For Those About to Rock
Last week, I took a visit to my hometown for my dad’s birthday (Happy Birthday!), and with that came the opportunity to sift through some of my old game collection. My dad was smart and generous because instead of letting us sell our consoles and games to GameStop for pennies, he bought them back from us. Maybe that’s the foresight that age brings. One of those titles was Guitar Hero II complete with a pristine guitar controller.
I have been clicking and clacking away at the plastic instrument all week, and let me tell ya, this game still rips! I’ve found playing through a song or two to be a great post-work transition activity every day. It’s been soothing playing through the chorus of Beast and the Harlot - getting in the flow of the music - which I hadn’t expected. The team at Harmonix nailed the design of the note grids for the list of songs. There’s a variety in the patterns that always keeps it feeling fresh, and makes it easy to get lost in the game.
Guitar Hero II has brought a wave of nostalgia crashing down on me. When the original games came out in 2005-06 it was my first extended exposure to this type of music. Tejano, hip-hop, and whatever Disney Channel pushed was what typically graced my ears. I’m sure I’d heard some of these tracks on the radio or in a movie prior, but struggling through a particular section of a song within the game gave me the opportunity to get more familiar with the nuances of the music in a way I hadn’t before. As I’ve progressed through the game’s career mode, I’ve been delighted by a feeling reminiscent of going through my middle school iPod on shuffle.
But to remove those goggles and sit in the present for a second, it’s difficult to ignore that these are covers. I’m sorry Wavegroup Sound, but you are not Kurt Cobain. It never bothered me during gameplay, especially for songs or bands that I don’t listen to as often anymore, but I’ve heard enough Dave Grohl at this point to tell when it’s the real guy.
The games aren’t the only thing to have aged either. There were a couple times where I found myself needing to do some wrist warm-ups just to get through my first track. Granted, I am playing on expert (because I’m cool like that), but not many games require me to do a five-minute stretch routine. That’s not a knock against the game at all - I suppose it’s more aimed at the ever-decaying human body.
Guitar Hero II is one of those games that I don’t think will ever truly get old for me. As someone who doesn’t know how to play guitar, it continues to be an engaging way to experience this kind of music. Unlike when I was thirteen, I found myself considering learning the actual instrument. Like I mentioned earlier, there was just something about getting lost in the music. We’ll see how that turns out...but I did just hear about Clone Hero.