Ex Games: The Ongoing Plastic Guitar Wars Saga

At first I had zero interest in any of the Guitar Hero games. They reminded me uncomfortably of that Dave Chappelle sketch that showed the effects of guitar music on white people. But then I learned to embrace my inner suburban white boy and actually got into them. The influence of these games is undeniable and there is no doubt that they have been a significant boost to the flagging recording industry as well as repopularizing the genres of classic rock, hard rock and heavy metal.

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I picked up Guitar Hero III, which was the first really blockbuster game of the genre. It turns out the people who produced Guitar Heroes I & II split off before part three and formed their own company, Harmonix, which went on to release the competing Rock Band game which came out shortly after. The confusion began which was compounded by the interchangeable guitars.

Rock Band took the basic gameplay of Guitar Hero and expanded it to include vocals, drums and bass. Game over, right? Not so fast Hudson, when Guitar Hero IV came out it included the full band set up, as well as the ability to customize your own tracks. Rock Band 2 then came out, and didn't offer too much new but it did let you import almost all of your Rick Band 1 tracks as well as an impressive library of downloadable songs. You could literally have hundreds of songs to choose from.



Then things got more complicated. It seemed there was a new Guitar Hero game every few months, most focusing on bands of middling importance like Aerosmith, Metallica, and Van Halen (WTF!). That's on top of the trio of hand held Guitar Hero games from the Nintendo DS, which are guaranteed to give you carpal tunnel syndrome.

The Rock Band series has taken the slow and steady approach, perhaps realizing that the music game craze could easily become a fad in a market that Activision is over saturating with their Guitar Hero games. They have recently released their third entry to the series: Beatles Rock Band, which is a stylish and lovingly produced game that focuses solely on the Fab Four. If you are going to make a game devoted to one band, then you can't go wrong basing it on what is arguably the greatest rock/pop band in history. The Beatles are easily worth ten Aerosmiths, Metallicas, Van Halens, Oasises, and whoever else they are thinking about making a game around.

Very well done, Harmonix! Of course, having said that they have a game coming out called Lego Rock Band. Meh.


Well, now I have seen everything.

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And that's not to ignore the recent release of Activision's DJ Hero, which takes the music game into a whole new direction and explores a totally different genre of music than the guitar rock that these games have been focusing on.

Here's what I'd like to see in the inevitable slew of music games that are on their way out:

*Someone needs to make a game based on The Rolling Stones. I will buy it. And love it.

*Lets open this up to more genres: How bout an R&B track pack, or Latin Rock? I am willing to smoke lots of cigarettes and get kicked in the throat to sound like Alejandro Sanz.

*Artists, you need to stop being uptight about these games. They allow a whole new generation of people to get into your music. I'm looking at you Prince, U2 and Led Zepplin.

*Salsa Hero? Anyone?