Is GH2 still worth getting?

[Bacstar]

I've been trying to find GH3 with the guitar for the last couple weeks, and everyone up here in Alaska seems to be out of the 360 version. There are stacks of GH2 still available and its cheaper so I was wondering if it's worth just getting that and maybe get the GH3 guitar bundle later once more stock is around. Then I'll have two guitars or I can just buy the game separately.

 

[Fingolfin269]

Can't you just order it online or does it cost to much to ship to Alaska?

 

[Bacstar]

That's my next option if I don't have a choice... and shipping $$...well it all depends...

Since GH2 is readily available, I figured I wouldn't mind having both depending on the responses I get. I played GH for the first time a couple weeks ago (GH3), and it definitely piqued my interest in trying out GH2 as well.

 

[tdawg]

Originally posted by: Bacstar
That's my next option if I don't have a choice... and shipping $$...well it all depends...

Since GH2 is readily available, I figured I wouldn't mind having both depending on the responses I get. I played GH for the first time a couple weeks ago (GH3), and it definitely piqued my interest in trying out GH2 as well.

I bought GH2 for the 360 for two reasons: 1) I wasn't sure I would like this type of game and wanted to give it a shot at a reduced price point, and 2) I wanted the wired controller that doesn't come apart at the neck, since I'd read enough reports of sketchy performance to scare me. So far, I've really enjoyed it. I'm only up to Medium difficulty and have a hard time picturing moving past that. Medium is hard enough for me on some songs!

 

[bl4ckfl4g]

It is better than GH2 so yeah.


edit... I meant GH2 is better than GH3.

 

[BigJ]

FWIW, I think GH2 > GH3.

 

[CKDragon]

I'll join the pile-on and agree that GH2 is better than GH3.

The only part where GH2 lacks is in the % of original recordings vs. cover songs. There are only a few master recordings in GH2 while the majority of the GH3 soundtrack are master recordings. As I said in an earlier thread, the cover songs have never bothered me to the point that I don't enjoy the experience. However, the cover of Rage Against the Machine's "Killing in the Name" made even me cringe the first time I heard it. The rest are fine, though.

 

[tdawg]

Originally posted by: CKDragon
I'll join the pile-on and agree that GH2 is better than GH3.

The only part where GH2 lacks is in the % of original recordings vs. cover songs. There are only a few master recordings in GH2 while the majority of the GH3 soundtrack are master recordings. As I said in an earlier thread, the cover songs have never bothered me to the point that I don't enjoy the experience. However, the cover of Rage Against the Machine's "Killing in the Name" made even me cringe the first time I heard it. The rest are fine, though.

No doubt. And the fact that it's censored worse than when it's on the radio is terrible. There are some great songs in GH2 that I never would have considered liking, but I enjoy trying to play, most surprisingly the My Chemical Romance song, Dead, I believe.

 

[CKDragon]

Originally posted by: tdawg

Originally posted by: CKDragon
I'll join the pile-on and agree that GH2 is better than GH3.

The only part where GH2 lacks is in the % of original recordings vs. cover songs. There are only a few master recordings in GH2 while the majority of the GH3 soundtrack are master recordings. As I said in an earlier thread, the cover songs have never bothered me to the point that I don't enjoy the experience. However, the cover of Rage Against the Machine's "Killing in the Name" made even me cringe the first time I heard it. The rest are fine, though.

No doubt. And the fact that it's censored worse than when it's on the radio is terrible. There are some great songs in GH2 that I never would have considered liking, but I enjoy trying to play, most surprisingly the My Chemical Romance song, Dead, I believe.

"Dead!" is totally a guilty pleasure. It's just a goofy, fun song to play for some reason. It's so fun, it feels like it should be in Rock Band.

 

[JackBurton]

I didn't get GH2 because it HAD a wired controller. I much prefer the GH3 guitar. I bought the GH3 bundle and then later got the GH2 game (not the bundle). And a little bit later got ANOTHER GH3 bundle so me and my wife could play together. The wireless setup is MUCH cleaner and I wouldn't go back to ANY wired controller.

 

[CKDragon]

Originally posted by: JackBurton
I didn't get GH2 because it HAD a wired controller. I much prefer the GH3 guitar. I bought the GH3 bundle and then later got the GH2 game (not the bundle). And a little bit later got ANOTHER GH3 bundle so me and my wife could play together. The wireless setup is MUCH cleaner and I wouldn't go back to ANY wired controller.

I have my issues with all three (Xbox 360) guitars, so far.

The GH2 Xplorer is wired, the GH3 Les Paul's detachable neck has contact problems (at least for me and some others on the internet), and the RB Fender's strum bar is less-than-optimal.

Of the three problems, the only one that in no way negatively affects my score performance is the GH2 wired controller. I'm a person that would never leave their fake plastic guitars in the living room (I'm not implying you are). But even doing that, it's nothing but 30 seconds before and 30 seconds after a playing session to move it to/from its spot in the closet and deal with the cord.

