I agree. I think that Rock Band is clearly a better game, but I'm glad I own GH:WT in order to have access to more songs (both on disc and as future DLC). For what it's worth, I really didn't like GH3, but with WT, Neversoft made a lot of improvements and fixed most of the things I hated about GH3. Now that RB has real competition from another full band game, I'm excited to see what each series does on the DLC front.

I'm using the RB drums, and it's definitely fun, but limited. The method of activating star power sucks IMO. But other than that, it's nice to have another new game for party nights with some great tunes. I already unlocked Tool after 3 gigs - just preparing to play them now

So, has anyone checked, like another poster asked before, if their copy of RB2 or RB1 registers the yellow cymbal misses like GH:WT does, thus making it seem more like a patchable issue versus bad hardware?

Pros:
New guitar is awesome. Sure, I missed like, oh, 95% of the notes playing around with the touchpad but at least it felt fun.. The frets seem a little less stiff than the GH3 version so its easier on my fingers and the strum is still a lot easier to alt-strum with than the RB versions. Whammy is a lot studier as well.

The open notes on bass are hella fun. Too bad they're a pain to read.

FINALLY, someone decided to allow different scrolling speeds for local multiplayer! Its retarded how RB averages the scrolling speeds of the players, it makes it nearly impossible to play, I speed up the easy players too much and they squish all my notes into an unreadable mess. Also the hyperspeed is toggle-able for all instruments separately instead of one group-wide deal. Excellent.

Cons:
The interface. Wth? It took me 3 hours before I even found out where the multiplier was and the note streak counter is microscopic. I also seem to have a borked drum kit. The yellow cymbal is fine, but the red pad seems to be ultra flaky unless you hit it in the "sweet spot."

Star Power seems to trigger with the slightest movement. I have to keep it perfectly level to not set it off.

During band play the Star Power is communal. When you activate you use 1/4 of the SP available (as best I can tell). If you have a full meter all four players could activate at the same time.

I like this way of doing things, but I don't know exactly how RB2 really does it. I'd like to pick up RB2, but if they don't get the PS3 drums patched then I won't be doing that.

The difficulty was brought way down and the timing window was increased significantly from GH3. Notes that I knew I was way off on were somehow being hit. The window for HOPOs was tightened up though. I didn't have any problem with the way they were in GH3 but I know some weren't happy. This feels like the perfect compromise honestly. I've done probably 60% of the setlist I'm guessing. I haven't come across any songs that were really difficult (although I did completely botch a Tool song). The first 10 songs or so are really easy. I FC'd two of them (and made the top 10 in both temporarily!) and could easily do most of them with a few more tries. I know the Satriani song will be a challenge, but hopefully there are other difficult ones out there.

I really suck at drums. I wanted to try Hot for Teacher and failed miserably on hard, so suffered through it on Medium. I ended up passing with 56% hit (???) and had the 45th highest score I have no idea how that's possible on Hard/Expert.

I'll be inviting other PS3 owners to play online in the next day or so. Would be cool to get some online band stuff going.

I'm also getting crackling/hissing noises out of my speakers (PS3 version of game). I really hope it has to do with an audio setting I missed. I even went into the audio settings and didn't see any dolby digital setting. All I recall seeing were the sliders for how loud you wanted each instrument (and vocals) to be.

Did you actually get to when you thought you would? The gig was trying to charge me $8k to play it and I had like $7k after having done all the 1st tier and one or two for the 2nd tier gigs on expert guitar (all 5* songs).

For me, that was about the limit of my expert guitar ability. I think it was Do It Again by Steely Dan that became my first brick wall. Also Hey Man Nice Shot gave me fits. Moved down to Hard with no issue, even got 100% on Everlong my first try, though it's not much different from RB2's version.

One thing I noticed moving from Career to Quickplay is that there didn't seem to be any stats on the QP menu carried over from what I did in career. I tried to play Livin' on a Prayer from there and it didn't even show I had beat it already on Expert already, let alone a score or star display. Thought I'd mention it to see if I missed it or if the big complaint serious players had with RB2 is also present here.

Yeah, I'm not a big fan of the star power thing. I'm getting slightly better at activating it without messing up - otherwise the only times to do it are either in slow parts where you probably don't need it or after having lost your multiplier anyway and when you don't care if you miss another note or two.

