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Battle of the bands: New Guitar Hero looks to reclaim rock ’n’ roll crown
By Scott Gardner
Guitar Hero World Tour
PS2, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360
Once upon a time there was an odd little music and rhythm game called Guitar Hero. Released to little fanfare in November 2005, it let players simulate rock-guitar riffing by pressing buttons on a ukulele-sized, guitar-shaped controller in time with scrolling musical notes. It was — and remains — a vaguely ridiculous thing to do.
Yet this blend of air guitar; big, dumb, joyous rock tunes; and that bleeping, saucer-shaped ’80s game Simon, turned out to be astonishingly fun. To everyone’s surprise (including its creators) GH became hugely popular — a cultural phenomenon even — and spawned a billion-dollar franchise. Single-handedly reviving the dead-end musical genre, this Hero was unstopable...until a new sheriff came to town.
Ten months ago Rock Band stole much of GH’s thunder by taking the same premise, then adding vocal, bass and drum parts, plus customizable characters and fresh songs to download every week. It was, improbably, even funner, and the once-mighty GH seemed destined for cruise ships and country fairs like some forgotten one-hit wonder.
But in true Behind the Music fashion, GH roars back to exceed its imitator, offering full band play and better controllers, including a wireless four-pad, two-cymbal drum kit. Set list highlights include “American Woman,” “Crazy Train” and “Purple Haze,” with both Jimi and Ozzy appearing as playable characters. Other features include online co-op play and band battles and, believe it or not, a music studio to compose, record, edit and share original tunes. Those who are about to rock, we salute you.
Release Date: October 26
Saints Row 2
PS3, Xbox 360, PC (later this year)
Emerging from prison, you find your crew, the 3rd Street Saints, in disarray, and Stilwater (based on Chicago) now run by three upstart gangs and the equally ruthless Ultor Corporation.
But you don’t get mad; you get even. Cue the open-world shooting and driving (and sailing and flying) missions as you rebuild your criminal empire.
Release Date: October 14
LittleBigPlanet
PS3
LBP represents a new genre Sony calls “creative gaming.” Players control small characters who can jump, move and grab objects, and levels involve co-operative, physics-based gameplay with gears, blocks and levers made of wood, rock or felt. Cute, but tech gurus call it “Games 3.0” because it’s so easy to create custom levels, then share them online.
Release Date: October 21