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nixpayn
10-25-2008, 01:36 AM
i went over a few set lists tonight to get a feel for it to see how i liked the drumming compared to RB1/2.

this is like the 4th time ive got to try Gh4 now, but this is the first time on a big screen without a bazillion people around.

i have to say - the track list isnt bad.

however - i play drums, hardly touch the guitar anymore.

that said - i dont like the round notes for drums. when you're watching a few notes ahead to see whats coming, its hard to tell where your off beats are because there are no edges on the notes to line up. this was really frustrating. maybe after more play it will get better but 90% of the screw ups i had were because of this. maybe it was because of the bigger screen? i dunno - also the chart seemed to have notes spaced out way farther than RB. didnt seem overly fast, but i had to ignore the note chart to keep timing on the hihat and just listen to the song because the spacing just felt weird.

characters. the customization initially is better than what rockband has for sure. you've got the mass effect level of face customization - or oblivion if you like - and you can do some weird stuff. my dude has big ears that stick straight out, green skin, a devil lock, and completely white eyes. yes i made a zombie drummer in homage to The Misfits. and they look a helluva lot better than the freak-fest that was guitar hero 3.

the venues are also better than rockband i think. they look nicer, theres a bigger variety in the looks and feels (so far) and theres a bunch of fun little nooks and crannies to each one.

pausing - its got the count down if you have to pause and resume. nice feature. glad its there.

entering your band name , player name sucks. they shoulda used the blade keyboard like everyone else. it was like going back to the arcade days and pressing up and down and missing the letters i wanted. as a result my band name is 4 letters long because i got sick of searching, same with my character name.

is the drum kit worth it? personally i dont care for it. i'd pick up the disc, use the rock band guitar and get the Ion kit when it comes out in canada - lucky americans with yer 299 price tag, its gonna be like $400 here. if you love the drums, want a kit to mess with (theres some PC drum brains in the works that are coming along nicely - or you can shell out for the actual brain), i'd go that route. its just a better setup, and you can customize it a lot more. it felt to me like one of those cheap electronic kits where the pads are all in a fixed board / table setup. is it better than the rockband kit? i guess so, and deploying star power in GH4 with the RB kit is a little weird, but whatever.

that said - if i can get used to the note charts for drums - it'll be a solid game. i prefer rockband - less bells and whistles and its just quicker to get to the songs you want, theres a ton of DLC - and of course - its all compatible. gh shoulda let you do a download like RB. silly rabbits. its worth picking up the disc for sure. the kit? eh, whatever, if you can spring for it and have no intention of getting the ion kit, then why not.

Virtual Machine
10-25-2008, 07:09 AM
From the guitar side of things. The songs are a little easier than GH3, and i really dig the new career layout. It's essentially the same thing as before, only each setlist is broken up into three locations. As far as presentation goes - there are a TON of characters, and it's definitely the prettiest music game out there. The charts for each song seem fine to me (though i didn't really have any issues with GH3 outside of the ridiculous difficulty of later songs on hard/expert). Overall for me it made a MUCH better first impression than Rock Band 2. This is really the game that Neversoft has been wanting to make i think. It really felt like the first time i fired the original Guitar Hero into the PS2. Now to the bad news, i just can't get into a whole lot of the song selection, both GH:WT and Rock Band 2 have weaksauce tracklists. All those tunes, and so little to actually play. RB still gets the edge thanks to the downloadable tracks, but if GH:WT can keep their momentum flowing, they won't be long catching up. (Death Magnetic is AWESOME, Hard as balls, but still awesome - And full Oasis albums coming has me very excited!).

Fans of the genre owe it to themselves to try it at the very least.

Purple Santa
10-25-2008, 09:30 PM
Well I don't know how big of a fan of the genre I am...I mean I loved GHII....found III meh...and only dream about playing RB since I don't have room for a band at the moment. But i'm looking to rent...or maybe buy when it's down in price. What I really like about GH is it's easy to pick up and play...a quick play then go do other stuff...so I get my game fix without costing me to much time...I guess I really should get this then...

Telefrog
10-26-2008, 07:00 AM
Does the GH3 guitar work with this?

Mike Kelehan
10-26-2008, 07:04 AM
Does the GH3 guitar work with this?

All guitars and both drums work with RB2 and GH4.

Mot Wakorb
10-26-2008, 09:21 AM
Our Wal-Mart broke street date last night, I'm about 33% through Hard. Impressions (and a "vs Rock Band" addition)

1. Presentation
They've done much like Rock Band - show the entire band, jump around, those kinds of things. Kind of disappointing, they seem to have kept a lot of the old animations around from GH2/GH3, so it doesn't feel new. Also, unlike Rock Band, you don't hear the crowd "join in" on singing a song - the song just plays, taking away some of the ambiance, if you ask me. Rock Band gives me the feeling of seeing a show - the band tends to act out more and do more things "as a band".

