I also couldn’t refuse Guitar Hero 3 with a wireless guitar for $74. Possibly not the best course of action for someone trying to pay off a credit card, but I felt like the gods of Buying Day were smiling on me when I got home and found the Halo 3 theme free to download for GH3.

1. The band you are in does not change depending on the band leader. You have a specific band which you choose from a list.

2. Being in a band is more meaningful than some different words on banners in the animated backdrops. You have fans, you have vehicles, you earn your money together, you unlock things specific to your band.

3. Downloaded songs turn up while you’re playing sets in band mode (and probably, solo mode, I just can’t verify that yet). Compare and contrast to the Guitar Hero World Tour method, where they languish in the background, only available in custom sets.

4. The interface: it’s prettier, which is subjective, and faster, which is not. Much quicker load times and such.

5. The songs. This is key really. There’s a far better selection of music. I guess this is subjective too, but let’s put it simply: Rock Band has Radiohead and GHWT does not. Or, if we compare band-specific releases, Rock Band has the fricking Beatles and Guitar Hero has Aerosmith.

And now, one way in which Guitar Hero World Tour kicks Rock Band‘s arse:

1. Hitting the hi-hat and cymbal at the same time is a more satisfying way to activate star-energy-power-thing than waiting for specific phrases to turn up.