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24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Better songs, a shorter experience, March 8, 2007
Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars
Here's my take on Guitar Hero: it's a great game. The song choice is varied enough to appeal to almost anyone. In fact, I would say, in terms of song selection, this game's better than the sequel. A word on that: the songs are covered, not the original performers. The learning curve is relatively gradual, although there's a substantial increase in difficulty between medium and hard mode. But within each level of difficulty, the game does a good job of slowly increasing the complexity of how you're moving your fingers across the fretboard. The game also appeals to a wide variety of ability levels. Easy and medium modes are great for the casual player. Hard and extreme provide the expected levels of difficulty to players who want more out of the game. The unlockable extras (unlocked with in-game cash) were well done, as none of them affect gameplay itself, but rather provide additional content to players who "put in the time." This way, the game isn't turning away the less-addicted just because they didn't feel like getting carpal tunnel just to make a little extra game cash.
There are two factors that detract from the gaming experience: hammer-ons/pull-offs and the brevity of the game. Hammer-ons/pull-offs were greatly improved in the sequel, but they weren't quite as polished as they could have been for this entry. As a result, they can be tricky to do properly, and it doesn't feel like it would on a real guitar. And the game's not necessarily short, there are just less songs in a career than the sequel. One other point worth mentioning: the absence of a practice mode is also a drawback.
This is a great title for anyone who ever wanted to play guitar with a rockin' band, but hasn't yet devoted the time to learning how to play. If you've ever turned your stereo up and rocked out, this game's for you. If you've had a rough week and you just need to dance it out... go buy Dance Dance Revolution.
In short, it's a great game. It's a wonder no one thought of this sooner. It would have earned 5 stars if I had reviewed it BEFORE playing the sequel.
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12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Somewhat inferior to its sequel, but still well worth anyone's time, June 23, 2007
Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars
Perhaps that tired old adage from the dusty hallways of grade-school is right after-all: people just don't change. Arrogantly dismissive of video games since I reached the "age of reason," I figured myself immune forevermore to the siren song of electronic addiction. How naive I realized my self-perception to be only moments after booting up this game in order to "help my nephew play it." My blood-relation's cries of dismay ignored, my retina only able to perceive the hypnotic allure of colorful notes gracing the television, I soon found myself deep within the clutches of that most dangerous of love/hate relationships: I had become the Playpsycho.
Enter "Guitar Hero," Activision's port onto the PS2 which allows the user to rock out on tracks old and new via a single-"stringed," guitar-shaped controller. There are several play-modes available. Career mode allows the player to create a band-name, choose an avatar, and select an instrument. As the player advances--via increasing difficulty-levels and "song-tiers" mastered--the type of musical arena your avatar plays in progresses from basement dive to concert halls U2 would drool to play in. The career option allows--in higher difficulty levels--the possibility of actually earning a bit of loot for all that axe damage. This money can be spent, a la role-playing lite, in the "Unlock Shop." New "skins," instruments, hidden tracks, and even a couple of interesting avatars can be purchased there. There is a "quick play" mode which allows for "unlocked" tracks to be played at will. Finally, the last mode allows another guitar god to enter the venue, although (in THIS game--hint, hint) multiplayer doesn't augment this already stellar game much.
The songs are almost exclusively covers, but don't let that dissuade you. I am a huge "Boston" fan, and was almost embarrassed to the point of speechlessness when informed that Brad Delp was not actually singing those lyrics. They are incredibly convincing covers, almost without exception. Other represented songs include "Frankenstein," "Iron Man," "Symphony of Destruction," "Sharp Dressed Man," and many others. Younger fans may not appreciate the dearth of newer musical representation, but more recent titles in the series (again, hint, hint) address this oversight handily.
Play is accomplished in a manner similar to "Dance, Dance Revolution": a giant fret-board graces the center of the screen, and colored notes progress towards the player. A powerful motivator to hit correct notes is that the game will not play the guitar portion of the song if you mess up. Another (in career mode) is that you will be booed off-stage if you don't prove your guitar proficiency. The background action--although you'll never have time to appreciate it--is incredibly detailed and even quite funny. Band members run around on stage, match their digital finger-positions with actual notes, and alter their facial expressions to match how well a player is performing. Similarly, the audience will also respond to your skill, or lack of it. The guitar-controller is incredibly intuitive: you essentially have a one-string, five-fretted instrument. Believe me, five frets is more than enough of a challenge. The guitar includes a "whammy bar" and an orientation sensor, allowing one to tilt the controller to use one's accumulated "star power," maximizing the score and allowing the avatar to cavort around stage in ever more fanciful ways. You will probably master "easy" and "medium" relatively quickly; however the "hard" and "expert" levels will suffice to challenge even accomplished guitar-masters ("real" guitar-players).
A great game to play with a bunch of friends--actually, you could quite easily make a family night memorable beyond belief with this excellent game. I dare you: play this title in front of your crotchety old mom and dad, and just see if they resist playing! Have fun.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
This game is like crack!, December 25, 2006
Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars
Every time I saw this game in stores like Walmart or GameStop I thought what a stupid game. I picked it up an tried it without knowing what to do and was convinced it blew.
A friend got it and could not stop bragging about what a great game it was. I just laughed at him while he played and thought to myself he looks stupid but wow I love that song. He continued to play great song after great song. He told me to try it and despite my lack of coordination after being told how to play it was suprisingly fun.
I was told that the learning curve was pretty good and that if I played it for 12 hours straight I would get the hang of it.
We then proceded to play for at least 5 hours and I loved every minute of it.
I now own both versions of the game and 3 guitars.
One word of advise get a wireless guitar you will enjoy it more.
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