11/01/05 - Guitar Hero (PS2)

[Der Helm]

But I prefer Grindcore, not sure if that qualifies as music at all.

Well, it's not so simple right off the bat....


Actually....Yeah it is.

So, was that a "Yes" or a "No" 

[stray]

Musically? I don't think so. I see more kids and new guitar players pick up on death metal-ish stuff quicker than anything else (actually, that's a lie. Nu metal is worse). Speaking for myself, I can usually jam along with a band pretty quickly and/or figure out songs as I'm listening.

It's hard in the sense that it's painful to keep up at those speeds for a long time. Heh, especially when so many metalheads have their straps adjusted so damn low! That's counter-productive in and of itself.

Anyways, I enjoy this kind of stuff more as a listener than I do as a player. I'm not some intricate/complex guitar player guy or anything like that, nor do I think that necessarily makes "good" music, but I like to do more than just drive fast rhythms and power chords all the time.

Death metal drummers though, are another thing entirely. I will always be in awe.

[edit] That still wasn't much of a "Yes" or "No" answer was it?  

"No", I guess.

[Der Helm]

"No", I guess.

I tend to agree.

But I know nothing about music, but I know what I like :-D

[/end_derail] ?

[stray]

[/end_derail] ?

No, it will not end!


I just wanted to say that Slayer, for instance, consciously threw off melody or traditional theory at about the time Reign in Blood came out. They know it, they've said it themselves, and they just laugh about it anyways.

Sure, they tried to make some catchy albums after that, but it's that album and that sound that spawned a host of imitators. It's this particular metal sound that I'm speaking about in the above posts.

I'm not going to try to blame them (or any band like them) for something they're not even trying to be though. Death metal is a style driven more by the drummer than anything else. The guitars fall in place to that.....And that's cool too.

[schild]

Guitar Hero is incredibly fun. If I was only allowed to list 5 games you must buy for the PS2, this would be one of them.

The others - in no order? God of War, Resident Evil 4, Katamari Damacy (1 & 2, both are short games, and both together cost the same as one game, so I'm cheating a little), and Rez or Soul Calibur 3 (That's a tough call to make).

I would list Guitar Hero before either one of the last two though. I think some Top Tens for this generation are in order since we have plateaued. The only thing left are games that companies don't want to bump to the next gen like Final Fantasy 12, Kingdom Hearts 2, Chulip, Black, Okami (which arguably wouldn't be much better on the next gen), etc.

[voodoolily]

Does it have Cult of Personality? For some reason that song just popped into my head. I woke up this morning with a Billy Joel song in my head. THe one where he says "don't know what it is" and "hmmm."

Picked this up this weekend. It's as awesome as it looks like it should be.



I  my vinyl collection.

[AOFanboi]

The others - in no order? God of War, Resident Evil 4, Katamari Damacy (1 & 2, both are short games, and both together cost the same as one game, so I'm cheating a little), and Rez or Soul Calibur 3 (That's a tough call to make).

Did you not find it in your heart to put ICO on the list? For shame!

[voodoolily]

Ico and SotC should obviously be included, but both are so short that they should share a spot like the Katamaris. Those are two of the best games EVAR, methinks. Classics.

[Merusk]

Does it have Cult of Personality?

No.

The song list is:

# Motorhead - "Ace of Spades"
# Ozzie Osbourne - "Bark at the Moon"
# Audioslave - "Cochise"
# Pantera - "Cowboys From Hell"
# Cream - "Crossroads"
# Sum 41 - "Fat Lip"
# Edgar Winter Group - "Frankenstein"
# Blue Oyster Cult - "Godzilla"
# Burning Brides - "Heart Full of Black"
# The Exies - "Hey You"
# Red Hot Chili Peppers - "Higher Ground"
# Joann Jett - "I Love Rock and Roll"
# The Ramones - "I Wanna Be Sedated"
# Bad Religion - "Infected"
# Black Sabbath - "Iron Man"
# Queen - "Killer Queen"
# Boston - "More Than A Feeling"
# Queens of the Stone Age - "No One Knows"
# ZZ Top - "Sharp Dressed Man"
# Deep Purple - "Smoke on the Water"
# Jimi Hendrix - "Spanish Castle Magic"
# Incubus - "Stellar"
# Megadeth - "Symphony of Destruction"
# The Donnas - "Take It Off"
# Franz Ferdinand - "Take Me Out"
# Stevie Ray Vaughn - "Texas Flood"
# White Zombie - "Thunderkiss 65"
# Helmet - "Unsung"
# Judas Priest - "You Got Another Thing Comin"
# David Bowie - "Ziggy Stardust"

In addition, there will be 17 unlockable tracks from Indie Rock bands, which include the likes of:

# Acro-Brats - "Call Out"
# Anarchy Club - "Behind the Mask"
# Artillery - "The Breaking Wheel"
# Black Label Society - "Fire It Up"
# Count Zero - "Sail Your Ship By"
# Din - "Fly on the Wall"
# Drist - "Decontrol"
# Freezepop - "Get Ready 2 Rock"
# Graveyard BBQ - "Cheat on the Church"
# Honest Bob and the Factory-to-Dealer Incentives - "Hey"
# Made in Mexico - "Farewell Myth"
# Monkey Steal the Peach - "Theme from Guitar Hero"
# The Bags - "Caveman Rejoice"
# The Model Sons - "The Story of my Love"
# The Slip - "Even Rats"
# The Upper Crust - "Eureka! I Found Love"
# Shaimus - "All of This"

A hard rock/ metal lover's dream.. but it'll send 80s pop rockers screaming.  As it should be for a game called "Guitar Hero" and not "preteen predator"

[stray]

Not great, but that's a better song list than I expected.

[Shockeye]

It's a fun game.

[stray]

It's a fun game.

I understand that, but I'm just wondering what I (or any guitar player for that matter) would get out of it. What's the game besides the guitar playing parts? I already knew how to play through quite a few of those songs listed by the time I was 15 or 16.

It was fun then, sure, but this part of the game wouldn't really appeal to me. Is there a story or something? Do you ever have to use the PS2 controller? Do you have to do other band related things like make money for better equipment, find gigs, etc..?

[Hokers]

Not much story here, it is not a Guitar RPG or anything like that.  You can unlock cooler guitars but they don't matter playwise, and the gigs are handed to you, you earn the right to play harder songs in a bigger venue by completing the eaiser songs.  Thats about it.

[voodoolily]

Yeah, it kinda strikes me as a Taiko Drum Master, DDR or Karaoke Revolution kinda thing. It's prolly more fun for people who aren't actually guitarists.

[schild]

Ico and SotC should obviously be included, but both are so short that they should share a spot like the Katamaris. Those are two of the best games EVAR, methinks. Classics.

No, they shouldn't. They're definately in the top 10, but as far as GAMES go, they could use some work. As far as digital art goes, they're perfect. But I'm not judging them based on art. Neither of them are as viscerally fun as REZ either. On a grading scale of 1-10 I'd give the games I listed earlier a 10, ICO/SotC would get 9s. Why? Because those people don't know how to make a good camera.

[Shockeye]

I understand that, but I'm just wondering what I (or any guitar player for that matter) would get out of it. What's the game besides the guitar playing parts? I already knew how to play through quite a few of those songs listed by the time I was 15 or 16.

It was fun then, sure, but this part of the game wouldn't really appeal to me. Is there a story or something? Do you ever have to use the PS2 controller? Do you have to do other band related things like make money for better equipment, find gigs, etc..?

The game isn't for you. The game is for people that don't play guitar that want to rock.

[stray]

Cool enough. Rock on, etc.. 


I'd like to see someone do the same thing with Music and Rock that was done with The Movies though. That'd be the best way to get my interest.

[Merusk]

Cool enough. Rock on, etc.. 


I'd like to see someone do the same thing with Music and Rock that was done with The Movies though. That'd be the best way to get my interest.

Making movies : The Movies :: Playing Guitar : Guitar Hero :: Building Houses : House Design in The Sims.

The more you know about an above game's topic, the more you say, "Fuck, that has nothing to do with reality."  It's not supposed to, it's a game.

[stray]

I meant Music and Rock in the music biz/establishing a band sense. All of the other little things in between the actual performing/recording of music.

A Rock Star Sim or RPG (preferably as clichéd and corny as possible) could probably be a fun game to me.

Playing virtual guitar wouldn't. I've been playing the real guitar for longer than half of my life.

[edit] When I mentioned The Movies, I'm referring mainly to the story mode.....Which is more about being a movie mogul than it is about actually making movies (well, that part is optional at least). The movie making aspects are pretty nifty, but still, I have more fun and creative power with a real camera or when rehearsing/performing in a play or film project.

The Movie Mogul part, however, is something I haven't done and will probably never will do --- Therefore I want a virtualized game/sandbox of it. As a Sim, it's The Movies. If it was an RPG, then I'd get to play the life of Howard Hughes.

Additionally, if there was ever to be a Rock N Roll game that appealed to me, then it'd have to simulate the aspects that I'll probably never get to do --- Like riding my chopper through the Four Seasons Hotel ala Jimmy Page or banging Penny Lane.

[Sky]

BLS kicks ass! Some great songs on there, if a bit heavy on the 'big hits' instead of 'best tracks'.

[Yegolev]

The more you know about an above game's topic, the more you say, "Fuck, that has nothing to do with reality."  It's not supposed to, it's a game.

My wife loves building houses in The Sims because it's a lot more fun than building one in AutoCAD, but she did have to give up a lot of tools.  Also, you can't have a gay couple live in your CAD design.

[Hokers]

After failing to find a second copy in stores, I discovered that you can order a 2nd guitar at the Red Octane web site.  Got me a shiny red one.  2 player battles rock.