Guitar Hero- PS2

[Calis]

Has anyone else picked up this sucker?

Was hanging out with a few people this weekend, and we got bored and ended up at Best Buy, which usually means money is going to be wasted on something, and this time it happened to be Guitar Hero for the PS2, a rhythm-like game where you use..you guessed it, a guitar for your controller. I'm not usually big into this games, but they have their merits.

http://us.st5.yimg.com/store1.yimg.com/I/adux_1869_329666

This game however, is awesome. A little pic of the controller there, it's actually a Mini Gibson SG, which is amusing in itself.

We put in about 7 straight hours on Sunday, and I've been fighting the urge to play it all week. It's pure genius. The difficulty ramps up nicely, easy mode is really easy, it's all on three buttons and there's seldom any chords, normal mode tosses in a 4th button and is when it starts to get tricky. Advanced mode I've just got into and it's really starting to shine there actually, it's hard as hell, but it's added in the 5th button and it really feels like you're playing guitar then.

The soundtrack is perfect also, the only thing I could wish for is more songs. It's got it all, 70's, 80's, 90's, and a couple 00's songs. Here's the song list, there's truly 30 songs, and then there are some unlockable lesser known ones that you can purchase after completing some of the other ones.

Crossroads by Cream is completely kicking my ass right now on Normal, so much so that I just moved up to Advanced to get away from it, damn you Eric Clapton!

So far my personal favorite to play is Ziggy Stardust, and it's probably the easiest, I 5-starred it on my 2nd try in Normal, and I keep on going back to play it again, fun stuff.



# Motorhead - "Ace of Spades"
# Ozzie Osbourne - "Bark at the Moon"
# Audioslave - "Cochise"
# Pantera - "Cowboys From Hell"
# Cream - "Crossroads"
# Sum 41 - "Fat Lip"
# Edgar Winter Group - "Frankenstein"
# Blue Oyster Cult - "Godzilla"
# Burning Brides - "Heart Full of Black"
# The Exies - "Hey You"
# Red Hot Chili Peppers - "Higher Ground"
# Joann Jett - "I Love Rock and Roll"
# The Ramones - "I Wanna Be Sedated"
# Bad Religion - "Infected"
# Black Sabbath - "Iron Man"
# Queen - "Killer Queen"
# Boston - "More Than A Feeling"
# Queens of the Stone Age - "No One Knows"
# ZZ Top - "Sharp Dressed Man"
# Deep Purple - "Smoke on the Water"
# Jimi Hendrix - "Spanish Castle Magic"
# Incubus - "Stellar"
# Megadeth - "Symphony of Destruction"
# The Donnas - "Take It Off"
# Franz Ferdinand - "Take Me Out"
# Stevie Ray Vaughn - "Texas Flood"
# White Zombie - "Thunderkiss 65"
# Helmet - "Unsung"
# Judas Priest - "You Got Another Thing Comin"
# David Bowie - "Ziggy Stardust"
# Acro-Brats - "Call Out"
# Anarchy Club - "Behind the Mask"
# Artillery - "The Breaking Wheel"
# Black Label Society - "Fire It Up"
# Count Zero - "Sail Your Ship By"
# Din - "Fly on the Wall"
# Drist - "Decontrol"
# Freezepop - "Get Ready 2 Rock"
# Graveyard BBQ - "Cheat on the Church"
# Honest Bob and the Factory-to-Dealer Incentives - "Hey"
# Made in Mexico - "Farewell Myth"
# Monkey Steal the Peach - "Theme from Guitar Hero"
# The Bags - "Caveman Rejoice"
# The Model Sons - "The Story of my Love"
# The Slip - "Even Rats"
# The Upper Crust - "Eureka! I Found Love"
# Shaimus - "All of This"

The songs are all covers, but they're VERY good for the most part, so much so that you'd swear it was the original on some of them.

I highly recommend it though, most fun "party" game I've played in quite a while, and it does a great job of making you feel like you're actually a kickass guitarist.
:)

Guitar Hero Gamespot Review (http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/puzzle/guitarhero/review.html?q=guitar%20hero)

There's a review for anyone who wants some more in depth info on it. I highly recommend it.

[Hurst2112]

I don't see Dream Theater's 'Dance of Eternity'...hehe. That's a shredfest. I think the controller would break.

Also, no Nitro songs. Same reason probably.

[MizzouRah]

I think it's time I get this. I've heard it's really addicting and fun when friends are over.

Makes me think of the movie, "School of Rock", which I loved.

[Pumpy Tudors]

I played something very similar to this (maybe the same thing) at a GameWorks arcade in Las Vegas last summer. I'm much more of an XBox guy, but I may get this game and bring out the PS2 to play it.

I had just pledged not to spend any more "fun" money for at least another week, too. :(

[Ksyrup]

http://www.smashitup.net/nitro/ma.jpg.

[kingnebwsu]

I can't wait to get this game. I was strong and I put it on my X-mas list from my girlfriend. Come Dec. 25, I'll be rockin' out! ;)

[Calis]

Get it, I can't stress enough how great this game is.

To further clarify it's greatness, I had a mini-family gathering over at my place last night.

My Grandma played Thunderkiss '65 by White Zombie..that's a picture for the ages. It's great stuff though, I still can't beat Crossroads, but I beat the other song that had stumped me and was able to move onto the next level, where I just played Texas Flood by SRV which was a blast. I moved on to Cowboys From Hell and Bark at the Moon and was promptly kicked in the ass, those two are tough.

Fun stuff, and it only gets better as you move up in difficulty. I can't wait to grab a 2nd guitar so 2 people can play.

[kingnebwsu]

Time-stamp bug is great lol

[Hurst2112]

http://www.smashitup.net/nitro/ma.jpg.

thank you K

[stevew]

Donkey Konga was pretty fun as a party game as well.

[Ksyrup]

That band was insane. Lilke Vinnie Vincent Invasion on steroids. If that's possible.

Did you check your PMs?

[Calis]

I should add, there are amps on the loading screen before starting a song.

They all are turned to 11.

[Ksyrup]

They just don't make bands like this anymore. I guess that's probably a good thing.

When Nitro vocalist, Jim Gillette, set out to shatter crystal goblets with his voice during the video shoot for the band's first single, "Freight Train," director John Seay was not quite prepared. The camera angle was perfect, the goblets exploded, but <B><BLINK>Gillette's voice was so powerful it also shattered the camera lens</BLINK></B>. Nitro is now thinking about printing a disclaimer on their concert tickets stating, "We like to shatter no glass before its time, but if we do, there ain't nothing you can do."

[Hurst2112]

That band was insane. Lilke Vinnie Vincent Invasion on steroids. If that's possible.

Did you check your PMs?

yes i did. thanks for the vid. audio wan't mixed that great but the imaging was above par.

[heybrad]

This game is awesome.

I had my brother staying with me over Thanksgiving. We made a trip to Best Buy for him to get a microphone so he could start adding audio for The Movies. We saw the demo of Guitar Hero, worked are way in to try it and had to buy. We got the last one in the store. We played it for 3 days straight. We're currently stuck on the medium level trying to complete "Bark at the moon". That hasn't stopped us from going back and spending countless hours perfecting the songs we've already opened up.

This game is a blast. Even my wife got into it and is perfecting Killer Queen. I've become quite good at Iron Man (on medium level). We've got the rhythm part down on most songs but its those friggin solos that throw us off track.

[tanglewood]

How close is this to actually playing guitar?

[Calis]

This game is a blast. Even my wife got into it and is perfecting Killer Queen. I've become quite good at Iron Man (on medium level). We've got the rhythm part down on most songs but its those friggin solos that throw us off track.

Killer Queen was pretty tough I thought. Ziggy Stardust was the first song on Medium I consistently got 5 stars and 100k points on, I just love playing that one. Did you beat Cowboys From Hell? I'm having a harder time with that than I am with Bark at the Moon, and Crossroads is STILL kicking my ass. I've just completely skipped it for now.

