The iPhone is turning out to be the handheld to have if you're a music/rhythm game junkie. With Rock Band, Six-String, and the Tapulous series, you'd think there'd hardly be room for one more on the platform. But Guitar Hero doesn't care what you think. It showed up out of nowhere-- announced, no less, in the middle of WWDC 2010's keynote speech-- boasting six well-chosen songs and a very reasonable price. So how does it stack up against the competition?
Like a rock star, of course. It may be late to the party, but it's still a heck of a lot of fun to play.
Once again, you hold your iDevice vertically and watch notes stream down the screen on what we like to call the rock 'n roll superhighway. Your job is to tap or swipe the notes when they get to the sweet spot at the bottom of the screen. Do this in time to the music and you'll sound like a rock god. Screw up, and your ears are in for a beating.
Rock 'n roll forever.
As the title suggests, Guitar Hero limits you to playing guitar or bass. That's not a big problem, since jamming out on the drums or vocals isn't all that fun unless you're playing with other people. And, disappointingly, there's no multiplayer in Guitar Hero.
The actual gameplay is pretty standard for the genre, but it includes strumming in addition to tapping. Strums are indicated by arrows that come down the pipeline across multiple buttons, and when they're mixed in with regular notes it takes quick reflexes to nail them all. This is a welcome addition because it adds a good deal of variety to the gameplay, although we should note that Six-String uses the same mechanic.
Your opinion on the song selection will vary depending on taste, but most people will probably be pleased. Classic rockers have Queen and Rolling Stones to rock out to, fans of modern fare have The White Stripes and Rise Against, and everyone else can enjoy Weezer and Vampire Weekend. But even if you don't find something to like in the line-up, you can buy extra songs in packages of three for $1.99. (Click here for a full list of the music available now).
Bad to the bone.
Though the initial six songs can be blown through in under a half hour, you have plenty of incentive to replay the songs in your collection. In a kind of RPG leveling-up system, you can raise your score on guitar and bass separately, going from amateur to background guitarist, to lead. The game also comes with built-in achievements that unlock new guitars, accessories, and clothes for your avatar. The avatars are quite customizable, and it's surprisingly fun to tinker with them.
Although it doesn't do much we haven't seen before, Guitar Hero is a very solid music/rhythm game. We wish it had multiplayer and a larger selection of songs, but the modes on offer should appeal to most people, and plans are in place for more songs to be made available soon. So if you haven't grown tired of the genre, Guitar Hero rocks.
10 Comments
wow, I can't believe a game that only comes with six songs gets a 3/4 here. you guys must get paid by activision!
Clearly. Because 6 songs (and a game) for 3 bucks is downright exorbitant, yes? Look at it like this: You end up paying $0.50 a song and get a pretty polished game for free.
But you're onto the conspiracy. Keep digging and you may discover all of our secrets! My biggest one is probably that I really really like Cyndi Lauper.
It sure is exorbitant when u can get tap tap for free with a shed load of tracks (I have radiation with 30+ for free for example).
Regardless of price a rhythm game with only 6 tracks is a joke, truth is it can be a fantastic game but it shouldn't get over 2/4 for such a pitiful amount.
Tap Tap... really? Tap Tap is the buggiest, most horrible rhythm game I have EVER played. Tap Tap is itself a joke. If you compare pricing of Guitar Hero to Rock Band, you'll actually find that Guitar Hero is cheaper. So why don't you do some more research before bashing Guitar Hero. Heck, why don't you just play the game?
I think this game deserves a 4/4 regardless of small content. I bought a 3-song pack for $1.99, making the grand total $4.99 spent on Guitar Hero. Not too shabby considering Rock Band was $9.99 when it came out.
This is a fair review written by a fairly good reviewer. I love this game, but I have to get over my love and look at the flaws, and the flaws mentioned here are perfect. And remember folks, Tap Tap sucks. Big time.
Actually you are completely wrong about Rock Band being more expensive, (especially if you calculate it based on the amount of songs you get). I suggest YOU do a little more research before coming on here and flaming people. It kinda makes you look pretty dumb when you tell someone else to do their research and then post a bunch of false information - nice try though.
Not too mention that tap tap is a great game, its free, and it literally has more than 6 times the amount of songs than guitar hero when you download the app. Rock Band is also a better all-around game. If you really want to be objective about things, look at the overall forum and fan reaction to this complete money grab by activision, and realize that you are very, very wrong. And by picking on someone's comment and telling them how much their favorite game sucks, it just kinda seems like you are a forum flamer with too much time on your hands. I'm very sad for you, I honestly hope you can get over your hate, and be positive on these forums in the future.
Greedy greedy greedy! I will not buy into this nonsense, what's next, you buy the first few levels of a game and have to buy the others seperately? Oops already been done.
let's face it. if you wer to buy those songs separately, it would cost considerably more than the three dollars charged. but then we look at other games, like tap tap for example, and we see that it is a more expensive app. but the question is, are you guys willing to pay premium for a better game?
I want it, it's just gonna cost a lot to get lots of songs. =/
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Update on recent game-breaking update: It seems the game has been pulled from the App Store. Dunno what's up with that, but Activision seems to have, in Internet terms, DUN GOOF'D on this one.
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