Slashdot Mirror
Zen and the Art of Guitar Hero
An anonymous reader writes "Julian Murdoch over at GamersWithJobs.com has what can only be described as a piece of liturgy, proclaiming a religious experience at his local Best Buy as he watches someone beat 'Through the Fire and the Flames' on Expert in Guitar Hero 3. 'At 6 minutes in, a small crowd has formed, perhaps 15 of us. His sravaka — his disciples — look nervously at us, absorbing the distractions, protecting him a bubble of calm. There is complete silence. Even my son is staring slackjawed, like he does in church during communion, not understanding the content of the ritual but understanding the tone and sacredness of the space.'"
Who remembers the crowds that used to form around the one-on-one fighting games? People cheering and booing and complaining about cheap moves and whatever made the game a blast to play. I own most of the home ports of the Capcom and SNK fighters but nothing will beat the times I played Marvel Super Heroes (the only one I was any good at) for over an hour straight on $0.50. I played person after person and then I thought everybody had gone away. I ended up beating the game and realized that everyone else was still back there watching. It was kind of a cool feeling.
They're two completely different things. I've played guitar for 20 years and I can play most of the tracks in Guitar Hero on a real guitar. I've also five starred every song on expert in every Guitar Hero game (with the exception of Jordan and TTFATF).
Guitar Hero is fun. It's not the same as playing a real instrument, nor will it give you the skills you need to play a real instrument. It's a blast in itself and great fun if you have friends over (or play online). When playing at expert level, most of the songs are actually way more difficult to play on Guitar Hero than they are on a real guitar (granted, to someone who can already play) because of the limited button interface, this just serves to make it even more satisfying when you pull it off.
I suggest you try it with an open mind before you knock it - you might just find you enjoy it. Just see it for what it is - an excellent piece of entertainment.