Texas Flood is my new addiction though. I love those moments in this game when you just completely zone out, and don't even realize you're hitting every single note on some crazy solo, of course when you do notice you fall to pieces. :)

As for it being like a real guitar, I'd say not very. I mean, it'll help you with the dexterity as the hand placement is the same and moving frets, but beyond that I don't think it's too close, but my guitar knowledge stops at playing Mary Had a Little Lamb. You sure feel like you're wailing on a guitar though.

[tategter]

Is there a lefty version of the controller or do us southpaws have to play it upside down (Jimmy Hendrix style)

[heybrad]

Did you beat Cowboys From Hell? I'm having a harder time with that than I am with Bark at the Moon, and Crossroads is STILL kicking my ass. I've just completely skipped it for now.
Yea, we beat Cowboys from Hell. Not with a great performance but we got through the song. I tried multiple times again last night on Bark at the Moon, but damn, that song is hard. There are times I don't even make it out of the opening to the first chords (like 15% of the song).

Having mastered 5 star performances on Iron Man I'm now working on Symphony of Destruction.

[Lonnie]

I had some leftover birthday money, so I picked this up last night. Oh my... I stayed up until 3 am jamming my ass off. I do play guitar and agree it's not very much like the real thing, although if you do play guitar you will probably be better at using your pinky and performing the hammer on/pull off combos that help with the faster solo sections. Alternate picking comes in very handy as well.

I'm stuck on the last venue of the medium difficulty right now as well. Cowboys from Hell, Bark at the Moon, and Crossroads are all ass kickers. I only made one run through each and decided I better try to get a few hours of sleep. I cleared CFH, but was only a low 3 star. When you get off just a bit in a fast section it is very hard to jump back in. I think I only made it 27% through Bark at the Moon before I was booed off stage. I was even worse on Crossroads, but think I was a little too tired at that point anyway.

One hint: manicure your pick hand thumb nail nice and short. I already started wearing through the gloss on the pick mechanism.

[Ksyrup]

I'm having a hard time understanding what this game is like, except that it appears to be the Wayne's World version of those stupid ass dance video games I see at arcades these days. That whole scene was WAY after my time.

[Lonnie]

Is there a lefty version of the controller or do us southpaws have to play it upside down (Jimmy Hendrix style)

There are options in the menu to change the guitar to lefty. So you have to flip it over Jimi. I think the only weird part would be the whammy bar will be on top. The fret buttons would be the same. I guess the display on screen would switch to the first fret being on the right side of the screen when you switch the options in game.

Ksyrup, that is exactly what it is, just less exercise. If you watch the video review at Gamespot it sums it up pretty well and has in game footage.

[Pumpy Tudors]

Ugh. I want this game so badly. Can't afford it yet. :(

[Calis]

Is there a lefty version of the controller or do us southpaws have to play it upside down (Jimmy Hendrix style)

I'm a Southpaw myself, and I haven't had any problem playing it right-handed, but if you have experience playing guitar left-handed I could see how that would be confusing.

Really I think it's pretty handy having your dominate hand working the fret buttons. I haven't tried switching it over yet, probably hurt me more than help at this point.

[Ksyrup]

I have experience playing air guitar left-handed.

So much so, that when I made an aborted attempt to teach myself acoustic guitar a few years ago on a right-handed guitar, I was pretty much limited in what I could do. Pplaying the other way just felt so much more natural and comfortable. I wish I had bought a lefty guitar, but I was going for cheap since I wasn't sure if I was going to follow through with it. Which I didn't. But probably because it wasn't left-handed.

[Hurst2112]

there are several guitars players out there who play a right handed guitar, left handed. Koko Montoya (John Mayall's Bluesbreakers) does this particularly well. Its basically strung as a right hand, but flipped upside down. Low e is on the bottom. Very strange to see and your chords would be all inverted and backwards (if you were a right hander playing it).

guys like Hendrix played a right handed guitar strung in reverse. That's easier to do on a guitar rather than a bass because of smaller guage strings and the nut at the end of the neck.

so there. ;)

[Ksyrup]

For someone teaching himself, I wasn't about to try to learn that way, or try to re-string a guitar. No, I've found that my guitar is much better as a dust-collector sitting near one of the walls of CDs I have. Kinda reminds me where my place in music is.

[Calis]

This is probably a horribly obvious question, but why a right-handed guitar set-up the way it is? I would think you'd want the dominant hand on the frets.

Is it a matter of rhythm being better in your dominant hand?

[Ksyrup]

That was (one of) my (many) problem(s). I had a hard time playing rhythm with my right hand. The fretwork wasn't that much of an issue (not that I played anything remotely strenuous - basically just learned some chords). Playing left handed is much smoother and naturally fluid for me.

[Hurst2112]

This is probably a horribly obvious question, but why a right-handed guitar set-up the way it is? I would think you'd want the dominant hand on the frets.

Is it a matter of rhythm being better in your dominant hand?

yes.

got to realize that when the guitar was invented, the more intricate playing was with the dominant hand. as shredders came alone, they started to use their left hand more, but you aren't gonna change hundreds of years of guitar technology.

[Hurst2112]

That was (one of) my (many) problem(s). I had a hard time playing rhythm with my right hand. The fretwork wasn't that much of an issue (not that I played anything remotely strenuous - basically just learned some chords). Playing left handed is much smoother and naturally fluid for me.

nothing is too intense for mr batio

http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/4736/quad26lm.jpg

[McSweeny]

This is probably a horribly obvious question, but why a right-handed guitar set-up the way it is? I would think you'd want the dominant hand on the frets.

Is it a matter of rhythm being better in your dominant hand?this is excatly why i play a left-handed guitar even though i am right handed

[Hurst2112]

this is excatly why i play a left-handed guitar even though i am right handed
so do you play inverted or switch the strings?

[Hurst2112]

Dola,

When I drummed, I always ate and shook hands with my weaker left. Got that from Gene Krupa.

Didn't help that much but people would question it sometimes.

[McSweeny]

so do you play inverted or switch the strings?well no

what i mean was, i'm right-handed. however i play a left-handed guitar. my dominant hand does all the fret work and i do the strumming with my left hand

[sterlingice]

I so want to try this game out but I don't have a PS2 or $70 :(

SI

[thesloppy]

Also, no Nitro songs. Same reason probably.

HOLY CRAP! Did somebody just mention Nitro on FOFC? Hurst and Ksyrup, you are both outfuckingrageous in my book.


http://www.thisishowifeel.com/nitro/nitroofr.jpg

[kingnebwsu]

Got Guitar Hero from the mall tonight...for $80 :( But, my girlfriend bought it as an x-mas present. Hope I can open it early! :)

[gkb]

Picked this up on the way home from work tonight, based on this thread. It's a lot of fun...I spent several hours playing tonight. :)

[tategter]

HOLY CRAP! Did somebody just mention Nitro on FOFC? Hurst and Ksyrup, you are both outfuckingrageous in my book.


http://www.thisishowifeel.com/nitro/nitroofr.jpg

This pic reminds of Poison. When I first saw their debute album I thought they were an all girl band.

Sorry to threadjack....carry on...

[Ksyrup]

Bobby Rock played drums for Nitro, Vinnie Vincent Invasion, AND Nelson.

It's no wonder he calls himself "a modern day renaissance man."

[Lonnie]

I've progressed to Hard mode and am now stuck on venue 5,Queen's of the Stone Age's "No One Knows". It sure gets tough when they through that 5th fret in. In hard mode you have to clear all 5 songs from each venue before the next one opens up. Sure is cool rocking out as the Grim Reaper.

[Lonnie]

Dola,

I don't think this thing has been off much in the past three days. Everyone in the family has been playing it. Very much a recommended Christmas gift for anyone that has a PS2. I'm ordering a second guitar so that we can play multiplayer!

[Hurst2112]

"drugs are for dumbfucks. don't be a dumbfuck"

liner note inside Nitro's O.F.R. cd...hehe

[Pumpy Tudors]

I just got this game tonight and started playing half an hour ago. I can't help myself when I'm playing. I find myself jumping around all over the place, just like my character onscreen. My wife is playing right now, but she's sitting down. Something just seems wrong with that. You should be on your feet when you're rocking!

