As fulsome stated in the earlier post, Friday's are all about music. While he tends to view music as artsy fartsy indie rock jazz electro-fusion junk, I tend to go right to rock (be it commercial, classic, or generic -- perhaps mixed with some lame white people rapping -- I can't help it, I like it.). There's nothing like a crazy guitar solo to kick things up a level.

For people like me, Red Octane's PS2 game Guitar Hero is friggin' sweet. It's got 25 classic (and newer) rock songs and an exciting guitar shaped controller. As any one of the reviews you can find online will tell you, it's a lot of fun.

What they don't explain is how pissed you'll be to find out that your air guitar skills do not directly translate. Wait, not only do they not directly translate but you'll get frustrated at how completely useless your pinky finger is. For me the hardest part is starting to use each of my fingers independently in a videogame. I mean, usually it's just thumbs, but for this one I have to strum with my right and then press a different button with each of the fingers on my hand. It's harder than you think.

Still, I managed to beat the game in easy mode last night. But that's ok because easy mode, well, easy. I played a little more on medium and that's harder (in easy mode you only use 3 of the 5 buttons on the guitar neck) but I still haven't gotten to a song that I couldn't beat on the first try (although some of them are a little annoying).

I really can't wait to see this as a next-gen game though. I think the true greatness of it would be the ability to download new songs, or even better, to allow people to make their own songs and put them online for Guitar Hero download.

Still, for a guitar-based rhythm game it does what it's supposed to. It gives you the illusion that you're rocking out (and helps you feel a little ridiculous while doing it).

Red Octane has already announced Guitar Hero II so at least I'll be sure to get a little more use out of this Playskool guitar controller I've got now. Although perhaps for Guitar Hero II I'll get a second guitar controller and guitar solo duels will be the name of the game. If only there were online play!

Anyway, that's it for now. I'll be playing it more this weekend and will probably give another update sometime next week.

In the meantime, Cardinals-Cubs game on WGN tonight (at new Busch Stadium III). 8PM EDT, watch it!

At 4/21/2006 4:08 PM,  fulsome said...

They actually expect you to play the guitar? I just want to strum wildly!

 

At 4/21/2006 5:45 PM,  dontEATnachos said...

yeah, but it's fun. I played for a couple hours (beat it on medium) and apparently there were 5 new songs.

5 new songs on medium that were nearly impossible. I had to quit playing because my hands were too tired.

Maybe more this evening though ...

 

At 4/23/2006 11:39 AM,  Chuckles said...

And all I get to do is move stuff around my apartment and play Brothers In Arms: Earned In Blood.

I am through normal difficulty and into the third mission on difficult. The German troops are a lot more accurate in this level. The last mission involved flanking some bitches while they had friends drop mortars all around you. The enemy was impressive in normal and is downright hard in this level. They redploy more effectively and were annoying with calling in the mortars.

The game needs a graphics patch, but is pretty solid.

 

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