Hello Living Room! Are you Ready to Rock?!

Emblazoned on the back of Guitar Hero’s box is the statement “Kiss Your Air Guitar Goodbye!” and it could not be truer. With more than 30 licensed guitar-heavy tracks spanning more than four decades and a Gibson-styled guitar controller, your O2-brand Air Guitar will quickly be retired to the closet in your imagination.

Starting off as a guitarist in a fictional band, you play live shows starting in basements and eventually progressing to massive arenas, while acquiring new songs to play for the excited audiences. You also make money during your tours (though surprisingly little; there were shows I played where people got more bribe money than I did for playing a badass set). You can use your tour moneyto buy a new axe, songs from indie artists or even new characters. The songs and characters are extremely good extras and I plan on checking out some of the indie artists featured in the game.

Of course, the star of this game is the sound design and what a star it is. The tracks are covers of many famous guitar songs, and while they aren’t quite as good vocally as the originals, they are still the best covers of any songs I’ve ever heard. Additionally, the sheer number of songs in the game is commendable. While I would have liked some AC/DC or Led Zeppelin, I think Jimi and The Ramones make up for it. Be careful when you’re playing though, as you will definitely be tempted to turn the volume to full as you play “Frankenstein”, which could annoy your neighbors.

The other truly impressive aspect of this game is the control. Red Octane’s guitar controller makes the game all the more fun and really makes you feel like you’re a rocker. The controller has five fret buttons on the neck, a strum bar and a whammy bar. To play, you hold the fret buttons that correspond to the on-screen colors and hit the strum bar. With long notes you can add distortion effects with the whammy bar. The controller also has a motion sensor which triggers “Star Power,” a mode that increases your score multiplier when you make the guitar totally vertical.

The controller is not as large as a regular guitar and definitely not as heavy, but it has enough heft to it to make you feel like it’s not a toy. The PS2 controller can also be used for playing but the game loses a ton of its coolness without the guitar.

Guitar Hero’s graphics are decent but not nearly as impressive as the sound. However they are not bad by any means, and when you’re rocking out, you’ll be much more focused on the notes instead of the arena or the crowd. The character models are also decent, though a create-a-character option would have been nice. The end of a set also brings about a cool scene where your character acknowledges the crowd with a wave, a guitar-smashing, or the occasional guitar cremation.

Guitar Hero is the greatest music game ever created. Never have I played a music title that drew me in so much. During and after every song you feel like you’ve done something truly special. Even watching the game is awesome; you’ll pull out your lighter and scream for an encore when your friends play exceptionally well. If you’ve ever whipped out an air guitar you need this game.

Graphics: 8/10
Sound: 10/10
Control: 9/10
Gameplay: 10/10
Overall: 9.25/10

Hello Living Room! Are you Ready to Rock?!