Falchion's Edge

I exhale in preparation as I await the next song in this 5 song set. Didn’t really pay attention as I was too busy trying to stave off the cramp that is starting in my fret hand from gripping the guitar controller too tightly while playing Fat Lip by Sum41. Had only recently started playing at the “Hard” difficulty level and was still getting used to the constant finger position shifting and greater output of notes that needs to be played.

I give a start as I hear the drummer count off the song with his sticks; that’s far faster than I’m expecting. I give a quick scan for the song’s title but it seems that I just missed it. Just my luck, the song opens with the lead guitar and the notes come rushing forth; like some invasion of M&M’s from hell. I easily miss the first 3 cords as I try to get my fingers in place, then the next 2 as, in my panic I overstrum. I get a break as the next section is just a constant series of the same cord which allows my finger to gather their bearings on the fret board. The first verse starts up and I finally recall the song, it’s a quick rock piece by The Donnas that I didn’t pay much attention to the first time around as I was too busy trying to unlock more songs. However it’s quite infectious and as the virtual crowd roars my use of the fabled Star Power, I can’t help but adopt the “Rock Stance”; legs apart, knees bend, rocked back on my heels and nodding the rhythm as I wail away at the solo.

My main musical background comes from drumming as somehow beating stuff with wooden sticks comes more naturally to me that cramping my fingers trying to hold down metal strings in strange and intricate patterns like some Mage conjuring a spell. But I have always longed to be able to guitar, like all the music stars and rockers do, up on stage with the screaming fans. But after awhile comes the realisation that it is not just about playing the guitar, but the act of it. To be standing almost at the edge of the crowd, the antics as one can jump and prance, free of the bronze and steel of the drum set.

Of course the problem is that it takes a degree of skill to reach that stage and well…the stage. But that all changes with Guitar Hero, a Playstation 2 game that lets you feel like a guitar playing rock star, without actually playing the guitar, just the feel of it. At first, Guitar Hero seems no different that all the rhythm based arcade games that we have seen in local arcades brought in from Japan. BeatMania, Dance Dance, that drumming game and of course Guitar Freaks which never caught on anywhere. It all changes in Guitar Hero because this time it is done by an American company that works towards capturing the whole experience of being a “Rock God” instead of just trying to simulate the instrument itself. The biggest difference is the use of actual classic rock songs as the game’s playlist instead of the unknowns one would usually get in the arcade games. Licensing details are worked around by using covers of the rock songs done by a hand-picked selection of studio musicians and most of the renditions are eerily like the originals. So you know some of these songs, you get to choose a character and pick out a guitar and the crowd roars and jeers based on your performance. All together, it gives a very veridical experience.

The final factor is of course the actual “playing” and in Guitar Hero, the 3/4 scaled down Gibson SG controller comes with 5 fret buttons, a strum-bar that works either direction and lastly a working whammy-bar that once again just adds to the whole feel while having actual gameplay significance. While 5 buttons may pale in comparison to the 6 strings of an actual instrument, it still accurately provides the illusion of playing one and the combinations of single and even double buttons actually does add up to a very challenging task especially as the difficulty level chosen gets higher. And here the difficulty actually adds to the over experience; there is few gather feelings than actually clearing a tough guitar solo after a few practise attempts. At the end you feel like you have actually accomplished something and in fact, as your fingers get smarter, you have.

I have used the word experience all throughout this post and frankly that’s the real bottom line. It’s fun because of the experience, it’s enjoyable being able to “play” along with some of your favourite rock tunes and it’s even captivating cheering on a friend as they are shredding it up. In that light I can’t wait for Guitar Hero 2 and it’s cooperation mode.

I have no doubt that once I get Guitar Hero 1 & 2, they would have been the biggest gaming expense that I have made, and I wouldn’t regret it one bit.

Remember to always turn it up to 11.