Everyone who owns a next-gen gaming console and likes rocking out has been anticipating two of the biggest new launches of the year, Rock Band 2, by Harmonix, and Guitar Hero: World Tour, by Activision. That time has finally arrived, as Rock Band 2 is now available on all consoles and Guitar Hero: World Tour releases on Sunday, October 26th.

Read on for more.

The History

On November 1st, 2005, a game by the name of Guitar Hero, produced by a small group of music enthusiasts under the company name Harmonix, rocked U.S. shores for the first time, taking Playstation 2 owners by surprise with a new music and rhythm game that let them be rock stars in their own living room. Within a year, the trend caught on and Guitar Hero 2 was released, making the two games some of the most sought after items of the 2006 holiday season. Numerous spin-offs and sequels have since been released, essentially forging live rock simulations as a new genre of gaming.

Somewhere along the line, Activision wanted a piece of the pie, purchasing the Guitar Hero franchise from Harmonix midway along the production of Guitar Hero 3. The half-baked development was turned over to Neversoft, the group known for its production of the popular Tony Hawk series and many games based upon its engine, and Harmonix moved on to bigger, better things.

As Guitar Hero 3 made a mixed impression, enthusing some as the most expansive guitar game yet and simultaneously being scathed for its emphasis on gimmicks and not faithful music simulation, Harmonix completed development of its newest contender, Rock Band. Rock Band was a wild success, moving beyond the limits of simple guitar and bass to include a realistic drum set and a microphone for vocals. Dominating the market, Rock Band forged forward with downloadable content, online play, and band career modes that let players rock out with their friends in a cooperative “career.” Unsurprisingly, Rock Band 2 was quickly under development. Activision, however, was not one to be outdone and immediately moved to stay competitive. Thusly, Guitar Hero: World Tour was born as a new version of Guitar Hero including a drum set, vocals, and many identical features of the Rock Band series.

What now?

This brings us to the present, where the original creator of Guitar Hero and Rock Band, Harmonix, has released Rock Band 2 on all three platforms (PS3, Xbox 360, and Wii) and its competitor, Activision, is set to release Guitar Hero: World Tour this week. With two games that appear almost identical, what choices will consumers make for the next music simulator?

Rock Band 2 boasts the following:

-84 songs on the Rock Band 2 disc, plus the ability to import most songs from the original Rock Band and track pack for $4.99.
-Downloadable, backwards compatible content on all platforms, including the Wii, and an online music library that is slated to include, "more than 500 songs by year's end." 20 free songs will also be made available for download this fall.
-Exclusive songs from AC/DC, Bob Dylan, and Guns N’ Roses, featuring a brand new song from GNR’s new album, Chinese Democracy.
-A revamped five-piece expandable drum set that is said to address technical concerns of the previous model, such as complaints about the old bass pedal.
-A new “Drum Trainer” mode to teach players how to play virtual drums.
-Various online components, including online play, leader boards, and customized character features on RockBand.com.

Guitar Hero: World Tour boasts:

-86 songs on disc, but no backwards compatibility with previous Guitar Hero songs, given the lack of playable drum and vocal tracks.
-Downloadable content for all platforms, featuring such selections as Metallica’s entire new Death Magnetic album.
-A new six-piece drum velocity-sensitive drum set, featuring a snare, two toms, two cymbals, and a bass pedal.
-Customs songs via the “Create a Song” mode, including MIDI support and in-game effects by Line 6.
-A new guitar controller that features a slide section for new types of notes and a tapping area for “slap bass” styles.

On paper, Guitar Hero: World Tour looks to offer more features, but Rock Band 2 has a much larger library of available music and an established history of success with full band simulation. Compatibility between peripherals had been addressed for PS3 and Xbox 360, but it is still an unknown issue with the Wii, so will fans have to choose between the two packages or will they be able to use their instruments with both games? Will the set lists of either game, including around 20 songs that are featured in both games, make or break the decision? What about the technical features, like Rock Band 2’s refinement of existing technology or Guitar Hero: World Tour’s exploratory leap into velocity sensitive drums, sliding frets on guitar, and song creation? Only a direct comparison could tell and we here at DigitalReviews.net are looking forward to providing a review when both games have been released to help you make your decision. In the meantime, stay tuned.

For more information on Rock Band 2, as well as a complete track listing, visit http://www.rockband.com/forums/showthread.php?t=63006 and rockband.com.

For more information on Guitar Hero: World Tour, visit www.guitarhero.com.