I bought the Xbox360 version, since I already had this system and didn't want to buy a PS3.  I guess I will hit up GoldfishX for some jam sessions.

GoldfishX, I just tried to add you to my Xbox friends list.  Keep an eye for it.  Gamertag: ClowWizardEriol

this is one of the best games to come out during last few years,
been  playing it pretty much couple of times a week since november(launch date) on drums.
few days ago beat blackened on expert drums(currently 157/158 songs beaten, oh blinded by fear by at the gates but it's just matter of time),
and about months ago started playing guitar on expert(finished green grass & high tides yesterday, and thus my guitar solo career got beat as well).
bought every single dlc there is(granted which is coming to nearly $200), but it's totally worth it.
next week - one of my favorites ~ clash's train in vain, yeah!
love this game.

Blackened and Ride the Lightning on expert is damn hard. I haven't been able to complete either. I can, however, do Enter Sandman and ... And Justice For All.

Hey GoldfishX.  Have you been on your Xbox360 recently?  My request to you is still pending.

Will check for it in a few...I haven't been on recently. I do have to say though, if you're doing vocals or guitar, the game is just not worth playing alone. Drums, it seems like you're always doing something. Guitar parts are either a cakewalk compared to GH (even 2 or 80's, which were nothing compared to 3) or difficult in the stupidest ways (solos that repeat the same three notes ad nauseum, riffs that keep repeating and suck to play in the first place, the fact that the RB guitar controller is total ass and I can't wait for the Aerosmith bundle so I can give my Fender clone the Jimi Hendrix treatment!). I really can't believe the quality of the notecharts could have dipped so much. Number of the Beast is actually worse here compared to GH3 and I didn't think that was possible. Vocals...I dunno some songs are fun (oddly, the same songs I hate the guitar parts for...hmmm), but then you consider how many parts in a lot of songs where there just isn't anything to sing.

Stephen, hope you've bought the Metallica, Priest, Police and Boston packs. ;p

I have to resend the Xbox Live friend request again.  For some reason, it said you were last on May 12, but you didn't accept the friend code.  Does it notify you if somebody is trying to put you on their friends list, or do you have to check your friends list?  And it's "GF from Hell" right?

As for the guitar parts, the last game I played was GH2.  I don't mind the guitar charts in RB, since I'm not hardcore about it.  Some have said GH3's notes are hard for their own sake and don't seem to fit the music as well.  The quality of the guitar parts in RB vs. GH3 is argued quite a bit.

As for the guitar, I think I prefer the "click" strum of the GH guitar.  I was thinking of getting a GH controller, since on the Xbox 360, they all work.

I have the Metallica songs, Iron Maiden, and all but one Police song.

How does RB work over Xbox Live?

RB is a totally different animal in multiplayer. You accumulate points and bonuses as a whole band, so the pressure is on to NOT screw up and you want to try to activate overdrive when everyone else does. Since I mostly do the guitar parts, I got to see some sick drummers out there...Expert and rarely missing less than 98%. I hover around 70-80% on medium! No vocalists yet though. Not one.

Will look for the request tonight. I never declined it or anything...I think maybe I booted up the game before and forgot to look?

I would say the notes in GH2 were JUST right. There's maybe a handful of songs I don't enjoy doing. 3 seems to enjoy being a bitch just for the sake of being a bitch most of the time, but I'd much rather have the higher, yet inflated difficulty and slightly less retarded solos. Just hoping for a GH IV tracklist that is more balanced and less "lol modern rokk".

As for the controller...If I get a webcam or something, first thing I'm doing with it is an Angry Videogame Nerd-style review on the RB guitar. The thing is definitely worthy. If we hook up online and you start wondering how I manage to miss easy strings of notes...There's your answer!

Hi GoldfishX,
Sorry, I meant to ask how players connect to RB.  When I was looking at the multiplayer mode, it did not differentiate between local multiplayer and Xbox Live multiplayer.

It's good to know that vocalists are not popular.  My wife can do that. :-)

I hate note charts that don't seem to follow the musical beats very well.  I've seen people play GH3 on Expert, and some of the note charts do look artificial than natural when I listened to the music.  So, even though RB has easier notes, I think it feels more natural.  I think RB's guitar is a bit easier to allow the player to "air guitar."  If the difficulty is too high, the player is too busy looking at the screen than rocking out.

I played the guitar solo tour on medium, and I do notice that on some songs, the Fender guitar strum has trouble hitting those long note streaks, even when I strum up and down.  Thus, I totally agree with you that the RB guitar is not built well.

EDIT: Using xbox.com, I sent a friend request to you.  See if you pick it up on your friends list.  I have not subscribed to Xbox Live Gold yet, so I wonder if that might be why you can't see my request.

You select multiplayer, then local...I don't think it differentiates between people hooked in and online players. The game selects a leader, who controls what song is played. Then you play until people start quitting (the leader can also boot players!). Don't know if you can play VS yet...Haven't messed around enough on it.

RB still has the issue that easy/medium GH charts do, except the issue is on expert (you play one note and you HEAR more than one note...Detroit Rock City immediately comes to mind, as there hardly any notes to play in it on expert!) But it's odd, seeing that, then how drums plaster you with notes even on easy in comparison!

I'll try sending you one...Live Gold might be needed.

Ok, I have some other people on my Xbox Live friend list for Phantasy Star Universe (which is separate from Xbox Live's fee), so I don't think Gold is needed just to get on the friends list.  So, try sending a friend request to my Gamertag.  I'll check tonight on my console.  Obviously, I'll need to pay for a Live subscription to play with others, but I just want to see if I can add more people to my friends list first.

Thanks for the explanation of how RB multiplayer works.  It is interesting to hear that even on expert you hear guitar notes that are not played.  I would have thought expert would be a 1-to-1 with the guitar notes.

GoldfishX, you are on my Xbox 360 friends list now.