That said, I've recently just been playing for fun with friends in Rock Band, so I don't mind missing an extra note or two considering the RB Fender just feels so much nicer overall.

 

[Oyeve]

Originally posted by: BigJ
FWIW, I think GH2 > GH3.

I agree. GH3 is meh, Legends of rock? Where? Only Slash could be considered a Legend. Tom Muriilo? puhlease.

 

[JackBurton]

Originally posted by: CKDragon

Originally posted by: JackBurton
I didn't get GH2 because it HAD a wired controller. I much prefer the GH3 guitar. I bought the GH3 bundle and then later got the GH2 game (not the bundle). And a little bit later got ANOTHER GH3 bundle so me and my wife could play together. The wireless setup is MUCH cleaner and I wouldn't go back to ANY wired controller.

I have my issues with all three (Xbox 360) guitars, so far.

The GH2 Xplorer is wired, the GH3 Les Paul's detachable neck has contact problems (at least for me and some others on the internet), and the RB Fender's strum bar is less-than-optimal.

Of the three problems, the only one that in no way negatively affects my score performance is the GH2 wired controller. I'm a person that would never leave their fake plastic guitars in the living room (I'm not implying you are). But even doing that, it's nothing but 30 seconds before and 30 seconds after a playing session to move it to/from its spot in the closet and deal with the cord.

That said, I've recently just been playing for fun with friends in Rock Band, so I don't mind missing an extra note or two considering the RB Fender just feels so much nicer overall.

The first GH3 guitar I had worked perfect. I then bought 2 more GH3 guitars (one as a spare in case one of them was defective). Well guess what, the first out of the 2 new guitars I got had issues with the buttons (buttons not responding). After a few days of it I said enough of this crap, packaged it back up and opened the other guitar (I returned the defective one a few days later). That one has been working perfectly. So I now have two perfect wireless guitars and all I have to do is, pick one up, turn on my 360 with it and I'm up and running. No plugging crap in.

And yeah, I have both sitting beside my couch. We pretty much play GH2/GH3/RB just about every day so no sense putting them away.

 

[bvalpati]

Originally posted by: Oyeve

Originally posted by: BigJ
FWIW, I think GH2 > GH3.

I agree. GH3 is meh, Legends of rock? Where? Only Slash could be considered a Legend. Tom Muriilo? puhlease.

Carlos Santana
Pete Townshend
Keith Richards
Eric Clapton
Stevie Ray Vaughan
etc

In company like that I wouldn't even consider Slash a legend, just another kid learning from the masters.

 

[Oyeve]

Originally posted by: bvalpati

Originally posted by: Oyeve

Originally posted by: BigJ
FWIW, I think GH2 > GH3.

I agree. GH3 is meh, Legends of rock? Where? Only Slash could be considered a Legend. Tom Muriilo? puhlease.

Carlos Santana
Pete Townshend
Keith Richards
Eric Clapton
Stevie Ray Vaughan
etc

In company like that I wouldn't even consider Slash a legend, just another kid learning from the masters.

Sorry, let me clarify, the BOSSes that you battle, not the music. Thats what I meant. I think after every set you should battle a guitar legend, not just the 2 guys. The music is great, just the whole boss battle BS.

 

[blazerazor]

What the hell ever happen to ppl playing REAL music with real guitars and drums and pa's. And the price for these things is way to high for a lame toy. I bet slash cant play that game. Look closely at his fingers in the comercial.

 

[Bacstar]

Got GH2 last night and was not disappointed. It was a lot of fun. I did realize though that playing on medium is a lot different than playing on easy. I'm a piano/keyboard player in real life, and going through the motions of playing a guitar is conflicting with what my hands are used to doing.

I saw a couple stacks of Rock Band which tempted me for about 5 mins. I'll probably end up getting it someday just for the drumming experience alone. If anyone else in Alaska is looking for Rock Band, there are plenty at the Fred Myers on Northern Lights.

 

[Oyeve]

Originally posted by: blazerazor

What the hell ever happen to ppl playing REAL music with real guitars and drums and pa's. And the price for these things is way to high for a lame toy. I bet slash cant play that game. Look closely at his fingers in the comercial.

This has been stated too many times. Its a freaking game. Should we all carry AK-47s and shoot real people because COD4 is not real? Please, post useful info.

 

[Daverino]

FWIW, GH2 is subtly different from GH3. The set lists, I would say, are comparable. GH3 has more songs, yes. But many more of the bonus songs in GH2 are worth playing (IMHO). Honestly, I think there are maybe 2 or 3 bonus songs in GH3 that I like, while in GH2 there are 2 or 3 bonus songs I don't like (Fall of Pangea, I'm looking at you!)

