this weekend. I got gh3 for 5 bucks, with the $16 guitar that's a pretty cheap startup cost. I also got Rock Band 2 for $20 so I could try it out as well. Now I'm just waiting for Newegg to ship the guitar.

[Jasper061992]

Well, i heard DJ Hero is a pretty good one. Maybe you could give one that a try?

[j_factor]

As a fan of music games pretty much since their inception, I say, don't bother with Guitar Hero or Rock Band. They're just not that good. They're well-liked because of the combination of plastic instruments and popular music. But there are better music games out there, IMO.

I've only played DJ Hero a couple times at Fry's, but its controller makes me feel like I have carpal tunnel within 5 minutes. Also, it has some good music, but also some bad music, and they're all mash-ups. I like mash-ups but they're pretty bad ones, with little thought put into song combinations or using different elements, it basically plays 30 seconds of one song followed by 30 seconds of a different song, etc.

With the popularity of Guitar Hero and friends, the "other" kind of music game -- the kind that doesn't use plastic instruments and has a linear progression of "stages" as opposed to just plain "songs" -- has been sadly neglected. I greatly enjoyed Parappa the Rapper, Gitaroo Man, and Ouendan. If you prefer the plastic instrument and song catalog variety, I suggest some Bemani games, or Samba de Amigo (on Dreamcast, not Wii).

[17daysolderthannes]

As a fan of music games pretty much since their inception, I say, don't bother with Guitar Hero or Rock Band. They're just not that good. They're well-liked because of the combination of plastic instruments and popular music. But there are better music games out there, IMO.

I've only played DJ Hero a couple times at Fry's, but its controller makes me feel like I have carpal tunnel within 5 minutes. Also, it has some good music, but also some bad music, and they're all mash-ups. I like mash-ups but they're pretty bad ones, with little thought put into song combinations or using different elements, it basically plays 30 seconds of one song followed by 30 seconds of a different song, etc.

With the popularity of Guitar Hero and friends, the "other" kind of music game -- the kind that doesn't use plastic instruments and has a linear progression of "stages" as opposed to just plain "songs" -- has been sadly neglected. I greatly enjoyed Parappa the Rapper, Gitaroo Man, and Ouendan. If you prefer the plastic instrument and song catalog variety, I suggest some Bemani games, or Samba de Amigo (on Dreamcast, not Wii).

I think you're missing the point of Guitar Hero and analogs. Traditional music games like Parappa, etc. may appeal to musicians and other people that can appreciate holding rhythm and time, but the "hey, let's tap X and Square" gameplay is pretty uninspired and gets old fast to most people. Guitar Hero and Rockband are more about taking karaoke to another level. When you get down to it, Rockband is really just an elaborate karaoke machine that scores your performance. Granted, you're still tapping buttons, but you get the visceral feel like you're playing drums/guitar or you're very literally singing along and you get to feel like you're playing music without really doing anything but banging on a clunky plastic representation of an instrument. Although, then again, Guitar Hero has its limits as well since eventually most people come to the conclusion that time would be better spent learning the real instrument than banging out fictitious notes on a plastic guitar.