Advantage: Rock Band

2. Features
This really doesn't feel different from Rock Band - the game itself has a world tour mode, however you're not trying to get a van/bus/plane, it's just going through various places. I did like that to play the Tool setlist, I had to earn at least 8K, making me earn it. The "guitar battles" aren't anything like they used to be where you had to use special powers. Good riddance.

Advantage: Tie

3. Songs
This is a matter of opinion for everyone, but I'm liking the songs in GH:WT better than Rock Band 2. I feel they've covered more in this game than RB did. That said, there's about 14 songs of crossover between the two, which gives you according to their 85-song number, 71 songs that're new. Color me surprised to see "On the Road Again" by Willie Nelson when I got further along.

Advantage: Guitar Hero: World Tour

4. Song Difficulty
Neversoft pulled their heads out of their asses and really dropped the difficulty down on these songs. I'm playing on hard and I'm getting the feeling that the songs are about as difficult as Rock Band's songs - making it so it's more accessible to everyone in my opinion. This makes it exactly what GH3 didn't seem like to me - fun. I don't have to struggle to play, I can just play and have fun.

Advantage: Tie

5. Other things
There are some little things they've changed that I like and dislike. I do enjoy seeing a new "note" for the Bass, a "clear note" that requires you to strum without holding a fret. They've added something that Rock Band has had for a while, which is playing on the neck of the guitar. Pausing is a breeze... pause the game, unpause, and get a 4-second countdown back into the song, rather than just dropping you in like Rock Band. Rock Band does a better job of highlighting solos - in GH:WT, all you see is a purple line that goes between notes, signifying the solo/ability to play on the neck.

Every setlist in GH:WT has an "encore" song which is annoying but nice all at the same time, sometimes it's a really welcome surprise to see what song you're playing at the end. Neversoft also finally gives you energy during Star Power, making it so you don't just run out like you used to, putting it on par with Rock Band in that sense.

Advantage: Tie

So, my opinion? They're both good in their own right. I haven't had a chance to play in a band or online as of yet, but solo-wise, I really think they've each got good things going for them. I felt there was a stronger setlist in GH:WT, but all-in-all, it's good to see that the game across the board will fit into having parties still with friends all about having a great time playing.

Variable Gear
10-26-2008, 11:43 AM
I hate the slide solos. You never know when they're coming. There's such a leaning curve with the touchpad. Also, the difficulty is unsatisfying. If I'm playing on Medium, the song is too easy, but if I'm playing on Hard, well, the the song is too hard. The tracklist is ok, but I'm surprised at some of the songs Neversoft chose to include. Is "Band on the Run" by Wings a song worthy of being played in Guitar Hero? I think not. The character/instrument creator is pretty nice, but that doesn't make up for the weak animation/camera system which dilutes the experience of playing a show quite a bit. Just as well, the music creation tool is pretty robust, but all I've seen so far are unnecessarily complex songs. There are enough of those in the core game, thanks.

Hey, at least the peripherals are well made.

nixpayn
10-26-2008, 01:05 PM
got used to the round notes, and actually i had a synching issue which was causing me more screw ups than anything, but all fixed now.

i do NOT like the group play dynamic. one person fails, who song over. also..im not sure, but i dont know if ME deploying star power helps someone else out.

the other thing - shared star power? kind of a neat concept... but its kinda silly how short it lasts now, and then you can deploy it 3..4..5 times in a row? er.. weird.

warming up to it tho.

i will say - Tool is fucking boring as shit to play on guitar and drums. i'm not the hugest fan.. my gf went nuts cuz she loves tool.. but my buddy and i were like.. wow.. this song needs to end.. and it just went on for another 3 or 4 minutes lol. and then the song afterwards sounded.. very much.. like the song we had just played. hence why im not a big fan of tool. but people who like em.. like em a lot :) so its good for them.

kinda interested to see the rest of the set list because i cant remember what else is on there, and im not googling it because i like the surprise :)

Deadend
10-26-2008, 01:39 PM
How is the new guitar? As I think the GH3 guitar is the best for getting high scores on.

Variable Gear
10-26-2008, 01:47 PM
How is the new guitar? As I think the GH3 guitar is the best for getting high scores on.
It's great. It's just like the Les Paul, except it has a touchpad and a longer whammy bar. The select button is easy to hit in order to activate star power, because it is the guitar's bridge. The D-Pad/Joystick thing is kind of wonky, but you won't be using that much anyway, so it isn't a big deal.