the rock band “racket”

Yesterday, after searching heartily on the internets, I found out that you CAN indeed use the Guitar Hero controller to play Rock Band. Excited, I ran out and got the game for my Xbox 360, because as a major fan of the Guitar Hero franchise, I reveled the chance to have some new, better songs to play.

Others like me, who have all of the Guitar Hero games (there are 4 in all), know that the most recent Guitar Hero, Guitar Hero III, has one of the weakest soundtracks of any game in the series. That is doubly disappointing too, because the next game that is slated to come out doesn’t even offer a reprieve; it is going to be a game of nothing but Aerosmith songs. So when I saw the track listing for Rock Band, I knew I had to have it… but I didn’t want to shell out almost $200 for all of the stuff needed to play it; regardless of the great soundtrack. However, after I knew I could use my Guitar Hero controller with it, I jumped at the opportunity, and was excited that I could get by with just getting the game itself.

Well, after playing the game for a while last night, I kind of think that whole Rock Band package is a rip off. See, I personally have NO DESIRE to have those drums for this game (seriously, I get annoyed watching people do it at Best Buy… there is no way I am bring that annoyance home), so all I wanted was the game, a guitar, and the mic. Well, they don’t offer the mic separately as of this writing, and since I found out I could use my Guitar Hero controller, I figured I would settle for being able to play the guitar tracks (and get a mic later when they do offer one). I also think that it is VERY important to say this: the Rock Band Guitar controller is a complete piece of crap when compared with the Guitar Hero III controller… seriously, if you like the Guitar Hero III controller, do yourself a favor and use it.

Well, much to my surprise (and delight), I discovered that you can use the free Xbox 360 headset that came with my Xbox 36; thereby eliminating a need for the mic that comes with the bundle as well! It has been sitting in the box ever since I got it, and I pulled it out, and low and behold, it works perfectly. As I said last night, you will just have to be a little more like Britney or Janet in concert, and use a headset as opposed to a hand-held mic. So basically, I had all of the peripherals that I needed already at home… so what was I waiting on before getting this VERY fun game??

Well, there was not much on the internet about these two discoveries that I made. I didn’t see anything about the mic, and I really had to search to get a clear word about if the Guitar Hero controller really would work with Rock Band. I guess I wanted to write this post, to let anyone out there with an Xbox 360, who also has Guitar Hero (II or III), and wants the save some money and still get Rock Band, that you don’t need to buy the overpriced bundle (unless you just want a new guitar, and you of course, want the drums and a mic). You can “make due” with the Guitar Hero controller, and the headset is actually better in my opinion… in my searching, I saw that all of the Rock Band bundles have CORDED peripherals. I prefer my cordless guitar and headset over that shit any day. Also, the drums are now sold separately if you really need them… but again, that just isn’t on my interests list.

I see this as a huge win; even though I had to jump through many hoops to get to this point. And… I don’t have to chuck those annoying ass drums out on the street. I wish I had gotten the game sooner, because it really is awesome (even if it is almost the exact same as Guitar Hero), and the songs are great. However, at least I was able to find out the right information, and save a bundle… by skipping the bundle and just getting the game. If you find yourself in my position, make sure you do yourself a favor and get the game; it is well worth the price of the disc, and I am just glad that I don’t have to have ANOTHER guitar peripheral laying around!