Easy to learn, hard to put down
I stepped closer to see WTF he was doing...
White Zombie was blaring out the speakers of the TV, but not the video. It was Guitar Hero, a loudly engrossing rhythm game that advertises, "Kiss your air guitar goodbye."
I watched the player do what he was doing. It reminded me of DDR in format, but this is for those whol like to rock out rather than dance around!
He asked if I wanted to try. I took the controller guitar,a nd chose Iron Man made famous by Black Sabbath. One of the greatest songs to come out of any era with it's mystifying, unmistakeable guitar licks and riffs. I was playing it on a video game on the easy setting.
I imagined myself in the 70's and blacklites and lava lamps using the whammy bar on the very first note. The notes came down that path. I needed no cue on when the note would be played...
This is my song!
Needless to say, it hooked me on that first song.
The play is very easy to pick up for first timers. It helps if you have a bit of rhythm, but just bang your head to the beat, and you'll be all right!
As the songs progress, so does the difficulty in career mode. You'll have to do this in order to unlock all the songs. A fav of mine is Cowboys from Hell made famous by Pantera. The cover of this song is almost and exact copy! I thought I was Dimebag Darryl (RIP) along side Phil and co.
Gameplay can get harder if you choose! It has 4 settings of Easy, Medium, Hard, and (whoa) Expert. First timers stay away from expert because it will kick your A$$!!! Practice make experts.
A cool feature are the unlockables. From indy songs to characters...LIKE THE GRIM (flippin') REAPER!!!! Save your earnings (in career mode) and get him! I don't know how other characters end the game in career mode, but Grimmy does some cool stuff! I cranked up my home theater to hear everything!
My only gripe is the limited amount of songs. No Metallica, no Iron Maiden, no Godsmack, only one Jimi Hendrix, and how about some REAL guitar stuff...like from Joe Satriani or Eric Johnson or Stevie Ray Vaughn?
I can smell Guitar Hero 2!
All in all, I bought the PS2 just to play this game. Nothing more because I'm a big PC gamer, but because I now have the PS2, I'm looking at all the games my brother has, and looking to buy!
The game was a bit hard to get during the Xmas season...sold out everywhere. I went to the source at Red Octane for the retail cost (stay away from eBay), and they shipped it right away, and I got it in 2 days!
This game with catch you with a familiar hook, then reel you in with it's fun factor! Red Octane has difinitely got a winner!