Guitar Hero
Mark MacLeod
I hadn't even heard of this game until somewhat recently, although it was released late last year, in November 2005. I heard about it from Matt, and the whole concept was something I found quite interesting.
Basically, Guitar Hero gives you the chance to jam to some of greatest rock songs in history. With it's unique guitar style controller, (complete with five colored fret buttons, strum bar and whammy bar) you can rest your air guitar, and get ready to rock like never before.
The soundtrack of over 30 songs includes songs made famous by: Red Hot Chili Peppers, David Bowie, Boston, Sum 41, Ozzy Osbourne, Audioslave, White Zombie, Franz Ferdinand, The Ramones, Megadeth, The Donnas, Bad Religion, The Exies, Pantera, Jimi Hendrix, Incubus, Joan Jett and The Blackhearts, Cream, Motorhead, Queen, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, ZZ Top, Burning Bridges, Helmet, Queens of The Stone Age, Blue Oyster Cult, Stevie Ray Vaughn, The Edgar Winter Group, as well as 17 bonus tracks from indie artists, including Zakk Wylde's Black Label Society. Pretty impressive.
An on screen guide shows you the notes to play, and you must hold the corresponding fret buttons, and strum when the notes on screen reach a certain point. Sound easy? It's trickier than it sounds, but it's very enjoyable, and highly addicitve.
You pass or fail a song depending on your accuracy. Miss too many notes in a row, and your "Rock Meter" will drop, the fans will begin to boo, and you'll have to start again. There's also a two player feature that pits you against one another to see who can hit the most notes and get a higher score. Dueling axes, if you will.
With four levels of difficulty, and such a large soundtrack, Guitar Hero has plenty of replay value. It's recieved a tremendous amount of great reviews, and mine is no exception. I suggest checking this one out for yourself.
A working man's working man, Mark is a jack of all trades. A food connoisseur of the highest regard, Mark is Modern Distraction's resident editor-in-chief and head of the graphics department. He lives in Westmount, Nova Scotia with his fiancee, Lisa