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Last year was a time of suspense for many Europeans such as myself awaiting the highly anticipated release of the next generation of music video games Rock Band. The whole concept of being able to play a drum kit, sing and play a guitar within a game like that of the Guitar Hero series was an opportunity hardcore gamers and music lovers didn’t want to pass up.

Due to shipping costs amongst other issues such as those with the hardware in the Rock Band package, Europe was delayed the release of this title a whole six months after its release in the states infuriating many of us in the east desperate for this game. America received the game in stores on the 20th November 2007 whilst us; the Europeans, didn’t receive it until as late as the end of May this year. Half a year later!

Not only was the delay an issue but the price tags fixed on the game also proved disastrous to the Europeans. Americans would pay as little as $120 which is equivalent to £60-£70 for the complete package but as stated above, with shipping and handling fees on top as well as the fact that it was distributed in association with ‘EA’ meant that we would be looking at a price tag of £170+ for the the complete package that was by then an outdated game when we could easily all buy the complete Guitar Hero 3 package for £79.99. Which would you choose?

However, at the time of release prices were no deterrent…but one thing was. The news of the next installment of the Guitar Hero series sequentially named Guitar Hero 4: World Tour.

Hearing about the latest installment of GH I instantly stopped in my tracks and decided to investigate the game further. Little to my surprise the game included what seemed to be suped up versions of the Rock Band package including: Wireless, Velocity Sensitive and Quieter Drum pads, integrated cymbals, a more responsive wireless guitar (that was less prone to breaking like the Rock Band ones have seemed to be doing) and potentially a wireless microphone.

Few people may know that Harmonix (The creators of Rock Band 1/2) were also the creators of Guitar Hero 1 and 2 until Red Octane (The creators of GH3/4) were aqusited by Activision meaning Harmonix would no longer be involved in the development in the Guitar Hero Series. Hence forth…the Rock Band series to compete against their prior counter parts.

Not long after Activision and Red Octane announced GH4:WT, Harmonix announced Rock Band 2 with the same anticipated release date of November this year (this time a global release is expected-yay Europe) …coincidence i think not. Rock Band 2 has the same peripherals as its predecessor but with the revamp of all the feature that GH4 is set to have.

Hardware wise, these two games are going to be very similar and evenly matched. So what is it that is going to define and differentiate the games between each other? The track-list? The in-game graphics? Customisable features like those present in Rock Band but slightly limited in Guitar Hero 3 BUT most importantly….how much of a whole will they put in our pockets and wallets?

Rock Band 2’s price tag is pending release as of this moment but is expected to be drastically cheaper than that of the first, especially in the Eastern regions. This is due to the fact that the peripherals have been made to be lighter and more compact in an attempt to counter extortionate shipping costs. GH4:WT has been priced in the states at $189.99 which is around £80-£100 however, this doesn’t include shipping and handling to Europe. All being well the shipping shouldn’t come to that much as Activision have made a point of how compact their peripherals are…fingers crossed they’re both cheapies. Some unfortunate people don’t have the luxury of a job…

As for tack-lists on the other hand Rock Band 2s lead designer Daniel Teasdale has been quoted that ‘we’ve also secured what I can easily say is the best setlist I’ve ever seen in a music game’ which is promising for those of us who will be buying Rock Band 2.

Rock Band 2 has Incorporated 84 in game tracks and 20 additional ones also. This is without the DLC!! (Click here for the confirmed RB2 Set List!). The thing I like about Rock Band is the fact that DLC and songs from the previous version can be played on the newer one and vice versa with aid of some downloadable software which will probably cost a small fee however more than likely very worth it to double the amount of songs available to play. Harmonix are going to continue to create DLC for both titles as they will work on both versions anyway. It is unconfirmed whether Guitar Hero 4 and Activision will have this functionality but as two true competitors it is likely that GH4 and Red Octane will pull something out of the bag to set them aside from Rock Band 2 and Harmonix. GH4s setlist hasn’t had a public release as yet but I personally hope they get with the times and add a few more moder tracks instead of the 80s rock we’re so used to from the previous versions.

So what do the facts show us? By January in the US alone, Rock Band had sold over 1 million units and sold over 2.5 million songs via the DLC function online with the vast majority being on the Xbox360…Get In! As MTV are associates withthe Rock Band series they have pledges DLC to be readily available with new additions and updates weekly with the option to download full albums! Guitar Hero 3 by January with the aid of a worldwide launch had sold near 10 million copies of the game worldwide.

So Rock Band 2 with a worldwide release and GH4 at the similar time periods (November 08) are going to be fighting it out dog eat dog style for the top spot of music simulation game. Either way whichever one you buy…or even both, you’re going to be in for a treat. Also there are unconfirmed rumours about add ons available for these games on the Xbox 360 such as a fog machine and a strobe light to add to the whole band simulation experience.