Be a guitar hero

My friend and Crashpod occupant Jason stopped by with Guitar Hero for the Playstation 2 last week so I could try it out. I only had about two hours before I had to leave for work and I can say truthfully Crashpod readers, that I was late that day. This game is so completely rockin’ that I couldn’t put it down!

First off, the controller is a guitar that you wear and play in time to what is happening on screen. What you see is your character on stage plaing a show with an advancing fretboard superimposed. The goal is to play the right chords in time with the signals the fretboard gives you. The better you do, the higher score you will earn and the more the crowd will go nuts. The worse you do, the more the crowd will turn on you and the worse the song will sound. A great element they added that similar rhythm games don’t have is “star power.” At certain points in each song, the chords that you need to play will appear as stars on the screen. Hit these correctly and you will raise your “star power meter.” When activated, star power will multiply your score earning power and really make things on screen go nuts. How do you activate it? Well by tilting the guitar back and really rocking out of course! The campaign mode is brilliantly conceived, starting you out playing basement shows and eventually working your way up to the local club, larger halls etc.

The game also includes a multiplayer mode that will allow you and a friend to play the songs together and trade solos on and off. I didn’t get a chance to try this mode but it is getting great reviews from major game sites. Unfortunately for the time being, the only way to get another guitar is to buy another kit, game included. But you do have the (somewhat lame) option of just plugging in a PS2 controller and playing along that way.

The developers did a great job with the guitar design, it has a rocker switch to simulate strumming and five different colored buttons on the fret board that you use to play chords. Since you will be playing some classic guitar rock songs (and solos) they made sure to include the whammy bar in hopes that it will get a lot of use. Oh boy does it. This product has a lot of potential for an after-the-bar party tool. Unlike home karaoke, people don’t really have to put their pride on the line when they strap up an axe and start rocking out to “Smoke on the Water,” or “Ironman!”

Sadly, my PS2 has been on its deathbed for some time now so it made playing the game for an extended period pretty difficult. From what I’ve seen during that short demo though, I will be purchasing a brand new PS2 and Guitar Heroes as soon as possible!