Guitar Hero looking more and more ominous to Rock Band

To preface this post, I'm a huge Harmonix fan. That being said, when Activision/Neversoft and Harmonix/MTV squared off for Guitar Hero 3 vs. Rock Band, it was pretty easy to pick which game would be more fun for whom. Rock Band would be more accepted by the guys/gals looking for a whole band experience, classic tracks, and that classic HMX vibe. GH3 would be for the shredders, the mainstreamers, and those who are scared to touch a drumset or let loose a few vocal licks. I actually enjoyed both games a lot for those different reasons. Now with Guitar Hero: World Tour vs Rock Band 2, those lines are severely blurred.

This post is inspired by one thing, and one thing only that saddens me deeply for my Rock Band 2 dreams--no Jimi. What?? Activision seems to have locked in the master himself, the man responsible for not only saving the Fender Stratocaster from a severely premature retirement, but saving rock and giving it something exciting! Well... It looks like GH:OT will be the destination for classic rockers this time, with "Purple Haze" and one of my very favorites "The Wind Cries Mary", which believe it or not last week heard on the radio and thought "Man, I really hope that this makes it into Rock Band 2 at some point!"

Looks like I had the psychic thought right, but just was a bit shaky on the details there. Add that to Sublime, Van Halen, The Eagles, and whoever else they've got in their pocketbooks, and the previously amazingly awesome RB2 songlist of awesomosity has been relegated a lesser state of excitement. Sorry, HMX.

I'm not jumping ship over to GH, let me say that. I'm just saying that HMX better have something AMAZING in store for RB2 that no one sees coming to make up for the fact that these legends got taken by the exclusivity monster that is ActiBlizz. Oh wait, they do have AC/DC. Which is cool. Except that I really don't care about AC/DC, other than a few songs.

So we'll see what else the two game houses have up their sleeves that haven't been revealed. There's the new GH controller with the slide/tap sensor in the neck (which I'm hugely anticipating), and then there's RB's amazingly awesome(ly expensive) high-end ION Drum Rocker drum kit. Then there's GH's music studio which will be fun (look forward to some Low Flyer songs up there quickstyle!), and RB's insane character creation and new play modes and non-crappy world-tour.

HMX has done this before. They're constantly ahead of Activision in almost all areas, and it will be interesting to see what the two companies come up with when release time hits. All I know is, I'm sure I'm buying both.

And my wife will hate me for it.