Guitar Hero
November 11,2005 - Back in the day a little game called PaRappa the Rapper came out and changed gaming forever.  Though it wasn’t the first “hit the button at the designated time” styled game, it was the pioneer game for the “rhythm” genre.  Since then we’ve seen many, many offshoots in the genre including dozens of mimicked Dance Dance Revolution games, Karaoke Revolution games, and other stranger games like Gitaroo-Man round off the genre.  The thing is, since PaRappa came out so long ago there still hasn’t been a game that took that original style and did something truly interesting with it.  That is until now since the makers of Amplitude are back with what is arguably the best rhythm game since PaRappa the Rapper came out.  Guitar Hero is the name, and shredding is the game.  There’s no doubt about it, Guitar Hero is one of the most interesting, fresh games to come out in years, even if it isn’t entirely flawless in its own right.

Streaming Video

C'mon dude, how can this game not interest you. Rock out.

Guitar Hero is a rhythm game that plays a lot like Amplitude, except in the way that it’s controlled.  The catch this time around is that you are actually given a scaled-down model of an electric guitar that works as your play tool.  As the button you’re supposed to press flies across the screen you pluck the string (or trigger) and place your finger on the correct button that would rightfully play the note you’re supposed to.  Surprisingly enough, the control is flawless.  Really, there’s absolutely no problems with how it controls, and considering it’s a side-addition peripheral, you’d definitely think there would at least be some problems with it.

All of the music in Guitar Hero is licensed.  There are a lot of songs when you think about it, but unfortunately the tracks wear thin after you’ve already beaten them a few times.  Some of the more notable ones are Boston’s “More Than a Feeling,” Megadeth’s, “Symphony of Destruction,” and Deep Purple’s, “Smoke on the Water.”  Beyond that, though, there are songs from The Ramones, Audioslave, Franz Ferdinand, Motorhead, and many others.  Though the tracks that are there are all good and gravy, it’s a little dishearting to see a guitar-based game with so few famous guitar-driven tracks.  Where’s Guns n’ Roses’ “Sweet Child O’ Mine”?  Where’s “Panama” by Van Halen?  There’s not even a single Led Zeppelin track on the whole game.  Oh well, at least Jimi is on there.

So basically, the way the game plays is you either go for career mode or you just pick a song to play and rack up some points.  You want to strike the notes at the designated time to play the song, otherwise the song actually tunes out the guitar and makes it really sound like you’re missing the note during your performance.  As you miss more and more notes your rocking meter eventually goes down and ultimately if you absolutely suck as a rock star and can’t keep the crowd going, you are booed off the stage and fail the song.  However, on the flip side, if you do really well you’ll eventually build up multipliers besides just having the crowd go wild for you, as you build up more and more your points will get higher and higher, and if you start to use the bar on the guitar controller, you do even better.  If you’re in the career mode, the better you do on a song will help you out through the game.

There are several different avatars to choose from in the game and also different guitar models (though your controller will remain the same).  Beyond that you can also choose your band name in your career mode so when you make the headlines after each song (usually just saying some clever little line with your score on the side) you can see it on there.  One of the best things about Guitar Hero is just the sheer style in it.  Everything from the controller layout with the stickers that are bundled in the package for you to put on and customize your guitar to the loading screens with little sayings that fit the scene like, “don’t trust your drummer with the money” or something along those lines just makes the game an absolute delight and breath of fresh air to play.

The game does offer a multiplayer mode, and that's where you'll get the most bang for your buck. Unfortunately, EB Games lists the controllers at $39.99 and they're nowhere to be seen in stores at the moment. This is a bummer considering this game really has the potential to be the ultimate party game. You can use the dual shock controller in place of the guitar, but the game really loses a lot of its luster that way. Because of the lack of the peripheral on store shelves, there's no way to accurately critique this aspect of the game.

Technically speaking in the graphical and audio department the game is pretty good, but it’s not going to blow you away.  Though the soundtrack is decent, it’s a little slim and that directly affects the gameplay and hurts the overall package, however, what’s there is absolutely awesome and fitting in every way.  The crowd noises are decent and the other sound effects in the game are also pretty good.  The visuals, on the other hand, are only decent.  The character models are certainly dated and the game itself doesn’t really go for that whole “graphically impressive” front of other games on the market.  Given its genre, it’s pretty much acceptable for something like that, but it would be nice to see maybe a bigger variety of locales to be playing in and some flashier effects when you hit a sweet note or go off on your solo in each of the songs.  You know, glam it up a bit, you’re supposed to be a rock star afterall.

When it comes down to it, Guitar Hero is probably the best rhythm game of this generation and one of the best in the genre since PaRappa the Rapper came out.  It doesn’t have the originality in its music that other games have had, but its control style and overall effect is far beyond what most people were expecting.  This game came under the radar and is an absolute must-own even at it’s $69.99 price tag.  It may not be perfect, but if you’ve ever wanted to rock out like a star and get better at those air guitar moves, there hasn’t ever been a better opportunity for it.  Guitar Hero is simply one of the most addictive and charming games of the year.

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