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"  SANTA MONICA, Calif. \u2014 The battle of the bands is on, and, wow, did it knock us out. In an E3 gaming expo already overshadowed by the mass-appeal, game-changing control functionality of the Nintendo Wii, two new air-guitar simulators\u2014and absolutely bitter rivals\u2014stole the show. Halo, be gone: Guitar Hero III and especially the much anticipated Rock Band (our favorite game at E3) might just represent the future of gaming, if you can even call it that anymore. Check out this hands-on, dueling jam session video, then get our full breakdown below... After the runaway success of the first two titles in the Guitar Hero series\u2014nerds wanted a whole lot more than air-guitar stardom, it turned out\u2014developer Harmonix broke up with its best-seller, taking with it the software patents for its five-button note patterns based on classic rock songs. Activision, of Call of Duty fame, brought in Tony Hawk developer Neversoft to try and salvage Guitar Hero III for a showdown this holiday season with the much grander plan over at Harmonix for Rock Band\u2014a revolutionary multiplayer experience incorporating not only guitar and bass but electronic drums and karaoke-style vocals. The rebellion paid off: After four songs worth of hands-on action with each of the competitors, it looks like Rock Band might just be the most fun game on the planet, while Guitar Hero III is just playing catch-up, to an almost pathetic degree. Despite its long load time, Rock Band had us dropping any stage fright at the EA demo room before the first verse of David Bowie&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;Suffragette City&amp;quot; was even over. We went into our demo expecting a bit of clutter on screen and on stage (the drums and mic don&amp;#039;t come wireless), plus plenty of confusion over the new devices. But we picked it up in no time.  The karaoke guide tracks horizontally on top of the screen above the Guitar Hero-esque swimming frets for guitar, bass and drums, with a pitch meter similar to SingStar encouraging you to hit those long notes (except the awkward vocal solo, which gets you big points but go on for way too long). But Rock Band lets a prospective lead singer have as much of center stage as he wants; volume control can let you belt it out or let Ozzy Osbourne seep through, while a kick-ass, loud chorus can bring lackluster bandmates back from the dead. Rock Band&amp;#039;s five-part drum kit (four color-coded electronic pads and a bass kick) could have been a disaster soaked in clumsiness. This is no gimmick, though: You&amp;#039;re driving the beat with a quick study of an interface\u2014and learning the drums (with plenty of freedom to solo) at the same time. As Harmonix CEO Alex Rigopolous told us, this isn&amp;#039;t really supposed to be a game so much as a chance for people to play music. A drummer himself, Rigopolous assured us that Rock Band&amp;#039;s awesome group fever works just as well without the drum set, rumored to be an $80 accessory. Indeed, even the guitar play is a major step up from the Guitar Hero series. With more tactile buttons incorporated high (for chords) and low (for solos) into the fret board and the color keys hidden on top of the neck, Rock Band&amp;#039;s Fender guitar just doesn&amp;#039;t feel like a toy anymore. No, we felt like Marty McFly gaining his strength back for &amp;quot;Johnny B. Goode&amp;quot; at the Hill Valley prom, and a fully functioning effects switch next to the whammy bar will only help. The new, heavier Les Paul guitars on Guitar Hero III felt great, too, but we couldn&amp;#039;t help but notice that the gameplay just felt like another sequel\u2014only with better songs. It&amp;#039;s still incredibly fun, with better animation for characters, lighting and the Star Power meter, and its inevitably lower price than Rock Band makes Guitar Hero III just as seductively rock &amp;#039;n&amp;#039; roll as its predecessors.  But we knew something was off when the biggest upgrades Activision could claim were wireless guitars, rounded buttons and a better battle mode (which is actually pretty annoying when you have to tap a button for a broken string or harass the whammy to stop your amp from shaking.&amp;quot; One of the Neversoft&amp;#039;s lead designers told us that the company&amp;#039;s objective was to copy Guitar Hero II and improve it\u2014fast. &amp;quot;I think we&amp;#039;ve made a great Guitar Hero game,&amp;quot; he said, and that&amp;#039;s impressive, considering they had to rebuild something from scratch. Simply put, this game got the rug pulled out from underneath it. Besides pricing, the real battle of the bands will go down online. With both games featuring the majority of its songs as real masters (and it&amp;#039;s a lot easier to get into playing backup for Mick Jagger than for a corny cover band), how each builds up its already expanded library across Xbox Live and the Playstation Network (Guitar Hero III will also be available on Wii) could prove Rock Band a novelty act. Guitar Hero III will feature over 70 songs at launch\u201430 more than its rival\u2014but Rock Band has already announced it will feature new downloadable content every week. And with Rigopolous stressing how badly he wants up-and-coming indie bands to submit their masters\u2014and how bands are dying to hand them over\u2014it&amp;#039;s looking more and more like Rock Band could become a revolution threatening to knock out Guitar Hero III, sure, but also leaving karaoke bars, record labels and social networking in its trail of sweaty, head-banging sweetness. \u2014Matt Sullivan  RELATED STORIES \u2022 PLUS: Rock Band Tops Halo 3 for Best Game at E3  \u2022 VIDEO UPDATE: Bon Jovi Cover Band Tests Rock Band  \u2022 HANDS-ON REVIEW: GH III Brings New Songs, Same Pop  \u2022 MAKER FAIRE: Geek Builds Free, Open-Source Rock Band Mod  \u2022 COMPLETE COVERAGE: All of PM&amp;#039;s Expert Gaming Analysis    "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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