I used to love games like Guitar Hero, Rock Band, Dance Dance Revolution (I've even played competitively at DDR for a short period of my life!...okay, well long period!) and I still do enjoy them in some aspects. But the fact that I am an expert at guitar hero and can complete a DDR song that goes 300BPM doesn't mean that I am a break-dancing, van halen imitating guitar genius no matter how long I try attempting to complete 'Jordan' (look it up on youtube).
Having said that, I am learning guitar and whilst I can't say I'm a secret Tom Morello in disguise (again, look it up on youtube if you haven't heard of him). I can play basic stuff on guitar and still learning. However on guitar hero, I am the equivalent of Tom Morello in Lego form with the ability to only move my arms up and down and only able to play guitar it can fit into my U-shaped hands!
I am well aware that being good at Guitar Hero doesn't make me a good guitarist. If video games do improve your life skills, then I'd have an amazing ability to pick up coins, eat mushrooms to grow and jump on turtle shells so I can ride on top of them!
When I first played Guitar Hero well over 5 years ago, I found it so easy since I played DDR nearly 10 years ago and the logic of hitting buttons with your feet as they approach a line is applied in exactly the same way except your feet are replaced with your hands instead. It was so easy that I jumped straight into Hard mode. no shit. I completed Hard and Expert all within a week. I don't think I've really played a Guitar Hero game for any longer than a week without completing everything.
Guitar Hero 2? Completed Expert in 10 days (but 3 days consisted of completing Freebird).
Guitar Hero 3? 5 Days (although it took a further 2 weeks and a few days recovery from RSI attempting to complete Through the Fires and Flames)
World Tour? A weekend! Guitar Hero 5? Rock Band? well you get my point. By the time I played Guitar Hero 5, I was so bored that I began learning to play with my left hand (This logic does apply to masturbation in some sort of disgusting way. Get bored of your right hand? Try your Left one instead!)
However, this all changes now that Rock Band 3 has come out. No more can people mock you by shouting 'Learn a Real Instrument!' while you get 5* on freebird. No more will I ever complain that these games are too easy. This is cos Rock Band 3 has just come out and it's now got Pro Mode!
Those of you who aren't aware, Pro mode is a 102 button guitar mode that actually teaches you how to play the real song in the game! I can imagine this is Harmonix's way of saying 'Fuck You!' to Chad Kroeger and Axl Rose who said kids should be learning real instruments. This mode is one step closer.
Also new is the new keyboard mode. You get 2 octaves and you apparantly play the [almost] exact notes that the real instrument plays. Although I do enjoy games that are benficial to life, keyboard mode isn't. Considering that songs such as Bohemian Rhapsody require a whole length of a keyboard and hand switching, I'm wondering how well they've translated it into 2 octaves. A game called KeyboardMania tried making a keyboard rhythm game before and that was ridiculously hard! (And I'm a grade 8 pianist!) Simply for the fact that sight reading on the fly by rolling 30 odd notes down is incredibly difficult to play out. I'm up for trying this keyboard mode out but I ain't hoping for much.
Much to my enjoyment of finding a new challenge to a stale genre, I'm questioning how long is it gonna take for me to complete 'Free Bird' with the real instrument. I'm gonna challenge myself to learn and complete FreeBird within 4 months of getting the game. As soon as I get the game, I'm gonna start (Free)Bird Watch with Will Ho!
First blog of November done. It's nice to get typing again :)
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