[Raven]

I just got this game tonight and started playing half an hour ago. I can't help myself when I'm playing. I find myself jumping around all over the place, just like my character onscreen. My wife is playing right now, but she's sitting down. Something just seems wrong with that. You should be on your feet when you're rocking!


Like I said, Pumpy owns every game ever made! ;)

[Raven]

dola


Are you guys still playing this, or is it beginning to get old? I have it on my christmas list, and if I don't get it, I'll be picking it up on Dec 26th.

[Lonnie]

Just played it some more today. I've gone about as far as I can go career wise. I can't finish Cowboys from Hell or Bark at the Moon on expert. So I've given that up. Now I just do quick play alot and try for high scores and see how many songs I can get 100% on. I still want another guitar to play multiplayer, but think I will wait until they get another model besides the SG. I'd love an Explorer!

[heybrad]

I'm still playing. The timing of getting this has been great for us. We have a lot of people come over for the holidays and it's been a great party game.

[SackAttack]

Snagged it at Best Buy with gift cards tonight. My brother disdained it as "ridiculous"...

and promptly spent four hours tonight playing it :D

[MizzouRah]

BEST Christmas present this year!!

This has got to be the coolest thing for the ps2. If you've ever wanted to be a rock star, this is your chance. I have it blasting through the stereo and it really feels and sounds like I'm playing guitar.

[Sweed]

Tried to get this for (the kids ;) ) for Christmans but couldn't find it anywhere. Happened to look on gamestop's site yesterday and still out of stock. Checked the store locator and found a store that had them on hand and went and picked one up.

Lot's of fun for everyone and very addictive. My daughter has a dance pad for the ps2 and they came out with kind of an expansion disk for it I hope they do the same for guitar hero.

[MizzouRah]

Tried to get this for (the kids ;) ) for Christmans but couldn't find it anywhere. Happened to look on gamestop's site yesterday and still out of stock. Checked the store locator and found a store that had them on hand and went and picked one up.

Lot's of fun for everyone and very addictive. My daughter has a dance pad for the ps2 and they came out with kind of an expansion disk for it I hope they do the same for guitar hero.
Ya, everyone laughed at me when I opened it up... now that I've been playing it, everyone wants "just one more turn". :D

[sterlingice]

I still want to try this out. They had it out on demo when I was at ebgames last week but I was in a hurry as it was getaway day. That said, I'm going back there to do some DS shopping today so hopefully it's out.

SI

[Kodos]

How hard is this game for uncoordinated oafs?

[Pumpy Tudors]

How hard is this game for uncoordinated oafs?
On the easy level, it's pretty easy. The problem is that you can't unlock anything from the easy level, if I remember correctly. The normal difficulty level is quite a challenge if you want to get near a perfect score on some of othe harder songs, but it's still not hard to "pass" each song successfully. I haven't played above normal level, but I'd imagine that it could be quite a bitch for an uncoordinated oaf.

[SackAttack]

How hard is this game for uncoordinated oafs?

I'll let you know.

[Kodos]

On the easy level, it's pretty easy. The problem is that you can't unlock anything from the easy level, if I remember correctly. The normal difficulty level is quite a challenge if you want to get near a perfect score on some of othe harder songs, but it's still not hard to "pass" each song successfully. I haven't played above normal level, but I'd imagine that it could be quite a bitch for an uncoordinated oaf.


Pix?

[Pumpy Tudors]

Pix?
ok here is a picture of rebecca lobo

http://img113.imageshack.us/img113/7669/rebeccalobo6al.jpg

[Godzilla Blitz]

How hard is this game for uncoordinated oafs?
I should finally have some time to play this in the next few days, so I might be able to give you a different perspective.

Coordination isn't that much of a problem with me, but I have zero musical ability. Zero.

[Kodos]

Uncoordinated, no musical ability, no rhythm.

[Pumpy Tudors]

Musical ability is absolutely not necessary to do well at this game. It's all about coordination. I've found that the easier songs are the ones I've actually heard before, because I can anticipate which notes I'll have to play, but you don't need to know anything at all about music to play Guitar Hero well.

[MizzouRah]

Yep, no musical ability here either, although it does help to know at least some of the songs, which Kodos.. should be zero problems for you. I love how there are such a mix of rock songs.

Go through the tutorial, the easy level, and on up from there. I'm just about done with the easy level and there are still a few songs that have been hard.

[SackAttack]

It's getting seriously challenging on Medium. Expert must be insane, because even my brother the guitar player stepped back down to hard for something he could complete. :D

[Godzilla Blitz]

I played with my 4-year-old son for 20 minutes tonight. He did the frets, I did the strumming. That didn't work well, so we switched. Didn't really matter, as we got booed off the stage again. Our basement opening was not well received. Thing is, I think we were about the same level of ability.

I later tried two songs by myself on a career on easy and managed to clear them, but I didn't make the second one by much. This will be a long road to stardom.

[sterlingice]

I played this in EBGames today and had a blast. Unfortunately, the sound wasn't up very loud so I couldn't hear it that well. Watched a friend get boo'd offstage on Thunderkiss 65 on easy. Me, I have no musical ability whatsoever unless we're counting grade school band and choir, and no rhythm but got a decent score on Thunderkiss 65 and a great score on Smoke on the Water (which was tremendously fun), both on easy. A lot harder to play White Zombie since it's got more "noise" so it was hard to hear on low volume. But, man, I had a blast and I'd love to get a copy. Too bad $70 for a game on a system I don't own is a bit much to stomach. But I'll do it at some point anyways.

This seems like the perfect party game for (not so drunk) people on New Years.

SI

[Raven]

Been playing for the past 2 days, and both the roommate and I are hooked. I've been playing on medium difficulty.

Crossroads is a bitch. Don't know how I will ever get that one completed.

My favorite songs to play so far are probably Take Me Out and I Love Rock and Roll.

[SackAttack]

I Love Rock & Roll is great. I kinda blustered my way through Iron Man on Medium earlier. I can do better than 93%, but my fret hand was so cramped up after about two solid hours of play that I had to put it down. Good times.

[Vince]

This game is friggin amazing. We had a party at my house last night, and we all took turns -- even the girls were getting involved, and that's saying something. My little brother Ronnie stayed up until 6 AM shredding. He passed out on the couch with the Mini Gibson SG in his lap :)

Tonight, I barely bulled my way through Crossroads on the Hard difficulty level. Trying to play ANY of the last 5 songs on the Hard difficulty level is a nightmare. I went down to the Medium difficulty level, and was able to finish each song, however.

It helps a TREMENDOUS amount to be familiar with the song you are trying to play, but it isn't impossible to learn a song as you go.

As for the difficulty level...I've been a joystick jockey for going on 20 years now, so my hand-eye coordination has always been great. I am also a musician, but I don't play the guitar (very well). With that background and a little practice, I was able to at least get through most songs on the Hard difficulty level on the first time through up until the 4th venue. When you got to the Toxic Summer Tour venue, the songs became ridiculously difficult to play, and it took me a solid hour to get through Cream's Crossroads on the Hard Difficulty level. As for Expert...well, I haven't been able to finish 'I Love Rock and Roll' even once. It's gnarly. Interestingly enough, I found that when I was playing on the Easy and Medium levels, I'd strum too often on some of the easier songs, because I was hearing notes in the song that the game wasn't telling me to play.

Now that I've gone through the whole game on Medium though, and most of it on Hard, I wonder how long it will keep my interest. Anyone here have two controllers yet, and tried multiplayer?

I think this game sets the bar for me as far as giving me a feeling of personal accomplishment. When you nail a guitar solo on the Hard difficulty level, you just want to jump up and pump your fist into the air -- it's an amazing feeling :)

[Karlifornia]

Geez...this thread almost makes me want to buy this seventy dollar monstrosity :)

[SackAttack]

Geez...this thread almost makes me want to buy this seventy dollar monstrosity :)

$70, hell. Go spend the $109 or so that redoctane.com charges for the game + two guitars. It's half the cost of Steel Battalion, and if you don't get at least four times as much enjoyment out of it, you have no soul.

Amazing game. If I can be bothered to write up my "games of the year" article (and I've got, what, two days to do that?), this one is going on there, easily.

