The incorporation of the Star Power element was a stroke of genius. By forcing people to use the whammy bar and briefly hold their guitar upright, it basically encourages showboating. This is one of the things that makes Guitar Hero an amazing party game.
The other cool thing about multiplayer is the fact that each of the two duelling guitarists plays different parts of the same song, sometimes trading licks and soloing back and forth. It calls for some serious back-to-back rock poses.
The difficulty levels in the game are well-balanced, and Guitar Hero does a good job of progressing from the tutorial through to the harder songs. Even at the beginner level it's not ridiculously easy, although it's still something anyone can pick up with a little practice. The Hard and Expert levels get pretty insane though, leaving the hardcore guitar heroes with plenty to work towards.
In the career mode you work your way through sets of songs and move up to bigger venues as you strive to achieve the pinnacle of stardom. You earn money for each performance, which you can use to unlock extra goodies that include behind the scenes videos, new guitars, new characters and new playable songs. None of the new playable songs are really anything noteworthy... mostly coming from unsigned indie bands, although Freezepop do make an appearance. It just wouldn't be a rhythm game on the PS2 without them!
Guitar Hero is an experience like nothing you've ever played before and one of the most addictive games of the year. If you're a fan of rock music, you will love it. The only drawback is the extra cost of the controller (the game package itself will run you about $80), but if you can afford it you will not regret the purchase. I'm already thinking about all the great things they could put into a sequel. Guitar Hero officially owns my soul... soon it will own yours too.
This review is also available at Space Junk.
Guitar Hero is a rated T (Teen) by the ESRB for Mild Lyrics.
(***** out of *****)
Article comments