Ahh, Christmas. I lied about the whole stealing thing. With the little money I had left after the holidays I decided to buy a new DS and Chrono Trigger. I get to the store, there's one DS left. I decided that DS should go to my sister in-law because she loves Mario. Deciding that I'll give my old DS to my big brother so we can all play Mario Kart together, I tell my mom "Hey, you're going out shopping tomorrow, if you see a DS could you pick it up? Preferably in red?" Open up some Christmas presents later and BAM! Chrono Trigger's there, the new DS is there....but it's the Guitar Hero: On Tour bundle.
I don't know how I feel about that flaming "Guitar Hero" label.
Now, after playing it for a while, I realized that despite IGN's appraisal of the game was very misplaced. Yes, the game does feel like playing guitar hero, but after two songs your hand gets cramped, it feels nothing like playing a guitar, while I played the game on an airplane the ambient noise activated star power at every opportunity, alt-strumming is practically impossible, you strum horizontally instead of downwards (like you do in a real guitar) but above all else: it's still the same old guitar hero design from 3 years ago.
Guitar Hero was a revolution in the rhythm genre-- the first since Parappa the Rappa and DDR and in 2005 it was an incredible game. It felt like playing guitar, it had an awesome soundtrack. Guitar Hero 2 came along and like Harmonix always does with their sequels: they took the original formula and perfected it. Then, the whole MTV, Activision and Neversoft wave came along and Guitar Hero III became a very high selling game, but it wasn't nearly as critically acclaimed as the first two but, it was still a great game in its own right.
The problem is: Harmonix. Rock Band came out last year and totally stormed the critics and, despite not selling as much, its new DLC every week made it a money making MACHINE for the devs. It totally changed everything, with great customizable characters, World Tour Mode and this year, Harmonix perfected it with Online World Tour, better instruments and band challenges. Guitar Hero, despite adding in new instruments, is still the same old guitar hero. The lack of a World Tour shortens the game's lifespan completely, the poor customization and the inability to make you feel like a rock star or that you're actually IN a band just makes it a dieing franchise.
Too bad the thing sells like hotcakes which, after having 4 high-selling Guitar Heroes in one year, shows that all Activision cares about is green. Hey, look at me! By stamping on a Guitar Hero label and giving you a crazy peripheral, I GET BILLIONS!
Ahh, Christmas. I lied about the whole stealing thing. With the little money I had left after the holidays I decided to buy a new DS and Chrono Trigger. I get to the store, there's one DS left. I decided that DS should go to my sister in-law because she loves Mario. Deciding that I'll give my old DS to my big brother so we can all play Mario Kart together, I tell my mom "Hey, you're going out shopping tomorrow, if you see a DS could you pick it up? Preferably in red?" Open up some Christmas presents later and BAM! Chrono Trigger's there, the new DS is there....but it's the Guitar Hero: On Tour bundle.
I don't know how I feel about that flaming "Guitar Hero" label.
Now, after playing it for a while, I realized that despite IGN's appraisal of the game was very misplaced. Yes, the game does feel like playing guitar hero, but after two songs your hand gets cramped, it feels nothing like playing a guitar, while I played the game on an airplane the ambient noise activated star power at every opportunity, alt-strumming is practically impossible, you strum horizontally instead of downwards (like you do in a real guitar) but above all else: it's still the same old guitar hero design from 3 years ago.
Guitar Hero was a revolution in the rhythm genre-- the first since Parappa the Rappa and DDR and in 2005 it was an incredible game. It felt like playing guitar, it had an awesome soundtrack. Guitar Hero 2 came along and like Harmonix always does with their sequels: they took the original formula and perfected it. Then, the whole MTV, Activision and Neversoft wave came along and Guitar Hero III became a very high selling game, but it wasn't nearly as critically acclaimed as the first two but, it was still a great game in its own right.
The problem is: Harmonix. Rock Band came out last year and totally stormed the critics and, despite not selling as much, its new DLC every week made it a money making MACHINE for the devs. It totally changed everything, with great customizable characters, World Tour Mode and this year, Harmonix perfected it with Online World Tour, better instruments and band challenges. Guitar Hero, despite adding in new instruments, is still the same old guitar hero. The lack of a World Tour shortens the game's lifespan completely, the poor customization and the inability to make you feel like a rock star or that you're actually IN a band just makes it a dieing franchise.
Too bad the thing sells like hotcakes which, after having 4 high-selling Guitar Heroes in one year, shows that all Activision cares about is green. Hey, look at me! By stamping on a Guitar Hero label and giving you a crazy peripheral, I GET BILLIONS!
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