Soon to be released (early ‘09 we hope) in the great Guitar Hero series is Guitar Hero 4, and this time the whole band gets to play! Following the EA’s Rock Band format, as well as the lead guitar, there’ll be bass, drums, and even a microphone for singer in you (admit it, you always wanted to sing, but only got to after several tequilas and a karaoke machine, right?) .
And this time the song catalogue is much bigger to, with rock, heavy metal, and even some hip hop. Van Halen and The Eagles tracks have been confirmed along with Linkin Park, but no mention of Thin Lizzy as yet ( Whisky in the Jar anyone?).
New features include a studio to create your own songs and if you’re not happy with the default band members you can create your own from scratch, even customising the instruments too! No price has been announced as of yet but its safe to hazard a guess being in the same region as Rock Band, that’s about £180, but I’m sure Nintendo will allow people to buy the instruments individually allowing people to purchase their favourites first (are you listening Nintendo?). Wii gaming rocks!!
I never thought I’d get off on a game where you have to pretend to be a rockstar, even though deep down I always wanted to be one. What does this game do for me? Well it allows that fantasy to come true, during gameplay at least. Using the Wii guitar to emulate playing the songs is mentally very challenging, and ironically, almost as challenging as learning a real instrument. Even if rock music is not your cup of tea, there’s plenty of classics in there that are bound to be enjoyed. What I really loved was getting to the next stage and unlocking another group of songs. I have nearly finished the easy (only 3 fingers!) section, but I dont know how I’ll get my little finger to play.
When the keys start to ‘fall’ right it really feels like your playing the guitar. The feeling of satisfaction as new connections being made between your brain and fingers is immense.
Hmm maybe I’ll see about guitar tuition…Nah, I’ll stick to Wii gaming
