If you're trying to be a rock God resting your talent within your
sound then no, the things won't do at all because you lose some of
the nuance that makes the very best of guitar. On the other hand, if
you are mixing guitar as part of the total sound and vocals are out
front, or if you are doing sound track or commercial work then
something like the Pod is a true God send.

I am not a great guitarist by any means and my time in for finding a
sound is quite low. I can get what I need fast but getting something
that stands out amongst the mass of other guitar sounds is something
few of us can really do. That is where the Pod steps in. You can dial
in a sound that is good enough for most things in a flat instance and
move on.

I have a Pod 2.0 that does all I need it to do. I also have a J station
that I don't like as much and a v-amp that is also good but not as
good as the Pod. I have used the amp farm plug in with less luck and I
have used the a line6 amp with modeling that was great. So, I conclude
that Line6 stuff is a few steps ahead of most of that line of toys but
you can see the limit to my comparison.

Original Pods are cheap on ebay and durable so a used one is probably
safe. For the price of about $100 ish it is certainly worth having one
around to play with.