[MizzouRah]

I've heard that when you hook up another guitar, one plays bass and one plays lead, which sounds like much fun.

Man, Take me out on easy kicked my butt. :)

[Raven]

I've heard that when you hook up another guitar, one plays bass and one plays lead, which sounds like much fun.

Man, Take me out on easy kicked my butt. :)


I was skimming through the book, and saw you could use the controller instead of the guitar. So you could test this theory. I was curious what multiplayer would be, but am too lazy to try right now.

[Pumpy Tudors]

Man, Take me out on easy kicked my butt. :)Oh dear. You're going to be in for some serious fun when you go up to medium level. :)

[MizzouRah]

Oh dear. You're going to be in for some serious fun when you go up to medium level. :)
I just moved up and wow, adding another fret really makes me crazy. So far, I've completed the first two songs though. :)

[Raven]

I just beat Bark at the Moon on medium level. Don't know how I managed to get through it. It was tough as hell.

Now I've been going back and trying to upgrade my performances on the other songs. Most I passed with 3 stars, with a couple 4s scattered through. Trying to get all those up to 4 stars, before I move up to expert and add that 5th button.

I wonder how much this game will keep my interest now that I've made it this far.

[SackAttack]

I've been trying to complete everything on Medium on 5 star before I progress to the next song. Did fine on the first five, but the second set is going more slowly.

I did manage to finally hit 100% on Iron Man (Medium), though, so that was my moment of glory. :)

[Vince]

I did manage to finally hit 100% on Iron Man (Medium), though, so that was my moment of glory. :)
Nice. I can 5-star things on Medium pretty easily for the first few sets, but I've yet to 100% a song. I'm most entertained playing songs at the Hard level, though...and 5-star ratings there are few and far between. I've been making myself get a 4-star rating before I go on, but I really just want to unlock the gnarly songs first, then I'll go back and perfect the other ones. Stupid memory card glitch, or I'd already have them unlocked...

[MizzouRah]

Ok, my 9 year old daughter really needs to quit hogging my game and her ps2. :)

[Bearcat729]

Wow I really suck at this game.

[sterlingice]

Anyone who sucks at the game enough to be frustrated by it and quit can send it to:
SterlingIce's Guitar Hero Donation
P.O. Box... ;)

SI

[MizzouRah]

Anyone who sucks at the game enough to be frustrated by it and quit can send it to:
SterlingIce's Guitar Hero Donation
P.O. Box... ;)

SI
Next time I'm in KC, I'll bring it. ;)

[Bearcat729]

I've finally got two 4 star reviews on Spanish Castle Magic and Cochise it's too bad they were both gained on easy difficulty

[SackAttack]

Took me four days, but I finally got a 5 star on Medium "More Than A Feeling."

Was three notes shy of 100%, too. :(

[MizzouRah]

Took me four days, but I finally got a 5 star on Medium "More Than A Feeling."

Was three notes shy of 100%, too. :(
I just did as well. Love that song.

[MizzouRah]

This thread should never die. People need to read what a masterpiece this game is.

I think I jumped the gun with NCAA '06 being my favorite game of the year.. it's not. Guitar Hero is so unbelievably fun I'm left wondering how lucky I am to have a ps2 and this gaming package. I have no desire to playing anything else on the ps2 anymore. As soon as the house is to myself, I crank up the TV and play until my wife sneaks up behind me and laughs.

I love to rock.

[SackAttack]

My dad is hooked on this game as well. He's been playin', and leaving the machine on when he takes breaks to work on his PC. Definitely gonna have to get the 2nd guitar.

[SackAttack]

I just finished "More Than A Feeling" on hard...holy crap does that 5th fret play mind games with you.

Only a 3* performance, but I had a 94 note streak and hit 90% of the notes on my first try on that difficulty.

I'm going to go pass out now.

[Vince]

I just beat the game on Hard. Holy christ is it tough to get those solos on the last tier on the Hard Difficulty level. Now the Expert 1st Tier is making me feel like a complete klutz.

My 5-star rating on Spanish Castle Magic on the Hard Difficulty level might be my most proud video game achievement ever.

[Vince]

So I just made it through Bark at the Moon on Expert. I think my fingers are about to fall off. I barely bulled through with 71% of the notes and a 3-star rating. I did have a run of over 100 consecutive notes hit though.

After beating the game on the other difficulties, I was hoping for something cool for getting through it on Expert. I was a little disappointed, but you do get something (I wouldn't want to spoil it for anyone else trying to get through the game).

Now time to perfect those solos...Ozzy Osbourne is a beast.

[Lonnie]

Awesome Vince, I still have CFH and Bark at the Moon to go on expert.

[MizzouRah]

When does Bark at the Moon come up? I don't think I've seen it on the other difficulties.

[Calis]

When does Bark at the Moon come up? I don't think I've seen it on the other difficulties.

Medium difficulty, it's part of the final group.

Doesn't show on Easy.

[Bearcat729]

I'd just like to say that I still really suck at this game.


Medium difficulty and I cannot get past Fat Lip, Take it Off, or Unsung and don't see myself doing it any time soon.

[MizzouRah]

Medium difficulty, it's part of the final group.

Doesn't show on Easy.
Thanks.. I'm almost there!!

[SackAttack]

Stellar is pissing me off.

My dad finally graduated to Medium, and promptly discovered why God gave him a pinky finger. :D

[Vince]

I'd just like to say that I still really suck at this game.


Medium difficulty and I cannot get past Fat Lip, Take it Off, or Unsung and don't see myself doing it any time soon.
Keep working at it -- you can get it :)

I brought the game back to my parents' house, since it WAS my gift to my dad for Christmas after all. Kind of depressing -- but I'll get my own soon, and probably the two-guitar version so we can play simultaneously (I'm really looking forward to trying multiplayer).

My only problem with that is that I seem to be much better than most of my friends at the game, so I don't know how we'll be able to compete, since you can only pick one difficulty level.

[WVUFAN]

Based on the recommendations today, I went and bought Guitar Hero. I'll try it when I get home. I have the guitar here at work, and people can't stop picking it up to see what the heck it is. :-)

[sterlingice]

Hey, Todd, bring Guitar Hero to KC when you come ;)

SI

[MizzouRah]

Hey, Todd, bring Guitar Hero to KC when you come ;)

SI
Do you have a ps2? I don't think my daughter would let me bring her ps2. :)

[sterlingice]

Do you have a ps2? I don't think my daughter would let me bring her ps2. :)Nope :(

Oh well, a friend and I agreed to go in halfways on it in a couple of weeks when I get some more ebgames credit (*cough*Josh, package*cough*) ;)

SI

[Godzilla Blitz]

Finally sat down last night to give the game a more serious try.

Played through 13 songs on easy and was somewhat nonplussed with the experience.

Then jumped up to novice and the game changed completely.

I'm awful at the game and so novice is just right for me. Very challenging. Still can't get better than three stars on any song. I'm not sure if it was just me, but the same song played at novice seems to sound so much better than when played at easy. Sounds great when I get things right. I ended up playing for about two hours...

...and my left hand is aching today.

[MizzouRah]

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4266862911979111749&q=%22sauce

[Lonnie]

That video is awesome. I think he only messed up a couple of times. Thats the song I'm stuck on, he gave me some good ideas though... off to go try em out.

[Bearcat729]

I finally made it to the Fret Burners on Medium difficulty.

[KWhit]

You guys know that in the amount of time that it takes you to master this you could actually learn how to really play the guitar, right?

And then you could get hot chicks.


:D

[Bearcat729]

You guys know that in the amount of time that it takes you to master this you could actually learn how to really play the guitar, right?

And then you could get hot chicks.


:D


Even if I knew how to play guitar it's not going to help me do anything.

[KWhit]

Even if I knew how to play guitar it's not going to help me do anything.
Go camping with a bunch of single women and sit around the fire playing guitar all night. Guaranteed to put some honey on your lap.

[Raven]

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4266862911979111749&q=%22sauce


why the hell was he doing that thing with his right hand?

[Lonnie]

To show off

[gkb]

why the hell was he doing that thing with his right hand?

