I have POD XT LIVE, and it?s great!! I never played with G8, but everyone always said to me that if you want DISTORTIONS, go with POD... it?s better, and I dont know about G8, but with POD you can download lots of things on the internet...
I recorded the first CD of my band with POD XT, u can hear it here:
http://www.heretodaygonetohell.com/board/index.php?topic=33071.0c-ya!