Buying a Single Guitar as a Bass - Advice on buying a GH game?

[BodhiWolff]

So, my wife and I are going to pick up a 360 on Friday, and want to pick up a Guitar Hero game to (a) get ready for Rock Band, and (b) have a second guitar controller to be able to use as a bass guitar when Rock Band comes out.

I know you all have tons of experience with the games, and dozens of hours worth of playtime leading to your opinions, so please feel free to share them with us! We want you to help us make a good decision!

Forgive me if my information is a little off, and *please* feel free to correct me.

The Xbox Guitar Hero 2 controller (I believe it is called the Xplorer?) will definitely work with Rock Band, so that is probably the safest bet when it comes to picking up a game bundle, yes?

Has anybody had a chance to play GH3, or try the new guitar (whatever it is called)?

Should we wait until GH3 comes out, and pick up that bundle instead?

Is GH2 a fairly good game on its own (and therefore there is really no point in waiting for GH3, since we're just using it as a stopgap until Rock Band comes out)?

Advice is appreciated from all you Guitar Hero experts out there.

So ... should we just pick up the GH2 bundle and call it a day, or wait for GH3 and risk incompatibility 'cause GH3 is gonna be just *that* much better, or the guitar is better, or something?

[Severance]

supposedly both are really that much better based on all ive read. personally, im thinking that red octane or whoevers in charge over there would be stupid to not make the GH guitar compatible, especially since RB isnt going to have separate guitars availible. thats a lot of potential guitar sales. so im just picking up one of each and hoping they arent stupid. but they could be, you never know haha.

[PsycoCheerio]

The guitar for GH3 (Les Paul) is definetly better, feels sturdier. GH2 has a pretty solid set list, but you should just go with whatever set list you prefer since the game plays practically the same.

I would say that in terms of difficulty GH3 will have harder bonus songs, but the main tracks on the demo are all pretty easy for anyone who has played GH before.

So the compatability thing MAY be an issue but hopefully it could be resolved within IGN's RB week...other than that it comes down to whatever set list you prefer...

I personally hate the feel of the GHII xplorer vs. the SG from the PS2 version but I do like the Les Paul because it brings back a bit of the SG feel...

Sorry for rambling, hope you can find something within that may help you out.

[BathTub]

This is practically the same situation I am in, picking up a 360 pretty much exclusively for Rock Band, ok and maybe Beautiful Katamari now that I have heard of it. I was going to pre-order GH3 for the second guitar but since we don't know if it's going to work I am holding off. Fortunately (unfortunately?) Since GH3 doesn't even come out in NZ until after RB comes out in the US those questions should be answered by the time I can even get it. Otherwise I guess I just pick up GH2.

[RkBndDrmr]

GH2 is a great game and should serve your intended purpose. GH3 better? It will look better and it's other big improvement is it's battle mode which I have no interest in myself. I like to play the song not destroy it :p IDK..I haven't played it and will buy it when it comes out to hold me over till RB comes.

I say pick up GH2. It will do more then keep you happy until RB comes out. You could be playing that one tonight :D

[thorn_9]

I just picked up a used version of gh2 and xplorer controller for $45 total. No point buying new with ppl getting gh3 and a new guitar ready to sell their old ones.

[nicko68]

I say get the GHII bundle now, and if you end up wanting GHIII down the road, you can buy the game on its own, and if you're lucky, you'll be able to use your RB guitar as lead for GHIII.

[Apples]

The Xplorer has been guranteed to work in Rock Band, while the GH3 Les Paul has not.

GH2 360 is a great game on its own merits. People have varying tastes in music, some will prefer GH3 over 2. If you've never played it before, you'll like it. Also, GH2 has many of the same artists as Rock Band, so it might be a better "prequal" for Rock Band IMHO.

Right now retailers are clearancing their stock on GH2 in preparation of the new one, so there are good deals to be had on it. (Versus $100 on a GH3 bundle and needing to wait 2 weeks)

[geo2n2]

I would wait and see if the GH3 Les Paul is confirmed to work before getting GH2. I initially liked the X-plorer, but after playing the 80s game on the PS2 with the SG, it's unusable to me. It's really not well made, especially the buttons. I sold my extra X-Plorers, and I never sell things. If the Les Paul works w/ GH2, it should work w/ Rock Band as well. The GH2 game is definitely great, but I'd wait for GH3 to find out about guitars, especially since you can find brand new copies of GH2 game only pretty cheap. Spending money on the X-Plorer right now would not be a wise decision, when the Les Paul is reportedly so much better. Just sit tight a little longer.

[G_tarRoCK3R]

IMO....I think that if you can afford it, I would get both. Since you intend on playing the GH and RB games with your wife, then it would be best to get both GHII and GHIII bundles. This is because the GHII will work with RB, and can be used as bass. Now for the GHIII working RB or vise versa? This isn't known as you know lol. But if RB does work with GHIII and vise versa then you could in theory buy only the GHIII stand alone game and only have two guitars laying around verses having three.

In my case, I'm just buying the bundle because its only $40.00 more, so what the hell right? I didn't like the X-Plorer at first when I tried it at my friends house because I was so used to the SG, but when I bought the 360 version, I guess I got a better one because I love it just the same. I think it also helps that they fixed the whammy bar problems....

On a side note, I'd get the Elite, I LOVE IT!!! :) Only had it for a few weeks good games, and live arcade is awesome. But the extra HD space gives it a better value than the premium because an extra HD is $180. $350 premium + $180 HD = $530, Elite = $450. You spend $80 less and get 100GB more.

Hope this helps.

[bounchfx]

gh3 by far, pretty sure it's compatable..

actually... not by far.. look at the songlists. buy the game that has the most appealing songs to you.

however, the GH3 guitar will be a lot better/more comfortable.