So for Rock Band 2, it produced gear that’s a lot sturdier and much more reliable. Springs snapped, sensitive switches broke and…well, EA learned from its mistakes. Guitars would arbitrarily stop working–and not as a result of ritual smashing after a show. Rock Band 2: At launch, the original Rock Band required roadies to be on call 24/7. That interoperability raises a big question: Which game offers the better controllers?

I tested peripherals back-and-forth between the two games–and they all worked as advertised. But those days are gone: Guitar Hero peripherals still work in Rock Band and Rock Band controllers now work in Guitar Hero. Used to be, you had to own more plastic toy guitars than Eddie Van Halen’s kid to play all of the music games out there. The latest Guitar Hero offers many new features, but you have a couple of big questions to answer before taking the stage: Do you invest $180 dollars to form a Rock Band, or do you spend 190 bucks to go on a World Tour? Which game offers the better selection of songs? Which has the better instruments? We had a jam session with Activision Blizzard’s newest gig, so we can give you a detailed, hands-on breakdown of what you’d get for your money and how it compares to Rock Band 2.

(I evaluated the Xbox 360 versions of these games, but both are also available on the PlayStation 2, PS3, and Wii.) Both games promise arena-filling rock-god dreams, and both are good–so let’s take a look at what makes each game tick. But between Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero World Tour, there’s a bona fide battle of the bands going on as the holidays approach.

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