I'm "Infected" by Guitar Hero
Posted by Ramon G. McLeod | Monday, April 10, 2006 10:42 PM PT
My colleague Andy Brandt will be saying a lot more about this incredible game, perhaps the most addictive I ever tried. To be quite frank, I have NEVER run into a game that Gen N'ers, Xer's and Boomers ALL love so much. When you've got something that appeals to an 18-year-old and a 50-year-old, both of them arguing over who gets to play it next, you got a winner.
Have you ever played "air guitar"? Admit it, you have. And that's what
Guitar Hero is about...sort of. This is an $80 PlayStation 2 game that comes with a roughly two-thirds size guitar with five fret keys, a strum bar, and a "whammy" bar. Plenty of
game sites have reviewed this puppy, which came out just before Christmas, and we're considering it as part of our World Class awards for 2006.
It includes covers of famous songs from 30 different artists ranging from Hendrix, Clapton, and Stevie Ray, to Pantera, Bad Religion, Pantera, and MegaDeath, plus 17 originals from Indie performers.
This game is sorta similar to Konami's Guitar Freaks arcade game, except of course, you can do it at home.
What's impressive, at least to me, about this game, is that women seem to love it as much as men. And I mean women of all ages. Both my wife, and our best female friend, are Boomer gen ladies and they figured out how to play faster than their husbands. Women in their 20s and 30s seem to find it hard to put down as well, including many in our office here.
We're going to have a lot more to say about this game, but it's very clearly a phenomenon. Watch for more on it from Andy, but in the meantime, if you've tried GH, I'd love to hear your thoughts.
BTW: "Infected" is a Bad Religion song in the game. If you know how to beat it on the "hard" level, I'm open to ideas!
Whoops . . . did we have a cut/paste malfunction? You've repeated yourself a bit.
A few guys at the barracks here are addicted to GH, and as I watched them play, I couldn't help but think . . . that looks really lame. But I shouldn't judge too harshly; during a recent babysitting gig I got hopelessly addicted to Dance Dance Revolution. So, to each his own guilty pleasure.
Rock on.
You know, I had a feeling that guys in the service might like this game...and trust me...it is NOT lame. No way. Try it my main.
and I just fixed the cut-paste crapola
Nice, censored by my own blog item!
Addictive.......? That is an understatement. This is the first time I have ever fought my kids for playing time on the PS2. I know it can look somewhat silly playing it but once you get going you cant stop. By the way multiplayer is great for parties.... excellent soundtrack and GH2 is just around the corner with all new songs and modes. I cant wait for the sleepness nights when it arrives!
I am a 30-something female. My husband is a guitar player and I kick his butt on this game. It's very addictive and so much fun! My kids love to watch me play. They each have their favorite songs that they like me to play for them while they dance around the living room. BTW I have beaten 24/30 of the songs on Expert and still plugging away. It's not difficult, you just need to be quick and use your star power strategically. Can't wait for GH2 to come out. Will probably get it for my husband's birthday...even though we really know who it's for :)