Who doesn't want to be a jukebox hero?
For all the guilty people out there that perform this awesomely bad action due to the lack of time or skill it takes to play a real guitar, Guitar Hero is the answer.
Simply pop in the game into the PlayStation 2, hook up the massive guitar controller that comes packaged with it, and be prepared to transform into a hip-swiveling, lip-snarling, duck-walking, behind-the-head guitar playing incarnate of a past Rock and Roll legend in a matter of seconds.
Speaking of the massive guitar controller, this irresistible piece of plastic is easily one of the coolest controllers ever produced for playing a video game with. On the neck of the guitar sits 5 colored buttons in a row which will be used to play the notes naturally. Moving down the neck of the guitar to the body is where the strum bar can be found. Pushing up or down on this gives the effect of “strumming” the strings of a real guitar.
One of the coolest, if not the most realistic, features of the guitar controller is without a doubt the whammy bar. This is found on the outside of the guitar body and can be used to bend notes to give gamers that authentic Rock and Roll wail.
Pardon the obvious Jack Black allusion, but usage of said whammy bar during a guitar solo will naturally “melt some faces.”
“Guitar Hero” is the type of game, much like Dance Dance Revolution, that is extremely easy to pick up and begin playing, but incredibly hard to master. During a song, a bar sectioned into 5 parts will float towards the gamer with colored buttons to press. These onscreen buttons not only correspond with the color of the buttons on the guitar controller, but also with the position.
For example, the green button will always be in the first section of the bar meaning that note should be played with the first finger of a hand: the index finger. The blue button will always come in the forth spot of the 5 sectioned bar, meaning it should be played with the forth finger: the pinkie. The trick with the fifth button, the orange one, is to just slide the pinkie finger down past the blue button to reach it.
While it may sound a bit difficult at first, the different difficulty levels will gradually train gamers to use all their fingers. For instance, the Easy difficulty will only use the first three buttons to get gamers warmed up to the concept. Then the Medium level will introduce the forth button, while the Hard level will introduce the last button. Finally the Expert level is putting to use all 5 buttons in an insanely expert manner.
The playlist of “Guitar Hero” is quite broad when it comes to types of rock. From Megadeth to Queen, Blue Oyster Cult to Queens of the Stone Age, it’s safe to assume that “Guitar Hero” has a little bit of something for everyone. It even has a wide selection of Indie music that can be unlocked upon completion of some of the more mainstream songs.
Along with these Indie songs, new characters, guitars, guitar skins, and behind-the-scenes game development videos can be unlocked upon completion of various songs. There is not a large amount of unlockable items, but it’ll hold most gamers over for awhile.
The only drawback to “Guitar Hero” is the slightly low amount of song choices and the lack of some really obvious songs that would have been a blast to play such as Led Zeppelin's “Stairway to Heaven,” Hendrix’s cover of “All Along the Watchtower,” or even Aerosmith’s “Dream On.” Yet the hope for future installments is enough for someone to overlook this grave injustice.
“Guitar Hero” is the quintessential party game for people looking to have a great time while playing, or in some cases attempting to play, some of the most influential songs in Rock and Roll history. The icing on this already tasty cake is the two-player mode, which allows two guitars to be hooked up and played for maximum rock-out ability.
So to all the gamers out there that find that practicing the air guitar isn’t quite as rewarding as first thought, maybe it’s about time to invest in the next best thing?