We’ve all heard the argument that Guitar Hero is causing thousands of young gamers with musical potential to waste their talents on a video game, but what about the counter argument? There are hundreds, if not thousands, of gamers who have never touched a real six-string, who find themselves honestly wondering if they could be a rock star because they can five-star “Freebird” on expert. If you fit this demographic, you and I have something in common, and I’d like to share a few things I discovered while trying to learn the guitar.

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The Guitar Hero franchise’s dominance over the rhythm-action genre came under attack last November with the release of the critically-acclaimed commercial hit, Rock Band.  This fall, Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero World Tour will clash in a veritable battle of the bands, seeking to win the love and adoration of fake musicians everywhere.  As a result, Guitar Hero:  Aerosmith, released on June 29^th for PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3,Wii, and Xbox 360, seems like an afterthought - an expansion pack aimed only at Aerosmith devotees and hardcore GH fanboys.  Does this virtual homage to one of the greatest rock and roll bands in history make you want to just push play, or is it the same old song and dance?

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Avid guitar hero fans can now rock out whenever, wherever. Thanks to Guitar Hero Mobile, players rejoice to the easy and convenient access of rocking out on ‘the go.’ As of mid-June, Guitar Hero III Mobile proudly hit the one million downloads mark, successfully reaching the top of the sales charts. With an average of 250, 000 songs played per day, it’s clear that the nation can’t get enough of the greatest 80s and 90s classic rock.

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The past 11 years have witnessed a dramatic evolution in the music gaming genre. Titles like PaRappa the Rapper and Frequency brought rhythm games out of the dark, and 2005’s release of Guitar Hero elevated music gaming to a whole new level. Since then, the genre has exploded, and Rock Band has become perhaps the most innovative music game to date–but there may be competition fast approaching: developers Neversoft and Harmonix look to keep the evolutionary ball rolling with their announced sequels to last year’s killer games, Guitar Hero III and Rock Band.

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I was ecstatic when I heard that Guitar Hero: On Tour, the new version of the popular Guitar Hero series for the Nintendo DS, was going to stop in Minneapolis for one afternoon only at my local Toys ‘R’ Us stores across the country. So I packed up the car and embarked on a non-stop road trip, spanning well over thirty blocks, to the nearest store for an exclusive preview. What followed was a hazy hour of music and promotional tattoos.

I showed up to take my place within the mayhem at the ungodly hour of noon. I was hoping to do some crowd surfing, but instead I was only greeted by rocker/ promotional assistant, Stephanie. Clad in a Guitar Hero shirt and head band, she handed over the portable DS “axe” and I slipped it on. It promptly fell apart when I tried to squeeze my giant hand into the tiny strap, a harsh reminder that I was a 29-year-old man trying out a game in a Toys ‘R’ Us.
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Everyone has their own list of impossible goals. You know, the absolutely absurd tasks we tell ourselves we could one day accomplish. They may range from becoming a professional athlete all the way to marrying the current cover model on the swimsuit edition of Sports Illustrated (it’s Marisa Miller, btw). Unrealistic? Yes, but for gamers that list may vary slightly; and for the best Guitar Hero 3 players there is one goal that is set high above them all: beating Through the Fire and Flames on expert with 100% accuracy.

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It’s interesting to see how many games evolve from a common mechanic, yet have drastic differences. Let’s consider what’s currently known as the “Rhythm” genre. Guitar Hero and Rock Band are the reigning champs. I describe this game mechanic as “Linear Digital Timing,” or LDT for short. It has these rules:
-The player’s actions are tied to a fixed linear medium (like a video clip or a music sample).
-The player uses digital input ( e.g. tapping a button on or off, or pushing a joystick from center to right).
-When prompted, the player must do the specified input in a specific window of time.
Example: in Guitar Hero, you react to a linear song (like “Roxanne”), where you need to strum a note (where the digital fret button and strum switch must be “on”) at the exact time the note passes the strum window. Do it correctly, and a note plays. Miss, and you are penalized.
But Guitar Hero and Rock Band were far from the first to do this. Remember Dragon’s Lair?
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