For the would-be guitarist in us all

From the moment I saw this game reviewed on GameSpot, it quickly made my priority list for Christmas. The controller is a 30 inch plastic guitar (A Gibson GS style if you must know) complete with 5 color coded buttons, a strumming bar, whammy bar, and 2 controller buttons.

The quick tutorial is a good idea, just to make you aware of some shortcut techniques that could improve scores and show you the basic guidelines of how the game is played.

Starting on the Easy level, you will likely make short work of the song list. Only 3 of the 5 colored buttons are used. Much like the dance mat games, you must play the correct note(s) at the correct times, sometimes holding one or two buttons down for a sustained note or chord. Your field of play is like a road, with the notes 'streaming' toward you along the 5 possible strings. There is a horizontal target line at the bottom of the screen, when a note crosses it, you are supposed to hold down the correct colored button and strike the strum bar, just as you would a regular guitar, sort of.

The lead-off song, I Love Rock and Roll (Joan Jett) is recognizable to most everyone who would consider buying this game, with a number of entries from the classic rock genre (Boston, Judas Priest) to harder rock like Ozzy and Megadeth, even some various stuff of late (Franz Ferdinand, The Donnas). 30 songs are arranged into 6 sets of 5 each (you only get access to the first 5 sets on Easy level), with each 5-some representing a larger venue.

Moving up to the Medium level brings the 4th button into play, but not overwhelmingly. The same songs to start with, but more embellishment of finger-work is required. An additional set of 5 songs is included. Hard level includes the first four buttons with regularity and the 5th button sparingly. Expert level - anything goes anywhere.

Points are given for each note and every 10th note in a row kicks up a multiplier, 2x, 3x, 4x. Additionally, some note series have 'power' on them, meaning if you hit every note in the string you earn a Power Meter boost. Once your Power Meter is at least 50% filled, you may activate it by rocking the neck of the guitar toward the heavens momentarily (guitar is now in vertical position instead of horizontal). Rock out!!! Your notes are now worth double the value, the multipliers are now 4x, 6x, and 8x. If you get a chance to hit some chords during the short period of bonus time, work the whammy bar to prolong the bonus period. Besides giving a dandy point bonus, the Power Meter also gets the crowd on your side. You have to play a certain percentage of notes correct or else a progress meter with green (best), yellow, and red (worst) sections starts slipping toward the red end of the meter. Screw up too much and the crowd boos you, the band stops playing and you have to start that song over again. If you're not doing well, activating the Power Meter pushes the needle toward the green section at a more rapid pace than if you were playing without the power meter. As you learn some of the harder songs on more difficult levels, you can sometimes strategically use the the power meter to get the crowd back on your side and save a song you otherwise would have had to re-do.

It's fun to watch other people play and it's fun to play also. As long as you're hitting notes, the music plays like you'd expect. Hit a wrong note and you get a distinct 'plunk' mis-hit sound, which gets a chuckle from time to time. Miss a bunch in a row and people would think you were trying to play with your toes or something.

Starting with Medium level on up, you earn money based on how well you performed a song. You can buy guitars, 'skins', cartoon guitarists to represent you on-stage, and bonus songs to play from start-up bands.

All songs are covers, though some are so well done I can't tell the difference. A blurb from Marcus Henderson, the main guitarist for the game:

**
'The songs were handled with immense care and respect for the originals. Some parts of the tunes had to be edited for time(Iron Man ending) and sometimes we had to forego a few minor things that were barely audible for the sake of Harmonix and the note maps. Sometimes when multiple tracks were represented by a unison part or it seems we left something out, it was intentional so the Geniuses at Harmonix could map out the songs for fun and playability. NO parts were edited or cut for any reason other than to provide a logical gaming experience when one guitar approximates 2 (or more) guitar tracks.

In some cases EGs (the ending crash outs or solo's) were made to retain that live feel of playing in front of an audience. Killer Queen was spiced up for gameplay with new tracks to make the song translate to a video game. We added some chord build ups to "I Love Rock n Roll" to keep the game moving without long intentional pauses...

Wavegroup had a Battle Royale type contest in which a stalwart pool of 12 singers would duke it out...until 5 emerged victorious. And that was only round 1!'
**

Here's the set list along with their grouping title:

1. Opening Licks
I Love Rock & Roll - Joan Jett & The Blackhearts
I Wanna Be Sedated - The Ramones
Thunder Kiss '65 - White Zombie
Smoke On The Water - Deep Purple
Infected - Bad Religion

2. Axe-Grinders
Iron Man - Black Sabbath
More Than a Feeling - Boston
You Got Another Thing Comin' - Judas Priest
Take Me Out - Franz Ferdinand
Sharp Dressed Man - ZZ Top

3. Thrash And Burn
Killer Queen - Queen
Hey You - The Exies
Stellar - Incubus
Heart Full of Black - Burning Brides
Symphony Of Destruction - Megadeth

4. Return of the Shred
Ziggy Stardust - David Bowie
Fat Lip - Sum 41
Cochise - Audioslave
Take It Off - The Donnas
Unsung - Helmet

5. Fret-Burners
Spanish castle magic - Jimi Hendrix
Higher Ground - Red Hot Chili Peppers
No One Knows - Queens of the Stone Age
Ace Of Spades - Motorhead
Crossroads - Cream

6. Face-Melters
Godzilla - Blue Oyster Cult
Texas Flood - Stevie Ray Vaughan
Frankenstein - The Edgar Winter Group
Cowboys From Hell - Pantera
Bark at the Moon - Ozzy Osbourne

Also, there are 17 indie bonus tracks to unlock, one tune featuring Marcus as the original guitarist and one featuring Zakk Wylde. There are even 2 extra songs if you have a PS2 cheat device.

I got word today that Guitar Hero 2 is in the works, hopefully ready for this Christmas season and my priority list again. :-)

The variety of songs is pretty good, but you always want more. I'd like to see a song creator utility to make my own tune challenges, but music copyrights all but guarantee that will never be a reality.