And how does he keep the guitar so still? Is it mounted to something?

[Hurst2112]

He's certainly showing off a bit.

I haven't played this game but after watching this video, any good guitar player could easily accel at the game. He is showing some clues that he plays guitar and is a Pantera fan.

[Kodos]

Finally got to try this at Best Buy last night. Wow, do I suck. I was totally inept at first, but worked my way up to just mostly inept. I passed More Than A Feeling twice in a row on easy before needing to leave. Fun game. Wanted to buy it, but they didn't seem to have it in stock. When I wasn't embarrassing myself completely, it was pretty cool pretending I could play guitar. :)

[SackAttack]

Finally got to try this at Best Buy last night. Wow, do I suck. I was totally inept at first, but worked my way up to just mostly inept. I passed More Than A Feeling twice in a row on easy before needing to leave. Fun game. Wanted to buy it, but they didn't seem to have it in stock. When I wasn't embarrassing myself completely, it was pretty cool pretending I could play guitar. :)

Really? Wow. We had 30 last night (I work at the Best Buy in my town).

[Kodos]

I dunno. I hunted around the PS2 area and couldn't find it. I imagine it needs a pretty big box for the guitar. But, as my wife often points out, I can have something right in front of me and not see it.

[MizzouRah]

Welcome to the ROCK side.

[SackAttack]

I dunno. I hunted around the PS2 area and couldn't find it. I imagine it needs a pretty big box for the guitar. But, as my wife often points out, I can have something right in front of me and not see it.

It's large, but not huge. At work we just put 'em on the basedeck. We got a bunch in on the truck last night, and we already had some, so unless your store is smaller than ours or GH is a bigger seller there, I can't imagine they wouldn't have any.

[Kodos]

It's pretty big. I just used BestBuy.com, and it says the game is in stock at the store I went to. I must have missed it.

[SackAttack]

It's pretty big. I just used BestBuy.com, and it says the game is in stock at the store I went to. I must have missed it.

Or it was in the warehouse. I know when they come off the truck, that's where they sit until the media folks open up the boxes they come in. They don't always get wheeled out to the floor to get processed with the software and CD cases.

[Calis]

Man, so I hadn't played this for whatever reason for a month or so. I fired it up again yesterday and dove back into Hard, which I'd really just started on, only finishing 4 songs I think and having a rough time.

I ended up finishing 12 more on hard yesterday, and in impressive fashion. I really think a break can help out in this game. Man, it's also amazing how much more fun it is on hard. It was fun on normal, but man you really feel like you did something on the tougher levels.

I love this game.

Man, some guitar hero noobs came by after I'd been playing some, so we went back to normal and played a few. Wow, I can't believe the difference on that either, I remember that being hard. :) It goes so slowly now it seems.

I want more.

[Kodos]

Now you're messin' with
A son of a bitch!



Seems like that'd be a good song for Guitar Hero.

Not enough 80s Pop Metal on it. I want to play Talk Dirty to Me!

[MizzouRah]

There is a GH 2 in the works.

[Calis]

There is a GH 2 in the works.

Sold.

Was all I needed to know about it. :)

I really do hope they input some form of a practice mode in the next one, an easy way for us to repeat a section or something like that. The one thing really annoying me on this one.

I still haven't tried a hammer on/pull off on a song yet, I shudder even thinking about trying. Too complex for my simple mind. I'm sure it would make some things quite a bit simpler.

[SackAttack]

Sold.

Was all I needed to know about it. :)

I really do hope they input some form of a practice mode in the next one, an easy way for us to repeat a section or something like that. The one thing really annoying me on this one.

I still haven't tried a hammer on/pull off on a song yet, I shudder even thinking about trying. Too complex for my simple mind. I'm sure it would make some things quite a bit simpler.

Texas Flood is the easiest song to practice that on. Gotta love the blues.

[Hurst2112]

There is a GH 2 in the works.

GH2 is gonna have a big ass picture of Esteban on the cover. You guys are screwed!

[MizzouRah]

I want some Metallica and GnR in the next one. Maybe "One" by Metallica and "Paradise City" by GnR.

[Vince]

Texas Flood is the easiest song to practice that on. Gotta love the blues.
Agreed. Texas Flood has some pretty obvious hammer-on / pull-off sections to it.

I can do hammer-ons without even thinking about it now, but pull-offs are still a little tough.

As for Guitar Hero 2...I'm totally sold on it. Hopefully we can get some AC/DC, GnR or Maiden in the next one :)

[gkb]

I'd like some Metallica in the next one as well. Maybe some Van Halen, AC/DC, and some 80's hairband music...Motley Cruie, Poison, etc. :)

[Kodos]

Went out and bought it last night. Best Buy had two stacks of 'em. I am assuming they weren't out the night before. That, or I really am totally blind.

Played it for two-and-a-half hours. What a blast. I passed most songs on easy on the first try, although I did fail on Sharp Dressed Man. Gotta admit I didn't know a lot of the songs. They need to put out an all-80s version. My favorites so far are Ziggy Stardust, More Than A Feeling, and You've Got Another Thing Coming, although some of the newer songs were fun too, like the Franz Ferdinand song and that chick song. My forearms are sore! Good news is the wife is going out tonight, so more time to become a rock god! I actually caught myself doing rock poses and stuff. What a dork! :)

[MizzouRah]

Went out and bought it last night. Best Buy had two stacks of 'em. I am assuming they weren't out the night before. That, or I really am totally blind.

Played it for two-and-a-half hours. What a blast. I passed most songs on easy on the first try, although I did fail on Sharp Dressed Man. Gotta admit I didn't know a lot of the songs. They need to put out an all-80s version. My favorites so far are Ziggy Stardust, More Than A Feeling, and You've Got Another Thing Coming, although some of the newer songs were fun too, like the Franz Ferdinand song and that chick song. My forearms are sore! Good news is the wife is going out tonight, so more time to become a rock god! I actually caught myself doing rock poses and stuff. What a dork! :)
Don't worry, it's a common side effect. :)

Ziggy Stardust kicks arse!!

[sterlingice]

I'm still waiting to get this game. Maybe if a certain Gamenikki editor would send out a shipment of games that's been due for over a month, I'd have some stuff to review, trade in, and get credit to afford it ;)

SI

[Kodos]

I'm actually making some progress on medium, which is cool, because I really thought I wasn't going to be able to, but certain songs like Stellar I just have no hope on. Too many notes, too fast. Still having a blast though -- it's a hard game to put down. I kept going for one more song on Saturday night. Seems like most of the unlockable songs are crap. Wish they'd put in more famous songs instead.

[Eilim]

For those of you still hooked on this game, this might be of some help... http://www.purplefrog.com/~thoth/guitar-hero/ .

Currently trying to get through "Bark at the Moon" on medium right now. Then I'm moving on up to using all the buttons. :)

I also just ordered a ps2-usb adapter so I can use the guitar controller to mess around with DTXMania on the pc,(a guitar freaks/drummania sim.) too bad it only uses 3 buttons. I'm actually thinking of finally putting my TGE/Torque2d indie licenses to use and trying my hand at making a Guitar hero type sim to use the controller with just so I can play the game with more songs.

[Fonzie]

I finally fired this up with some friends last night and we had a preposterously good time. I can think of no better game with which to sit around with friends and drink.

Most of the songs were fun to listen to as well as fun to play, at least on the easy level. Crossroads, however, nearly made me pop a stroke. Christ that was hard. I must say that No One Knows, just as a song, sucks. I don't understand why it was included in this game.

I hope that with GH2 they are able to get the rights to some of the better 70's and 80's classic/hard rock songs. Some Van Halen or Rush would be very welcome. Or perhaps they should consider releasing specialized "expansion packs" that they could target at the different age ranges, so those of us older farts who want our 70's music fix can have it without having to listen to the newer stuff we don't like.

Anyway, great fun. I can't wait to get started on Medium level.

[SackAttack]

I finally fired this up with some friends last night and we had a preposterously good time. I can think of no better game with which to sit around with friends and drink.

Most of the songs were fun to listen to as well as fun to play, at least on the easy level. Crossroads, however, nearly made me pop a stroke. Christ that was hard.

