West Karana

We knew it was coming, and it’s here. Rock Band 2 will be out in September for the Xbox 360 and somewhat later for the PS3. Rock Band DLC will work with Rock Band 2, and vice versa. The old instruments will work, but the new ones will be better (it will be tough to be worse than the original guitar, at least for the 360).

Having abandoned my Xbox 360 Rock Band to my son, I’d love to pick up the stuff again anew for the PS3. Problem is, the drum set for Guitar Hero World Tour looks better and they have a generally nicer feature set.

Decisions, decisions. I would really like to get back into Rock Band, but GH4 looks great and I really don’t want to have multiple drum sets around. Snazfg mentioned in a comment that controller manufacturers should try to make their controllers work with all systems when possible. I know they probably can’t, but it would be nice. I love these GH-type games, but constantly buying controllers is making me ill. And broke.

I almost — ALMOST — bought Guitar Hero: Aerosmith this weekend, for the PS3. And I probably would have, if I’d gone there Sunday instead of Saturday. Games for the PS3 are $60, the new price point, and I’d have had to buy a guitar controller for the PS3 as well.

I have two guitar controllers for the Xbox 360 and two more for the PS2. My desire to invest in more guitar controllers is precisely zero.

And yet, I wanted to find a game to play for my PS3. It’s great for watching Doctor Who on the big screen (”The Stolen Earth” — AMAZING.) but I feel really frustrated that I haven’t been able to find even one game for the PS3 worth the $60.

I thought Guitar Hero: Aerosmith would be the one. But it wasn’t for sale when I went. I played the Guitar Hero demo system they had set up near the Aerosmith display, thinking it was a preview for the new game. I realized, though, as I worked through the set list, that this was Guitar Hero III, a game I’d played through once on the PS2, but was so turned off by the awful boss battles that I never played it again.

I went home, plugged the PS*2* in, and played Guitar Hero III again. I was AWFUL. Absolutely HORRID.

What followed was at least an hour or two of calibrating the game for the new widescreen TV. Ahhhhh…. I could play again.

I mean, when you can’t even hit the notes at the very slowest speed in practice mode — it’s not you.

Anyway, I wanted the game for the PS3, but it’s the exact same game as for the PS2, and I already have the controllers for the PS2 (and they remain my favorite of all the controllers). The picture was a little fuzzy but the music was just as loud.

I WANT to believe. I WANT to believe that the $400 lump of metal and plastic beneath my TV is worth more than just a REALLY GOOD media controller to someone who isn’t into shooters and war games. (PS3 fans go WTF? What other kinds of games ARE there?).

My search for a game that I can show people that will justify the PS3 continues.

I took my own picture of the Guitar Hero: On Tour controller for the DS, but let me assure you — it sucked.

I went to Gamestop hoping to get their free, not-available-elsewhere Pokemon, but they require that you have the National Pokedex — and I haven’t yet finished the game or beaten the Elite Four… so no go for me. I saw that they had the Guitar Hero: On Tour for the DS with its funky wrap-around controller, so, what the heck, I bought it instead.

Played it in the parking lot. Went to lunch at Friendly’s, played it at the table. Came home, played as I roamed through the house (with headphones on, all the time). While Andy was playing through Untold Legends for the PS3, I finished it. On hard. Twnty-five songs and it was over.

Well, that was a good four or so hours of entertainment…

Good things: That controller rocks. So does the pick. The song selection includes some old 70s songs like Doobie Brothers’ China Grove and Steve Miller Band’s Jet Plane. Hey, I was a teenager then, I LIKE that kind of music. Ear buds really made it sound good.

Bad things: My hand cramped up with extensive play, and it still hurts. 25 songs! And the game is very, VERY forgiving. Hammer-ons and pull-offs are SIMPLE and nearly always work. It was hard to follow the action on both screens — the chart is on the top screen, and your score, star power and danger meter are on the other (which you strum).

Weird things: A lot of the time, you can just tap on the bottom screen instead of strumming. Dancing along to music nobody can hear while scratching your DS furiously can make people give you strange looks.

It’s hard to recommend a game that’s so short. There’s little incentive to try for Expert, aside from unlocking more outfits and guitars. It would just hurt my hands too much. So essentially, I’m done with it. My recommendation is to borrow someone else’s. They’re probably done with it.