Prizefight: 'Guitar Hero 3' vs. 'Rock Band' Video

Prizefight: 'Guitar Hero 3' vs. 'Rock Band' Video Transcript

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>> It's time once again to rock the prizefight ring. I'm Brian Tong and we're here to find out who's the top dog when it comes to the hottest music video game franchise. In this week's Prizefight, it's a battle of the bands between Guitar Hero 3 and Rock Band for Xbox 360. We've got five down and dirty rounds so let's rock. First up, it's about the music. Now both of these games have a diverse group of songs. You'll get your fix of classic, alternative, modern rock, and they don't ignore punk rockers or metal heads either. Guitar Hero 3's track list has been taunted as one of the best ever in over half of the track's original recordings. You can download more content but that's kind of sparse. Rock Band's just as diverse and even more of its songs are original recordings, but the ability to constantly purchase new tracks every week through the end game store keeps your music list fresh. If you're just talking standard tracks that come included, GH 3 would win but the constant flow of content gives Rock Band a boost. We're handing out [sound effect] 4's for everyone. Next round: Game Play. Fans of the Guitar Hero series will get exactly what they expect with GH 3. Hammer-ons, pull-offs, and whammy action is all here. Except for one thing, this year's game is significantly more difficult. I mean I'm not a newb but at the heart and expert levels it's tough enough to be a turnoff for some players. [Sound effects] Now Rock Band's game play involves not only guitar but a kick-ass drum set and a microphone. The guitar game play is very similar to GH 3's but it's less difficult which makes it more accessible to newcomers. Singing is similar to karaoke revolution where you sing along with the lyrics while matching the pitch meter on screen. You can improv and using it as a percussion instrument is fun too. Can you say more cowbell? [Music] And the drum kit -- bonkers. You hit the color coded pads and foot pedal to match what's on screen and you're drummin' like Travis Barker. There are drum fields for improving and I actually feel like I've learned how to play drums from the game. Rock Band's game play is super fun but also easier to pick up and play, and that means everyone has a chance to get into it. Rock Band [sound effect] gets a 4 and Guitar Hero gets a 3. The band is up 1. Next round: Hardware. Guitar Hero's wireless so you could jump off your sofa and the frat buttons and strummer have a distinct clicky feel that's super accurate and responsive. But being wireless means having to replace the batteries. Rock Band brings the most diversity and innovation when it comes to hardware. The drum kit is possibly one of the best peripherals ever made for a game and the mic does its job well. But the guitar doesn't have the same responsive feel as GH 3's. Everything is wired and there are also more reliability issues that have plagued the band, but EA has made the replacement process as painless as possible. A nice bonus is that you can use GH 3's guitar in Rock Band, but you can't use Rock Band's hardware with GH 3. In a battle between quality and innovation, both sides get their hits in and we score them even [sound effect] boom with a pair of 4's. Next up: Online game play and features. Guitar Hero has never been online before so it's a feature fans have been drooling for. You have several modes, face-off, pro face-off, battle modes and co-op play where you can team up with a buddy and rock the lead guitar and bass. Lag doesn't get in the way and having voice chat while playing is super cool. Rock Band brings its rockin' game play online too. Now you have co-op to join buddies and play for high scores and there's also competitive play. You have basic score duel which is the same instrument and difficulty with the same song; and tug of war mode where you alternate to win over the crowd. Now lag isn't an issue with Rock Band either and we know about new downloadable tracks every week. Two things that are coming are career mode online and the ability to download full albums to Rock Band's end game store. Rock Band edges Guitar Hero [sound effect] 5 to 4 because both of these games are loaded with everything we want, but the downloadable content makes all the difference. Rock Band leads by 2 going into the final deciding round. What will it come down to? Well the last round is party factor. Both of these games were made to party so let's break down the difference. Guitar Hero allows you to have not 1 but 2 guitar players.

>> Let's rock.

>> And everyone else gets to stand around or sit on the couch listening to the music. Rock Band lets you have a lead guitarist, a bassist, a drummer, and a vocalist.

>> Let's rock.

>> It's like GH 3 on steroids; 4 people get in the action and no one is left on the couch. But let's face it people aren't really getting together anymore to play Guitar Hero. It's all about Rock Band when it's time to party. All right guys let's tally it up; so this is the one that decides it all in the final round. We're giving Rock Band [sound effect] a 5 and Guitar Hero a 3 making Rock Band your winner with a total of 22 points in the prizefight for music dominance. Thanks for joining us. I'm Brian Tong and we'll catch you guys next time on another Prizefight. [Sound effect] ^M00:05:09 [ Music ] ^M00:05:11