Wait 'til you see it on hard and expert. :)

I hope that with GH2 they are able to get the rights to some of the better 70's and 80's classic/hard rock songs. Some Van Halen or Rush would be very welcome. Or perhaps they should consider releasing specialized "expansion packs" that they could target at the different age ranges, so those of us older farts who want our 70's music fix can have it without having to listen to the newer stuff we don't like.

Expansion packs are coming. Genre-specific, even.

[Fonzie]

Wait 'til you see it on hard and expert. :)



Expansion packs are coming. Genre-specific, even.

Woohoo!

Now that they have adopted my brilliant ideas, how do I go about getting my royalty checks? ;)

[Bearcat729]

Wait 'til you see it on hard and expert. :)



Expansion packs are coming. Genre-specific, even.



Yeah I still have 3 songs on Medium level to beat(No One Knows, Bark at the Moon and Cowboys from Hell I think)

Where have you heard about the expansion packs? I haven't seen anything on the GH webpage

[SackAttack]

Yeah I still have 3 songs on Medium level to beat(No One Knows, Bark at the Moon and Cowboys from Hell I think)

Where have you heard about the expansion packs? I haven't seen anything on the GH webpage

http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=62411

The implication there is that the different tracks have more to do with country-specific tastes, but this is one of those games where it would be ridiculous NOT to ride the gravy train. They can create new packs, sell 'em for $20-40 each, and sell as many of them as possible without having to worry about having guitars available.

[SackAttack]

For those of you looking to do the multiplayer thing, Best Buy has apparently started carrying the extra controllers in-store, as I just picked one up on my way home from umpiring. :)

[MizzouRah]

For those of you looking to do the multiplayer thing, Best Buy has apparently started carrying the extra controllers in-store, as I just picked one up on my way home from umpiring. :)

Duelling guitars!

[SackAttack]

Duelling guitars!

Indeed. I'm still waiting for either my dad or my brother to take five damn minutes to play it with me so I can try it out. It's amazing, they've been hooked on it for months, but the day I bring home a second guitar...

[SackAttack]

Just a bump. I was talking to Vince about Guitar Hero, and he mentioned a song whose name he couldn't remember.

I found the set list on Wikipedia (ah, Wikipedia...is there anything you can't do?) and listed in the entry was this (http://boards.gamefaqs.com/gfaqs/genmessage.php?board=928520&topic=27386546&page=0)

Here's a video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_BgqlcCPF4) of it in action. Simply crazy to watch.

[Hurst2112]

My hat's off to the real up and coming guitar geeks. Hidden song on PS2 has got nuthin on Jason Becker's 'Seranna'

hxxp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qBKERW3kns

[Pyser]

beat the game yesterday! woot!!!

the last 2 for me were cowboys from hell and bark at the moon...and oddly, i beat them both within the same hour.

just was in the zone i guess.

now to 5 star them....yikes.

[MizzouRah]

beat the game yesterday! woot!!!

the last 2 for me were cowboys from hell and bark at the moon...and oddly, i beat them both within the same hour.

just was in the zone i guess.

now to 5 star them....yikes.

Nicely done!!

[Lonnie]

Sadly, those are the two I still have to finish. The last few times I picked it up I have been going to quick play just to set high scores. Maybe I should revisit BatM and CFH again to see if my chops have developed enough to attain closure.

Congrats on finishing it up, Pyser.

[SirFozzie]

Finally bit the bullet and got this.

What a game

[WVUFAN]

Here's a video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_BgqlcCPF4) of it in action. Simply crazy to watch.

Good.
Lord.

There's no way my old-ass hands could do that. I can't hit the first and third fret at the same time as it is. :-)

[SackAttack]

http://www.theantcommandos.com/images/thumb_guitar.gif

This is my rifle, this is my gun.

I just hit my highest score ever on Cowboys From Hell with that bad boy, without using star power. It's not perfect, but then, most of my issues could be the fact that it isn't broken in yet.

One thing I DO like is that the buttons are much more sensitive than the first-party guitar, making it MUCH easier to hit the four-note pulloffs.

And I dig that protruding select button/recessed start button. Makes it easier to just reach over and trigger star power.

Supposedly it has two sensors inside for star power tilt, allowing you to either tilt or shake the guitar to activate it, but I have yet to successfully manage that.

On the other hand, my first-party guitars struggle with the tilt too, so I'm not all that down on the TAC axe for that one.

[Lonnie]

I saw a stack of those guitars at Fry's the other day. I didn't stop and touch, since I immediately thought it was a cheap looking knockoff. Guess I'll actually play with it and see if that will be a good 2nd. I was hoping they would come out with a Flying V.

[SackAttack]

I saw a stack of those guitars at Fry's the other day. I didn't stop and touch, since I immediately thought it was a cheap looking knockoff. Guess I'll actually play with it and see if that will be a good 2nd. I was hoping they would come out with a Flying V.

Lonnie, I'm pretty happy with it so far.

The buttons feel a little wobbly right now, so I occasionally miss a note, but the ones on my 1st-party guitars felt the same way when I first started using them, and I don't have that problem anymore with the 1st-party ones.

So I'm hoping for a similar outcome here.

The frets are spaced a little bit further apart, which does make it a little more difficult sliding down the neck to hit the blue and orange notes as necessary, but the buttons are more responsive, too, which makes it easier to hit those pull-offs. Plus, recessed select button.

Still messing with it, but if it proves to be of sturdy construction, this could replace my 1st-party guitar as my primary weapon of choice.

[SirFozzie]

I use the first party, and just completed medium. I can use four fingers on the first four buttons, but the fifth button is just gonna kick my ass.

[Kodos]

I think I am one song away from graduating from medium, if my memory is correct. I doubt I'll be able to handle 5 buttons. And chord with the blue in it gives me trouble.

[SirFozzie]

the ones I have trouble with have a lot of Blue/Red chords

[SackAttack]

I can handle the blues/reds just fine. It's when that orange fret jumps in with chords that I go to hell.

[SackAttack]

I just finished "Bark at the Moon" on Hard for the first time.

Only hit 92% of the notes, but oddly I feel like I accomplished something.

[Groundhog]

I bought this today. I have played it for 9 hours already. My eyes hurt and are suffering from a blurring/motion problem due to constantly staring at the moving notes.

God help me, I just can't put this guitar down.

[MizzouRah]

It's coming out for the 360 or so I've heard!!

[Groundhog]

Still playing. Need sleep.

Bark at the Moon is a bitch of a track.

[mtsouth]

GH2 will allow 2 players to play the same song, one on lead guitar and one on bass.

And yes, GH is great. My wife even loves it. In fact, she is playing "I Wanna Be Sedated" as I type.

[Vince]

It really is a fantastic game. In the spirit of Anxiety's recent thread, I think it might even crack a top 25 all-time list of my own.

[mrsimperless]

Nothing like a good old-fashioned thread revival.

So I bought my PS2 this week and we picked up guitar hero and an extra guitar controller. The last two nights I have been at my buddy's house and we've played until 3 or 4 in the morning. I'm a tired mess right now and I think his wife may have a hit out on me.

Good times. There really is nothing else quite like this game.

GH2 for president!!

[SirFozzie]

yeah, GH2 just needs Jukebox Hero, and that's it :)

[Ksyrup]

I'm really enjoying this game, as I expected I would. I finished the easy level pretty quickly and am about to embark on medium. No One Knows is probably my favorite so far. I surprised myself by nailing it on the first try, even though it seemed like a big step up from the other songs.

Since playing this for the past week, every time I'm in the car listening to music I can't help think how cool it would be to play some of the stuff I like on GH. And then it dawned on me that this game could be revolutionized if they ever got to the point where we could upload our own songs into the game and create our own fingerings/strummings. I know it raises all sorts of copyright issues, but how cool would that be?

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Since playing this for the past week, every time I'm in the car listening to music I can't help think how cool it would be to play some of the stuff I like on GH. And then it dawned on me that this game could be revolutionized if they ever got to the point where we could upload our own songs into the game and create our own fingerings/strummings. I know it raises all sorts of copyright issues, but how cool would that be?

