Let me get this out of the way first: I am not a "Harmonix fanboy". If I was, I wouldn't have bought the mess that was Guitar Hero 3 because of blind love for a certain company. However, after the epic battle between the two music game giants, Guitar Hero 3 and Rock Band, occurred last year, it was an easy outcome for anyone with half a brain and a few extra dollars: Rock Band was the finer game. Not only did the game nail the gameplay on all instruments, the DLC promises were completely fulfilled. All around North America (Note: This blog is not a reflection on the poor job done by EA in publishing Rock Band across the pond) critics praised Rock Band as a revolutionary platform and excellent music based game.

Alas, as all things occur, the stupidity of the masses brought shameful results: Guitar Hero 3 outsells Rock Band in a landslide. Was it the superior quality of the game? Of course not: any consumer with an internet connection could go to any Gamerankings or Metacritic-type site and see that Rock Band outscored GH3 by at least 7%. Was it the soundtrack? Not really. Both games had great soundtracks that appealed to most music enthusiasts that looked them up on Wikipedia. Plus, the average Joe could care less what songs are on the disc, because the average Joe does not hear anything thats not on MTV or MegaHitz 98.3 FM.

No it was a name. Guitar Hero. The words that build a strong reputation on three fantastic music games from Harmonix. However, the developers get shafted once again. Neversoft sloppily put together a mediocre music game that sold to millions across America within its first week of release. While Rock Band has been successful, it has not reached the megaton status that the Guitar Hero brand now has.

What caused me to start this too-little/too-late argument? Recently I have viewed some leaked footage of the latest masterpiece from Neversoft and Activision:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=qoI-rkMnyV8

This short video shows little promise that GHIV will be more than a sloppy "me too" attempt by Neversoft to catch up with Rock Band's new found fire. The interface is cluttered and horrible, the band visuals are atrocious, and there is little good to be found anywhere at all.

Meanwhile Rock Band II will do nothing than build upon a great proven formula: A fantastic new track list seems to have pleased 95% of the people who see it (as well as 20 free tracks on day one), the gameplay modes have been updated to answer to fans' requests, and the instruments seem much improved over the disappointing showing of RB1s instruments.

Does this mater? Absolutely not. Guitar Hero World Tour will sell truck loads to blind fans of brand names and mediocrity will become the new standard of music games. Please dont support this injustice.