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Guitar Hero
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Graphics & Sound:
C'mon, I know you do it, I've seen you -- each and every one of you. You don't think anyone is watching and think that your secret is safely hidden, but it's not. Every single one of you has done it at least once, whether you admit it or not. Just come out and say it, you like to air guitar to songs on the radio. At any given time on any day, you can look into a nearby car and see someone strumming the air in front of them as their favorite song plays on the radio. While few of us were actually born with the talent to play the real thing, just about everyone wishes they could play their favorite song on the guitar. Sure, we could always take lessons and dedicate years of our time to learning, but that takes too long and frankly, its just too much work...
Guitar Hero is a game for the millions of you who feel this way. Though it is not the instant, "I know Kung Fu" information upload most of us desire, Guitar Hero goes a long way towards making you feel like a rock star.
Music is the focal point in Guitar Hero, so you better believe that it is one of the areas that recieved the most attention. While none of the songs present in the game, which span classic standards like Ozzy Osbourne's "Iron Man" and David Bowie’s “Ziggy Stardust”, to modern songs like Sum 41’s “Fat Lip” and Franz Ferdinand's "Take Me Out" are the original recordings, they are really well done and are almost indistinguishable from the original recordings. The track list included is rather impressive and gives you a long list of songs to rock out to. Granted, the list isn't going to impress everyone, and there are sure to be complaints from people about songs that are missing (for example, I could have done with a Van Halen tune or two, or maybe even some Santana), but there's just no pleasing everyone.
Graphics aren't as important in Guitar Hero, though Harmonix has taken the extra steps anyway to make the game look great. Character models of your band and the crowd have an over-exaggerated feel to them similar to the singers found in Karaoke Revolution. You'll also see various venues to play in, including dirty biker bars and large arenas complete with large, inflatable creatures in the backdrop. It is unlikely that you'll notice much, if any, of the background details since you'll be so busy keeping up with the notes that come flying at you during songs. |
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Gameplay:
Guitar Hero is an extension of Frequency or Amplitude; so if you've played either of those two games, you should immediately grasp the concept. At the start of a song, a long guitar neck comes towards you. As the song plays, notes will appear on the neck and once they reach the apex, you strum to the beat and press the corresponding fret button on the controller. Some times you'll even have to hold buttons, at which point you can wiggle the whammy bar for added effect and bigger points. The more difficult the song, the quicker and more numerous the notes -- sometimes requiring you to hit two notes at once or quickly jump between notes with almost no time between.
At times, you'll also build up Star Power, a meter that gives you extra points for rocking out. Star Power is earned by hitting star-shaped notes that will pop up every few bars. Once the meter builds up, you can activate Star Power by standing the controller upright and going to town. By doing so, your score increases. The inclusion of Star Power also adds strategy to the game since you'll have to decide when to use it in order to boost your score and the crowd.
Career mode is Guitar Hero's main mode and is where you will unlock most, if not all of the songs included in the game. Each section in Career mode documents your band's rise to fame beginning in small venues to massive arena shows. Progressing in arena shows requires that you keep the crowd happy, which is monitored by a small gauge in the right hand corner. Keeping the crowd happy depends more on how well you strum rather than hitting all the correct notes -- giving you some leeway when you are just starting and trying to learn the song. A decent tutorial is available to help you learn what's going on, but this is no replacement for a true Practice mode, which is one of the few elements missing from the game. Each venue features five songs and requires that you complete at least four before moving on. As you make your progress towards super stardom, you'll also earn money, which is used to purchase new songs, characters and even guitars. Purchased songs can then be played in Quick Play mode.
Part of what makes rhythm games so much fun is playing them with friends. Most of the time you can have hours of fun by taking turns watching each other make jackasses of yourself, but there are times where you just want to get competitive. Multiplayer is reasonably well done in Guitar Hero, but is dampened by one major oversight. Currently the only way to get a guitar controller is to buy the game, so in order to get the full multiplayer experience, you'll either have to buy two copies of the game or convince someone else to buy a copy as well. It is a shame that additional guitar controllers aren't readily available since Guitar Hero could easily become a staple at most parties.
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Difficulty:
Career mode not only builds up a "story" basis for progression, but it also sets up the game's learning curve. Things start off with easier songs that help to break you into the basic mechanics of the game. Eventually, the songs will introduce new elements like holding notes, multiple frets and quicker movements between notes. Five difficulty settings are also available. Starting on Easy, you'll only have to worry about the first three buttons on the controller. Stepping up to Medium brings in a fourth button and so on until you eventually have to slide up and down the neck using all five buttons. As expected, Expert mode is extremely difficult, especially when you have to hit the guitar solos, and requires a combination of concentration and the reflexes of a ninja trained in the ways of the Jedi.
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Game Mechanics:
The one thing about Guitar Hero that is likely to have everyone talking (and wanting to try out the game) is the special controller required to play it. As you would expect, the controller is shaped like a guitar, albeit a slightly smaller one. Five colored buttons are on the neck of the controller while a small flipper is attached to the base. The five buttons make up the frets that you'll use while playing and the flipper is used to "strum" along with the notes. Learning to use the frets and flipper together are part of the challenge in Guitar Hero. You'll have to hit the flipper for every note that comes along. For those, like myself, who are used to Frequency (and Amplitude) using the two in conjunction is tricky since instinct tells you to just hit the buttons when the notes come up, so you'll have to train yourself to hit the flipper as well. The controller is well made and solid, so it can take some abuse as long as you don't get carried away and smash it into your speakers or light it on fire.
Guitar Hero isn't the most complex game on the market, but its still loads of fun, which is what really matters in a game like this. If you're a fan of rhythm games or always wanted to be a rock star, Guitar Hero is a must buy for your collection.
Editor's Note: We brought this game to a big party filled with rhythm game enthusiasts. Karaoke Revolution Party was currently being played and we popped in Guitar Hero. All of a sudden, all the guys who were too shy to sing Karaoke Revolution Party in front of the crowd swarmed the room when that shiny, guitar-shaped controller was pulled out. We had guys who play guitar and bass in real life try it out, along with closet air guitarists. Those that play guitar found the easier modes really hard because there wasn't a lot of strumming involved and they couldn't quite get the groove, however the bass players loved it, along with those who had never played in real life. Eventually, someone wanted to try on the harder modes, just to see how many crazy beats appeared, and the guitar players found that to be much easier. Overall, Guitar Hero is a tremendous crowd pleaser and lots of fun in a group or solo. |
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-Starscream, GameVortex Communications AKA Ricky Tucker |
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