Guitar Hero is a fun music game for PS2. Guitar Hero developer Harmonix had previously created Amplitude and, earlier, Frequency. All three games are music-based games where you have to strum or button a song. Frequency was the first, and in my opinion (and that of my friends) better than the sequel Amplitude. While Amplitude had a much better shared multiplayer view, the songs weren’t that great and the feeling of playing the music actually decreased a lot on Amplitude. So when the kids come to play at my house, we generally use Frequency and not Amplitude.
Guitar Hero continues the tradition and I think it is an improvement over Amplitude. It actually includes a guitar controller, which is a medium-sized plastic guitar with five colored buttons on the neck. It “strums” a two-inch-long lever, and the guitar even includes a flexible bar. But you don’t have to use this peripheral if you don’t want to. Using the controller is a lot like frequency or amplitude, except sometimes you have to hold down notes over time, which was not a feature in previous games.
But the guitar peripheral makes it so much more fun, you’ll want to use it. The joystick ability is only useful when you are playing in two player mode against a friend and you cannot afford to buy a second guitar.
But how do you actually play a song? Easy to learn, difficult to master. The colored buttons on the neck correspond to colored dots in the moving score of the song. The sheet music is really getting closer to you, and when the colored dots are getting closer and crossing a line right in front of you, you need to hold down the correct colored button while strumming the guitar. Then the note will change to a different one, so you will have to change your fingering before your next strum. Is easier than it looks like. Visit the IGN website to view the Guitar Hero videos.
How is? Fun fun fun! This is a great game with great songs and great multiplayer action. I’ve only played it in multiplayer with one controller, but having a second guitar there would be even more fun. I invited my friends to play this game and they all raved about it. If you like listening to music and you have a PS2 then you owe it to yourself to at least give this game a try.
Problems? Yes a little bit. My biggest complaint (although not that big in absolute terms, this is a great game) is that mapping music tracks to game tracks is not as fun as many of the tracks in Frequency and Amplitude. In that game, you really got hooked and really enjoyed how the developers arranged the tracks. Guitar Hero doesn’t have the same creativity when it comes to laying out the tracks. Also, the game increases in difficulty too quickly. The hardest scenario is clearly impossible for everyone without a genetically enhanced metabolism. (This was also an issue with frequency and amplitude.)
But don’t let those things distract you from what would otherwise be a very fun game. And if you don’t want to splurge on the full price right away, you can give Frequency a try. It is an older game so it is now in many bargain bins. It’s a real gem and you can try this style of play for under $ 10.