That's already planned for the 360/PS3 versions since they have the hard drive space available to do that. I remember reading an article where the developer specifically said they were working on that.

[sterlingice]

Sure, I'm late to the party but just picked this up today and promptly spent 5 hours playing it, as expected. :)

SI

[mrsimperless]

This party stays open late.

I've been away from home (and GH) for almost a month now and do I think about seeing my family when I return? No, I think about GH. ;)

[Pumpy Tudors]

I'm considering buying this game today or tomorrow, and I just want to make sure of one thing: Can I use my guitar from the original GH to play GH2?

[Sweed]

I'm considering buying this game today or tomorrow, and I just want to make sure of one thing: Can I use my guitar from the original GH to play GH2?

Yes you can. A suggestion though would be to buy the new version with guitar, especially if your wife likes to play. The songs have lead guitar and also either bass or rhythm parts to play together with someone else. My daughter and I played for about 6 hours the other night. Lot's of fun when you play as a "band" with another player.

[sachmo71]

This was the #1 request on my christmas list after hearing someone try to play Surrender by Cheap Trick. :D

[DeToxRox]

Black Friday bared great tidings as I got the original GH w/ Guitar for 40 bucks. I've played the hell out of it and will be getting GH2 for X-Mas. Totally awesome.

[sterlingice]

Black Friday bared great tidings as I got the original GH w/ Guitar for 40 bucks. I've played the hell out of it and will be getting GH2 for X-Mas. Totally awesome.

Pretty much my m.o. over the past week with designs on getting GH2 after Christmas (and GH party at my place for New Years). How far along are you?

SI

[JonInMiddleGA]

Just played GH2 for the first time a few minutes ago. Good frickin' grief.

If I struggled & sweated that hard just to get something like 78% on Shout At the Devil on Easy, I cannot imagine what some song that I don't know on the hardest level would be like. Okay, I can imagine, but it's too horrible to contemplate for very long. And my forearm and hand were feeling it after just a couple of practice runs through it and then once in career mode.

Until now I had only seen the game in some online clips & a few times in demo mode in the stores. Impressive as hell idea for a game IMO, and I understand a lot better why it's been such a success.

I may post in this thread occasionally, certainly not with my own embarassing exploits (which will probably turn out to be few unless I do some rearranging of stuff, since the PS2 is in my son's room & it's his game, and I don't smoke anywhere except down here in my basement lair & that game just cries out for hours on end of playing & at least a full pack at a time). Rather, I may comment occasionally on how the parental purpose of the game ending up on his Christmas list turns out.

Long story short, he's been diagnosed with some developmental issues with fine motor skills, specifically in his hands (and especially in his right hand, maybe I'll turn him around & have him play left-handed?) The occupational therapist we've been referred to thought this would be a good tool to help with some of the issues & I'm rather curious to see whether that turns out to be the case.

Gaming his way to health? We'll see.

So far, he's been sort of lukewarm in his reaction to the game, almost entirely attributable to the fact that it was significantly harder than he expected I think. He usually gets ahead of FPS & sports games very quickly, especially for being only 8 1/2, dealing with the frustration of failure is not a skill he's developed very well to this point. GH2 seems like it might definitely give him a chance to work on that too.

[SackAttack]

Jon, I know GH2 has been good for developing motor skills with my left hand, which has my whole life been utterly useless.

So, yeah, if your boy sticks with it and you have him working on the fret work with his weak hand, it could be useful to him.

[sachmo71]

The wife got me GH 1 instead of GH2 for christmas. Long story short, the guy at Walmart told my wife GH1 was easier, and had better songs for the over 30crowd. Not sure how accurate that is, since I was looking forward to trying to play Surrender and Shout at the Devil, but I'm having a blast playing this game. Surprising how much of a toe tapper I Love Rock n' Roll turned out to be, but it's a fun song to play.

[sterlingice]

I have both now and we ended up playing it for something like 6 hours last night. Is it just me or did the production values drop somewhat from 1 to 2 in terms of having the covers sound like the originals? I'm not trying to sound like some music elitist- there are just going to be some things you can't do perfectly in a cover. However, if you put Iron Man or Bark at the Moon next to War Pigs and the voices for the covers sound completely different with the GH1 version of Ozzy sounding a lot more closer to the original.

Also, it seems they took some creative license and added in little notes and interludes in GH2 whereas GH1 stayed as close to the original as it could, near as I can tell.

SI

[sachmo71]

I finally got past stage 4 on Medium in GH1. I love Helmet, but damn their stuff is fast!!

[Radii]

One of my friends brought this to our new years eve hangout last night and there was someone playing at all times for about 5 hours, I had a blast. It was the first time I'd done any of the two player stuff, which was a lot of fun. I also tried freebird on hard in multi, and yeah, I'm just not good enough for that.

[sachmo71]

Fun guitar-heroish flash game:


http://www.ugoplayer.com/games/supercrazyguitarmaniacdeluxe_movie.php#bottom

[Airhog]

Just completed the game on Medium, about to move to hard. Game hasnt been to diffucult so far.


Spoilers Below




I think the only complaint I have is that the good songs for me anyways seem to dry up during the last 2 sets. The first 5-6 sets have 1-2 songs I like, but the further I go, the less I like the sets. Especially the last two sets, which have no songs I have even heard of, and the only band I have heard of is Reverand Horton Heat. the only saving grace of set 8 is Freebird, which is a great song. I really wish they had more classic rock, and less obsure music. I could also do without the hardcore metal stuff, especially if they replaced it with some more popular music. I dont have to much to complain about though. They did include a great guitar piece from the Alman Brothers, my favorite band of all time.

I tried Freebird on hard, and it kicked my ass in practice mode. The only problem I really had was those 3 note movements that are super fast. Hopefully by the end of hard I will be ready to take that down ;)

[sachmo71]

Just completed the game on Medium, about to move to hard. Game hasnt been to diffucult so far.


Spoilers Below




I think the only complaint I have is that the good songs for me anyways seem to dry up during the last 2 sets. The first 5-6 sets have 1-2 songs I like, but the further I go, the less I like the sets. Especially the last two sets, which have no songs I have even heard of, and the only band I have heard of is Reverand Horton Heat. the only saving grace of set 8 is Freebird, which is a great song. I really wish they had more classic rock, and less obsure music. I could also do without the hardcore metal stuff, especially if they replaced it with some more popular music. I dont have to much to complain about though. They did include a great guitar piece from the Alman Brothers, my favorite band of all time.

I tried Freebird on hard, and it kicked my ass in practice mode. The only problem I really had was those 3 note movements that are super fast. Hopefully by the end of hard I will be ready to take that down ;)



the music in GH1 might be more to you liking. They have the set list on Wikipedia.

[Flasch186]

someone crashed my save card so I have to start from scratch...

[Groundhog]

My girlfriend bought me GH2 for my birthday on Friday and I'm having a lot of fun with it.

I started straight away on expert and breezed my way through the first few sets and then got a little worried that maybe it would be too easy after having mastered GH1. Then I got up to Rock this Town and really struggled before mastering it in practice mode. It was Psychobilly Freakout that REALLY had my cursing outloud and needing to nurse my aching fingers and arms though... It took me about a solid 2 hours to beat it yesterday. I could do it 100% on slow in practice mode, but I just couldn't do it on full speed. Anyway, last nite at about midnight I finally finished it (like 82% accuracy) and I was absolutely over the moon about it. I had a quick try of Misirlou, bombed out, but haven't tried the other songs in the last set.

I think the song choice is MUCH better this time around. Much less "pop" orientated, and clearly picked more for their interesting melodies to play (both on guitar and bass). There are plenty of bands and songs I've never heard of before, but I probably prefer that, because I always find it harder to master the songs I don't know. YYZ, for example, I found really easy because I knew it so well, and it was the same with Carry on Wayward Son, War Pigs, and Carry Me Home - songs that probably should have been harder for me to get through on the first go than they were.

[Chubby]

There's an 80's version supposedly coming out in "Spring '07" for PS2 :D

[JonInMiddleGA]

Especially the last two sets, which have no songs I have even heard of, and the only band I have heard of is Reverand Horton Heat.