Other than that I've been having fun with the game. I could do without having to unlock each song on every instrument. That doesn't make the game more fun - it just makes it seem like work.

Has anyone been able to link their accounts to the GH website yet? I don't see GH:WT as an option yet.

So after the first night, I have to say I enjoy the game but it feels rushed and unpolished. I enjoy the set list a good bit more than Rock Band 2s (Mars Volta, At the Drive-in, Tool , on drums that Rise Against song is a blast and Santeria is more difficult than expected), and like the accented notes for drums, but overall it feels almost like a fan-made game instead of a studio product (the worst bit to me, and it has no effect on anything really, is hitting the drums and having the drums play on screen while your character just sits there...) and the "warning, you're failing" zone is so brief it's just flat-out silly. Also, and I had this problem in GH3 as well, it doesn't feel like what you're doing on the "instrument" is actually in tune w/ the game itself (the illusion of playing guitar/drums just isn't there like it was in GH1 and 2 and both Rock Bands), thankfully the drums actually have a decent sound on their own which helps.

The red drum actually works fine for me EXCEPT when used in conjunction with the yellow cymbal, which sucks since so many songs rely on constant rides with occasional snare hits. I like having 5 drums to play on though the layout can be a little difficult due to the small overall size (I also keep accidentally dropping the sticks due to them getting caught on the underside of the cymbals). The User Generated songs is a nice, novel feature, it won't extend gameplay much but is sort of nice to have.

So overall it isn't a bad product and it is fun, it just feels sloppy, especially when compared to Rock Band.

+ Very good track listing
+ Nice to have multiple instruments
+ Accented drum beats
+ Rolls on long notes is fun
+ Drum heads/drums in general are just fun to play

- Game lacks overall polish
- Illusion of rocking isn't there.
- Poor graphic design and animation
- Terrible layout
- Note layout makes it difficult to tell what notes you've missed when it comes to the drums
- Game progression is dated
- Glitchy hardware
- No "save your bandmate" feature while playing as a band

That would be good to know.

I played at a friends (PS3) house last night and it was definately fun, but problems.

The interface needs a complete overhaul now. There is so much going on the screen at any one time you have to really figure out what options are available to you at any given screen. Its visually over complicated IMO.

The gig screens are a mess. The poster thing is just more complicated than it needs to be telling you what you have accomplished and what you need to do next. There is too much style and not enough substance.

The on-screen meter systems are just a mess as well. Nothing is intuitive here or easily figured out. The band meter is just not effective at all. The only meter you can gain any info out of is your individual multiplier along side the highway. All other on screen info is useless since its overly complicated, too small, or the font is off.

The create a rocker and create a guitar are great options. You can really dive in here and take 30 min. or more fleshing these things out.

Now for the instrument problems. Not sure if my friend did not sync them properly or what but there were strumming issues on the new guitar. Could not alt-strum with any consistancy and the SP went off whenever it wanted to. The touch pad was way too sensitive and really botched the songs I tried it on so I gave up on it. Probably a setting to adjust it but I only had so much time to play and wanted to get on with it. Plus you cannot tell where your hand is on the pad. You cant see the colors and there is no "bump" to reoriente you on any of the pads. And is is a touchpad, not a button so there is no tactile feedback.

Drum issues. The red pad was missing alot. Tried to hit it in several different locations but nothing worked consistantly. Cymbals worked fine, bass worked fine and felt fine. Didnt move around at all. No idea why there are so many issues with the red pad and the yellow. I could visually see the crosstalk on the screen at times. Hitting the red pad and yellow pad registered. This could be that the plugs were not firmly in the kit or that they were not configured right in the game. I have seen where people are not plugging in their cymbals tight enough, or they just dont read the manual at all in how to set them up properly. Like I said I just wanted play the game and have fun here not figure out what was wrong at the moment.

The fun is there for sure. I love the new challenge in the note charts for certain songs. I love having the option of playing other band members. I love the new songs.

They did not concentrate on what makes GH great IMO, and that is the game play. There is too much style and fluff, they overly complicated things that should be easy, and they put too much focus on the GHTunes and Music maker. They are average MIDI toys essentially. I really dont see how either is going to be successful in the long run making the effort they put into them a complete waste of time.

They are really overwhelmed there. Accounts are missing, data is not being updated now and has not been for a couple of weeks since before the launch so I would not expect this for a few days or maybe weeks.

