To Fret, or Not To Fret

I didn’t mean to do it, I really didn’t. All I wanted to do was buy myself a blu-ray movie or two and dash home again.
You see, since about two weeks, I have finally entered modern times! Before, I was living in a cave and played my games using a combination of sticks, pebbles and manure. You know, the sticks were used for the graphics, while tossing the pebbles against the cave wall provided the sounds.
I only used manure for PS3 games. They had to look extra pretty, right?
But no more! Now, I am in possession of a 40 inch full HD 1080p beast of a telly, as well as a 5.1 surround sound system… thing. All very, very nice indeed, I can tell you! That is, I am very pleased with all of it. Of course there’s better stuff still, but compared to how it was before…

And so, what with me having a PlayStation 3 that can play blu-ray movies wot look and sound extra spiffy on a good set, I went out to get me some more of those. And get them, I did. Which ones again? Umm… Well, there was 2001: A Space Odyssey. I know this, because I watched that just last night. And then… Cop Out! Right, the latest Kevin Smith flick. Which I liked. And finally there was… Solomon Kane! Yay me, I remembered them all. Oh, and I liked Solomon Kane as well. I am a bit of a special effects whore, mind you. I like Batman and Robin too. Just saying…
As for 2001: A space Odyssey? I must have only seen the beginning and the middle part before, because I recognised that. The ending however? It was totally alien to me! (See what I did there?) Very deep and indeed confusing stuff though. I mean, there are so many ways in which you could explain the movie, I think! Most impressive.

As I always do when checking out movies, I also took a quick look at the games section of the store. You know, just to see if there’s anything new, anything I don’t know about. To keep up to date, as it were. I didn’t think there’d be anything worth getting anyway, but a quick look can’t hurt, right? You need to know what’s available, right? How else can you know about stuff you don’t want, right? Like every single Move game out there so far, for example.
As I was browsing, I noticed there was a new Guitar Hero game for PS3. Right, I sort of knew about that. Good to know though, for later. I mean, what with all the games I still need to play? Halo Reach, to name one? I’d get it, sure, just not today.
On I went, to browse some more, this time in the Xbox360 section. More games I might get, someday. And there it was again, the new Guitar Hero. This one was with a guitar only; I hadn’t noticed that in the PS3 section where I’d only seen the full band thing. You know, with a bass, drum kit and mic. Hmm… I could see the new guitar through the plastic of the box… That, um, looks good, I thought to myself. Still… nah, I shouldn’t. Would they have that guitar only version for PS3 as well though? I did only have one guitar for that, after all… It turns out they did. Of course they did. And where’s the harm in picking up the box for a moment, just to have a look at the set list. Impressive set list, I had to admit. Turn the box around, for another look at that guitar. Hmm, shiny bits on it… Nice body, too!

Sigh…
So yes! Yes, dammit, I now own Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock! Or indeed, GHWOR. And I must say, it’s actually pretty damned good! To my surprise, that is. I mean, I kind of, sort of knew what it was about, but I thought it would be just another Guitar Hero, you know? Officially, this is the sixth game already, not counting the band-specific spin offs. Of which there are what, four or five, I think. And of those, I only have the Aerosmith one. Which I still like a lot, if only for the set list and the fact that it’s Aerosmith. Apart form that, I remember it just being Guitar Hero 3 with Aerosmith stuff. Or indeed, a straight copy-paste cash-in, which is what Activision is well known for.
This time however, they actually improved upon the well worn formula! I mean, at its core, of course, it’s still Guitar Hero. You know, in the end, you’re still pushing the coloured buttons Simon Says-style, just like with the very first game.
But like I said, it really is better, this time around. Before, the main part of the game was always the Career mode, where you picked a character and played all songs, earning money and unlocking new stuff along the way. Now, this is known as the Quest mode. In which you um, play all songs, earning stars and unlocking new stuff along the way. Yes. But no! It really is different! Really! Let’s take this step by step then.