Umm ... you've "never heard of" Anthrax? Or Megadeth?
And you don't recognize Misirlou from the Pulp Fiction soundtrack?

I mean, I can understand maybe not recognizing the specific songs from the two metal bands, but "never heard of them"? Damn, I don't care for rap myself these days, but I've at least heard of DMX (just to pick a random example).

[Airhog]

Umm ... you've "never heard of" Anthrax? Or Megadeth?
And you don't recognize Misirlou from the Pulp Fiction soundtrack?

I mean, I can understand maybe not recognizing the specific songs from the two metal bands, but "never heard of them"? Damn, I don't care for rap myself these days, but I've at least heard of DMX (just to pick a random example).

Only seen Pulp fiction once. I listen to very little metal. There really isnt station in okc that plays much metal. We have one rock station, but they play the mainstream stuff

[Airhog]

Finally beat the first set on hard, there is a definate big jump from medium. The orange button doesnt give me problems but those fast scales from green to blue or vice versa really chew me up

[sachmo71]

Make your own songs!!


http://www.scorehero.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3592

[MizzouRah]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yEjyuw42YY

8 years old - even turns backwards and plays at times... wow!

[sterlingice]

Just figured I'd bump this thread since I beat Freebird on Hard tonight. Unfortunately, it wasn't in career mode as I'm stuck on group 7 at Pyschobilly Freakout. But it still counts in quick play mode :)

SI

[Airhog]

I am upto War Pigs on Expert. Having a blast now on the harder mode.

[sterlingice]

I just don't find expert all that rewarding to play. I don't do all that great at it and, frankly, on Hard you're playing almost all of the notes. The only thing expert tends to do is throw in some extra hard bridges or some superfluous transition notes.

SI

[Ksyrup]

I finally got GH2 and don't enjoy it as much as the original. I think it's mainly the song selection. I think from now on, I'd really prefer genre or era-specific versions, like the 80s one that's coming out, or a metal edition, etc. If I have to suffer through another Pretenders song again, I'm liable to kill someone.

[Ksyrup]

So I finally have played enough of GH2 to get up to the better songs on Medium, and I definitely am enjoying it more. Enjoyment for me is almost totally about song selection. Even if it's not a song I particularly care for, as long as I know it, I usually will enjoy it. And then when it's something like Laid To Rest...hell, I played it last night in front of my entire family, and I was holding my tongue from yelling out SEE WHO GIVES A FUCK! over and over.

My birthday is in mid-August, so I'll probably let the kids get me the 80s version then. My next challenge is to figure out how to get half-way decent on Hard. Adding that 5th key absolutely kills me. I almost wish there was an intermediate level between Medium and Hard that added more notes/chords, but left off the Orange button, because it's just killing me!

Also, my daughter has gotten way better at this then I ever thought she would/could, and we're having some bizarre bonding moments playing multi-player together. Never thought my 7-year old would be begging me to play Heart Shaped Box with her!

[BrianD]

My next challenge is to figure out how to get half-way decent on Hard. Adding that 5th key absolutely kills me. I almost wish there was an intermediate level between Medium and Hard that added more notes/chords, but left off the Orange button, because it's just killing me!


I don't know how other people do it, but I generally slide my hand down to the last 4 buttons for much of the hard songs. It seems that most songs don't move much between buttons 1 and 5, so stay on the first 4 buttons when the song uses a lot of 1 and the last 4 when the song uses a lot of 5. The tricky part then is remembering where your fingers are.

[Ksyrup]

Yeah, I've gotten marginally better at getting off/on the chords and sliding my hands as opposed to instinctively reaching for the notes as I'm so used to doing. That's clearly impossible to do without screwing up. I intend to focus on Hard very soon, I guess I'll be actually practicing now. I don't necessarily care about being perfect, so on Easy and Medium, I just play them in career mode as they come, with no practice. But I'll definitely have to practice on Hard.

[BrianD]

Yeah, I've gotten marginally better at getting off/on the chords and sliding my hands as opposed to instinctively reaching for the notes as I'm so used to doing. That's clearly impossible to do without screwing up. I intend to focus on Hard very soon, I guess I'll be actually practicing now. I don't necessarily care about being perfect, so on Easy and Medium, I just play them in career mode as they come, with no practice. But I'll definitely have to practice on Hard.

I think I've gotten through the first 5 or 6 sets on hard, but they are almost all 3-star and took multiple attempts. I've actually found any combination going from 1-3 to 2-4 to be much harder than dealing with the 5th button. For some reason I can't get my fingers to go 1-3 to 2-4 so I have to slide them. Sliding from 1-3 to 2-4 to 3-5 will screw me up in a big way. Even worse if that is followed with a 4-5 chord. That leaves me with my first two fingers on the last two buttons...

[spleen1015]

Practice. Practice. Practice. It is like everything else, right?

For the life of me, I can't get my middle finger and pinky to hit the red-blue notes. My brain won't let it happened for some reason. I have tried. So, for those notes, I slide my index finger to red and my ring finger to blue, then reposition them for other notes.

A lot of this game is playing it a lot and learning the songs. If you memorize the notes sequence you've got it made.

I can get perfect on Mother 90% of the time on medium. Yes, it is medium and it is an easy song, but most of it is because I know the song from start to finish after playing it so much.

The practice feature is awesome for learning the songs because you can repeat certain sections of the songs much quicker than the whole song.

[Ksyrup]

See, I haven't even touched practice mode and really not even just played songs outside of career mode other than with my daughter. I'm decent enough on Easy and Medium to just rip through them sight unseen. Hard, OTOH, is going to require practice. But I'm not willing to put too much into it, since I want it to be fun, not tedium. If I'm having to constantly play parts over and over, and songs over and over, just to get decent enough to play them in career, I probably will end up losing interest. We'll see.

[sterlingice]

I think I've gotten through the first 5 or 6 sets on hard, but they are almost all 3-star and took multiple attempts.

That was me, too. Then again, I also corrupted my save game this past week so I'm having to start over :(

Still, I'll be up to hard in no time- it's a matter of playing it moreso than a challenge to beat. I can get through about 5 without breaking a sweat. I know "Stop" is going to get me again because that took a while to beat before and I still had a song on 7 to do and that's not including YYZ.

Again, the biggest problem with GH2 is that sets 6-8 are mostly, well, crap. There's a few good songs and Freebird is great, but there's a lot of "eh" to "ugh" stuff on there.

SI

[sterlingice]

Practice. Practice. Practice. It is like everything else, right?

A lot of this game is playing it a lot and learning the songs. If you memorize the notes sequence you've got it made.

The practice feature is awesome for learning the songs because you can repeat certain sections of the songs much quicker than the whole song.

Amen to all 3 of these points

SI

[BrianD]

See, I haven't even touched practice mode and really not even just played songs outside of career mode other than with my daughter. I'm decent enough on Easy and Medium to just rip through them sight unseen. Hard, OTOH, is going to require practice. But I'm not willing to put too much into it, since I want it to be fun, not tedium. If I'm having to constantly play parts over and over, and songs over and over, just to get decent enough to play them in career, I probably will end up losing interest. We'll see.

Most of the trouble on hard songs happen in a few short bursts. Generally the songs are ok, but there are always a few solos or something that I can't even see properly, let alone play properly. These are nice to practice in slow motion just to get the hang of them. Outside of these few small sections, the majority of the song has enough repeating sections that you get practice just by playing through them.

[Ksyrup]

Again, the biggest problem with GH2 is that sets 6-8 are mostly, well, crap. There's a few good songs and Freebird is great, but there's a lot of "eh" to "ugh" stuff on there.

SI

I feel just the opposite. A lot of the first few sets bore me, but the heavier stuff towards the end is great. I really need a metal-only version of the game.

[SackAttack]

so I've been trying to get Freebird down 100% on Medium in my pursuit of the '1000 note streak' Achievement.

I got distracted by somebody's Xbox Live login on the last note of the hardest part of the solo (for me), and as it turned out, that was the only note I missed in the whole stinking song.

I could cry right now.