I had this issue as well. Hits were definately scoring, but I could seem to hit the drum harder. And I was really putting a good hit on it.

I would be up for some PS3 on-line band stuff. I'm still getting the hang of drums, so count me in as a medium guitar player/bassist or an easy vocalist.

It also doesn't show up in quickplay (stats) so I assume that is the way it is...but it was also like that in GH 3 and quickplay never added to your career total. Regardless, it is still better than RB because you can see your stars/stats at each gig in career or when you go to "Make your own gig" or whatever, it has the same quickplay interface but it has all your career songs with stars/stats.

So, that is where I am going to go to up my scores and such.

From reading other message boards, it seems like the GH:WT drums are having about as many problems as the RB1 drums. It sounds like the red drum is the biggest offender. Ugh, I was really hoping that these drums would be reliable, with only a few problems here-and-there.

Yeah I've definitely had more problems with the red drum. I mean, I'm no Neil Peart, but I know my snare hits were falling on the beat, and I was dropping a decent amount of them. Kind of sad when thew kick and snare are the weakest part of a drum kit. It's a miracle I haven't had any yellow pad issue (yet).

It suck because I really do like the setup and feel of the kit (minus the pedal).

I really hate to think this a manufacture issue. Its hard to believe they would not pick up this on testing. The only support method they are recommending is looking at the Activision FAQ for a resolution and ultimately contacting RedOctane for an RMA if that doesnt solve it.

Basically it asks you if its plugged in? If it is and its still not working then RMA it. Pay for your own shipping and wait 4-6 weeks.

In general playing the drums feels like I have to hit ANY of them too hard for a register. On a digital set you should be able to set the sensitivity and not have to hit them so hard by default. So on the notes where you HAVE to hit them harder you really feel like you have to bash the mess out of it to score it.

Its going to take a while to iron out the issues so I will give them the benefit/time since this is their first go at it. But its just underwhelming since these were so hyped.

Nope - I had to pay for it. Fuckers.

So far - I'm pretty underwhelmed, but VERY happy I bought the game only option. Sure, things would supposedly be better using the real kit - but until all the problems are done, I'm content with the RB2 kit taking the place.

Pros:

Can change the difficulty during a gig. I changed up to expert on Livin on Prayer to see if it was charted differently, and it was the encore of a set, or the third song. Whatever. But I liked that I could change it. Sadly, I forgot I was in Expert when L'Via Viaquez came up and failed out quick like. Only after beating the foot senseless on Heartbreaker though.

So from waht I am reading - because I am playing single player now, I won't be able to play these songs when I have a "band" set up? That fucking sucks.

RB >> GHWT.

I haven't played the game yet but about the complaints regarding if one fails, you all fail: I can see the logic in that because it's a community star power. So all band members must pay attention to each other - if one person is about to fail, then anyone can activate star power to save them. So there is still saving going on.

The problem with that is that it's tough to see if anyone is about to fail with the cluttered/minimal interface.

As rabbit said, I like the fact that the whole band fails together. It just seems like a continuation of coop. With three people (occasionally 4) playing last night I had no problem noticing when other people's note highways were turning red while I was playing Expert guitar. I don't know if I would notice if the vocals were failing though.

I will give you that the life gauge (or whatever it's called) is FAR too small to keep track of things with a full band. Playing from the #4 spot (far right) there was no way I could ever see it. So unless someone is flashing red, I wouldn't know if we were in the yellow.

It's pretty annoying. I'll probably be using the cheat code and unlocking all the songs for quickplay.

Is anyone having a problem with getting the drums to activate star power? It doesn't work for me about 75% of the time. I'll sit there and bash on them repeatedly and get nothing. I'm pretty sure I'm hitting them simultaneously but maybe I'm off somehow.

Have people used real drum sticks on these sets (RB or GHWT) or is that a stupid idea? These balsa wood things are way too light for me, and are going to break pretty soon I fear (my wife says I drum really hard). BTW, I've already got a nice sized blister on my right hand thumb.

After playing the game for about 8 hours with no problems, my wife stopped a vocal solo campaign to let me in on guitar. As soon as she did that we started getting horrible crackling static through the speakers. We started a song, but it was so bad we stopped it and exited the game. Relaunching it the problem was gone. Very annoying, but at least it doesn't appear to happen in the middle of a song/career.