Rock Band 2 and GHWT Set Lists

The first thing to note is that Rock Band 2 has 84 songs on disc but will come with a code that will allow you to download 20 to be named songs in the future. Guitar Hero World Tour (GHWT) features 86 on disc songs. 13 of the on-disc songs are on both discs and most of those 13 songs are fairly well known. The highlights include Go Your Own Way (Fleetwood Mac), Eye of the Tiger (Survivor), Livin on a Prayer (Bon Jovi), and American Woman (The Guess Who). An additional 13 artists are featured on both discs but have different songs. The big names with different songs include Metallica, Nirvana, Billy Idol, and the Steve Miller Band. Looking at a comparison of the 13 songs (and some of the bands I’m not very clear on), I think as a whole I would rather have the 13 RB2 songs as opposed to the 13 GHWT songs. I’ll use two bands as an example: 1) Rock’n Me is on RB2 while The Joker is on GHWT (Give me Rock’n Me (Steve Miller Band) 2) One Step Closer (RB2) vs. What I’ve Done (GHWT) (Linkin Park’s older song is a tad better, even if a lot of Linkin Park’s songs sound the same to me). I really don’t need to go into the issue of artists on GHWT that already have DLC for RB1 or featured on disc for RB1 but if you care for my opinion on that matter, the Rock Band model for RB1 disc songs and DLC means you can have something to fill those urges.

Now on to the big debate, the artists that, at this time, only appear in one game or the other. On Rock Band’s side, you have AC/DC, Bob Dylan, The Who, Jethro Tull, Megadeth, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pearl Jam, Rush, The Grateful Dead, and The Offspring (among others). On Guitar Hero World Tour’s side, you have Bob Seger, Coldplay, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, Michael Jackson, Ozzy Osbourne (you lose the use of Paranoid in RB2), The Eagles, Van Halen, Tool, and Wings, (among others). This is of course a list that could diminish for either side based on DLC in the future but this is the information I’m working off of. Who wins the big names battle? I would probably give the nod to Rock Band if I were entering the market for the first time although this is a real dicey battle since the list could have been rearranged by your definition of who is a big artist. The final war is in the trenches; those artists and songs that aren’t going to be in the forefront of the discussion but can ultimately make the game. As I delved deeper into both lists, I find that RB2 has more artists and songs that I would be interested in playing. It also appears that the RB2 list is going to be a bit more female friendly than GHWT (not that I can sing one way or another hehe). One final thing that puts a damper on GHWT’s set list is the fact that 3 of the songs on disc are by Tool, 2 by Jimi Hendrix, 2 by Ted Nugent, and 2 by Ozzy Osbourne so instead of 86 individual artists and songs, you are only getting 86 songs by 81 artists. It may not seem like much to fans of those artists but it is something to note. At the end of the day, the Rock Band 2 set list just has that extra punch to it to appeal to a wide audience while Guitar Hero World Tour’s set list seems to be all about the big names with the back end stuff getting short shift or appealing to a much narrower audience. GHWT will probably sell better on a name recognition basis but I think you would find more fun to be had in Rock Band 2’s songs.

Perhaps some other time I will discuss the concept of DLC as that is what may really set the two games apart and in that department, the head start of Rock Band is something that they need to make more clear.