See, this time, there’s a story. As far as I understand it –which isn’t saying much, I know- there’s this rock god who gets er, smitten by some giant, mechanical golem-type, thing. Creature. Demon. Yeah. Maybe that will be explained later on in the game. Anyway, this is obviously a bad thing, so it falls on a number of rockers to set things straight again. These rockers being the people we all know from the previous games. You know, Lars Umlaut, Judy Nails, those people. And some new ones as well, by the way. You start off however, with Johnny Napalm. See, there’s a difference already: each set list is linked to a specific character and you’re forced to play as him or her. Which links in to the story: each character must transform into a better version of themselves, so they can help restore order to the world. Of rock. I think.
In that respect, I feel they’ve taken more than just one look at Brütal Legend, but never mind that.
To change and get better, of course, they need to play songs. Now, each song you play earns you stars, and these are then used to level up your character, with each one requiring different amounts, based on the difficulty of the set list. At least, that’s what I think it’s based on. It could be totally random as well, I don’t know. Anyway, once you’re transformed, you get to join the main band, and at the end all rockers play the grand finale together, combining all of their abilities. Abilities?
Ah yes, another new thing! Each character now has a special ability that helps them to increase their scores. For example, there’s one that gives you free Star Power every time you hit a certain number of notes. In all previous games, you only got Star Power for hitting all Star Notes. Which is still in this version, only now you have that special ability that adds even more Star Power, allowing you to use it more frequently. Another example would be the ability that gives you a higher score multiplier once Star Power is activated. Which, for those not in the know, is all SP does, really. It multiplies your score by 2 for a short time. Or indeed, by 3 or even 4, with the special ability.

So yeah, they spiced things up a lot! They being Neversoft, by the way. I said Activision before, but all they do is pay for everything, right? It’s not like they’re creative people or anything. The people at Neversoft are the ones who actually made the game and a fine job they did.
But still! While all of this is very well and nice, in the end, like I already said, you’re still doing the same thing as ever, right? Yes, you are, there’s no denying that. The whole package however, gives it a little extra. Specifically for me, I think, it’s the very light RPG element it has. You know, I’m playing, and I see that I only need 12 more stars to level up my character. I actually want to stop playing, because I’m tired or whatever, but I also know that if I just play two more songs, I’ll get those stars! Ding! And so I play on. And after that, a quick peek at the first song on the next list… Yeah, I’ll play that one as well then. And then you have those abilities… It just works, you know?
And why wouldn’t it? I mean, if you look at things at a really basic level, the same can be said for FPS games. Or racing games, an even better example. At its core, racing is racing and indeed, shooting is shooting. It’s the way in which it is done, in which it is presented that matters, and that can make all the difference. Of course, after all is said and done, gameplay is still king. However, imagine Burnout Paradise, with the core mechanics fully intact, only the actual cars are modelled like stone bricks and the roads are empty tracks in an empty space. No scenery whatsoever, just plain, textureless tracks. Would it still be as awesome as it is? I don’t think so, I really don’t.
What it comes down to for me I suppose, with GHWOR, is that instead of mindlessly working down the set list, I now feel like I have a purpose you know? And more than before, I can see that I’m making progress. When it comes to the stats, that is. As for actually getting better at the game, well… I guess I’m a little rusty. I need to get those fingers working again, make them nimble again. Because seriously, some of those songs… Ouch! I mean, really, ouch! As in they actually make my hand hurt, while I screw up whole sections. And that’s while playing on the medium difficulty, mind you. I really feel like I used to be better at this game. Well, as they say, practice makes perfect, right? Yeah, right. We’ll see. We’ll see whether I can switch to the hard difficulty again, in time. I’m not too sure about that though, as I feel this game is more difficult that the previous ones. And since my mind still short-circuits the moment that extra button needs to be used… It does, you know? On medium, you use four fret buttons, on hard you use all five. This means you need to move your hand. Unless I suppose, you have a really long and flexible pinky. Which I don’t. And as soon as I move my hand, something goes wrong in my head and I completely forget which button is which. Game over…
Is that a bad thing? Not at all! I just play the game on medium and I love doing it, which is all that matters. And if that makes me a sad noobish wanker, so be it. As long as I’m having fun! And trust me, I still am, every time. Even though I do sometimes miss my manure…
Oh well, stay safe, and game on!