GH3 has a LOT more shredding, i.e. playing lots of the same note really fast. You can go pretty far in GH2 without double-strumming. Not so with GH3. However, the timings for HOPOs are much tighter in GH2 (there's a 'precise' mode in GH3 that makes it have GH2 timings). Therefore, you might think you're the king of HOPO on GH3 and be humbled by GH2. To balance that out, the difficulty level in GH3 gets much harder much faster. Essentially they make it easier to play runs in GH3 and then throw a lot of ridiculous runs at you. GH3 also has a LOT more three note chords and makes easy songs hard by concocting finger twisting button jumps on Expert.

I think the average player will get stumped by Raining Blood on hard. I consider myself an average player and I've only beaten that song once. Every other song on Hard I can make it through without failing. The boss battles are a joke as once you get up to Lou on Hard, any single power-up will pretty much fail you out unless you memorize the song. You can download and practice boss battles on the PS3 and XBox, but if you're stuck with a PS2 like me, you're out of luck.

 

[CKDragon]

Originally posted by: Daverino
FWIW, GH2 is subtly different from GH3. The set lists, I would say, are comparable. GH3 has more songs, yes. But many more of the bonus songs in GH2 are worth playing (IMHO). Honestly, I think there are maybe 2 or 3 bonus songs in GH3 that I like, while in GH2 there are 2 or 3 bonus songs I don't like (Fall of Pangea, I'm looking at you!)

GH3 has a LOT more shredding, i.e. playing lots of the same note really fast. You can go pretty far in GH2 without double-strumming. Not so with GH3. However, the timings for HOPOs are much tighter in GH2 (there's a 'precise' mode in GH3 that makes it have GH2 timings). Therefore, you might think you're the king of HOPO on GH3 and be humbled by GH2. To balance that out, the difficulty level in GH3 gets much harder much faster. Essentially they make it easier to play runs in GH3 and then throw a lot of ridiculous runs at you. GH3 also has a LOT more three note chords and makes easy songs hard by concocting finger twisting button jumps on Expert.

I think the average player will get stumped by Raining Blood on hard. I consider myself an average player and I've only beaten that song once. Every other song on Hard I can make it through without failing. The boss battles are a joke as once you get up to Lou on Hard, any single power-up will pretty much fail you out unless you memorize the song. You can download and practice boss battles on the PS3 and XBox, but if you're stuck with a PS2 like me, you're out of luck.

Who would even try to beat it a second time? After beating it once, people have been known to perform celebratory dances and NEVER select that God-forsaken song again.

Oh, and your evaluation of the differences between GH2 and GH3 is extremely accurate. Good info for the OP.

 

[CPA]

Originally posted by: CKDragon

Originally posted by: Daverino
FWIW, GH2 is subtly different from GH3. The set lists, I would say, are comparable. GH3 has more songs, yes. But many more of the bonus songs in GH2 are worth playing (IMHO). Honestly, I think there are maybe 2 or 3 bonus songs in GH3 that I like, while in GH2 there are 2 or 3 bonus songs I don't like (Fall of Pangea, I'm looking at you!)

GH3 has a LOT more shredding, i.e. playing lots of the same note really fast. You can go pretty far in GH2 without double-strumming. Not so with GH3. However, the timings for HOPOs are much tighter in GH2 (there's a 'precise' mode in GH3 that makes it have GH2 timings). Therefore, you might think you're the king of HOPO on GH3 and be humbled by GH2. To balance that out, the difficulty level in GH3 gets much harder much faster. Essentially they make it easier to play runs in GH3 and then throw a lot of ridiculous runs at you. GH3 also has a LOT more three note chords and makes easy songs hard by concocting finger twisting button jumps on Expert.

I think the average player will get stumped by Raining Blood on hard. I consider myself an average player and I've only beaten that song once. Every other song on Hard I can make it through without failing. The boss battles are a joke as once you get up to Lou on Hard, any single power-up will pretty much fail you out unless you memorize the song. You can download and practice boss battles on the PS3 and XBox, but if you're stuck with a PS2 like me, you're out of luck.

Who would even try to beat it a second time? After beating it once, people have been known to perform celebratory dances and NEVER select that God-forsaken song again.

Oh, and your evaluation of the differences between GH2 and GH3 is extremely accurate. Good info for the OP.

I can't make it past One nor Raining Blood on Hard

My son and I, however, made it past One on Hard in Co-op.

That reminds me, GH2 doesn't have a Co-op career mode, does it? You can play co-op, but only by selecting individual songs. Am I recalling that correctly.

 

[RagingBITCH]

GH2 is worth it if:

A) You want the extra guitar for when you actually do buy GH3
B) You can find it used on Craigslist for about $50

I also have to say - 3 of my cousins around my age came over during Christmas. They all enjoyed GH3 much moreso than GH2. I do too, but some GH2 purists were turned off by GH3. (The timing aspect mentioned above, strumming, etc)