This game hooks musically-challenged player
Guitar Hero II
I am not a musically skilled person.
I attempted to sing once when I was 6 and villagers appeared from nowhere with pitchforks and torches in an effort to stop me. I played saxophone in high school and was informed that I was hurting the instrument. I have less rhythm than a politician. Due to this lifelong negative reinforcement, I have avoided instruments and games that have required me to have some middling musical skill. When Guitar Hero II first starting getting big (big = sold-out absolutely everywhere) I was not interested; the game was obviously not for me.
I started to take an interest when several people I know started to rave about how great the game was. They stressed that you didn’t need musical knowledge to play it, you just needed good reflexes. The songs included with the game were all well-known hits; you wouldn’t be subjected to third-rate artists posing as rock gods and goddesses. My friends, Kalka and Noble, starting talking about playing the game as if they were holding concerts in their living rooms. I finally decided to try the game out.
For those who have not had the opportunity to play it, Guitar Hero II is a game where you get to be a rock star, at least for a while. It comes with a guitar-shaped controller, complete with fret buttons and a whammy bar. The basic concept of the game is simple: hit the musical notes as they come up on screen. The more notes that you hit correctly, the higher your score will be.
Hitting the notes, however, can be fairly challenging. The basic screen has your point of view looking up the neck of a guitar. Notes scroll down on different frets. In order to hit a note you have to hold down the proper fret (one of 5) and strum the guitar through the use of a strum switch.
Time it right and you’ve hit a note in the song... now you just have to hit the other 400 or so notes!
On easy difficulty, you are only dealing with three frets and you usually have a second or so between notes. On hard difficulty, your fingers will be flying across the guitar in a frenzied effort to keep up with notes hurtling down across five frets.
The music included with the game is awesome. Listening to Nirvana’s Heart Shaped Box or Danzig’s Mother really helps the time go by. If you ever got tired of the excellent music included with the game, then you could purchase some more tracks from the XBOX-LIVE Marketplace.
When I first picked up the guitar it was just going to be for 15 minutes to check out the game. Three hours later, I set the guitar down. I must admit that I probably looked like a moron sitting there rocking out with a toy guitar strapped to my chest. But the game is fun, fast paced and addictive.
It is truly a great game... as long as you can deal with the $100 charge for the game and controller. Is it worth the price? I think so.
About Rob Michael: Now that Rob has become an accomplished guitarist, he is convinced that groupies will start showing up. So far his dog is the only one that will stay in the room with him when he’s playing... oh well, it’s a start! Want to be a groupie and worship Rob? E-mail Rob at rmichael2@sympatico.ca and tell him what would make you a great Guitar Hero II groupie.