For me, Guitar Rising looked cool at first, but then I realized that I'm already 'playing' Guitar Pro and Power Tabs. I'm probably weird but I like playing along with those programs. The midi sound isn't that bad, and if u play around with RSE it can probably sound decent.

As for Guitar Hero...I love it. Along with other rhythm games like Frequency, Amplitude, Beatmania, etc. I think the best thing that differs from playing a real instrument is competition. Beating ppl in VS and trash talking is alot of fun. But if you're playing a real instrument better than someone and talking down on them, it just makes you a jack***.