The first one is Guitar Hero 5. I've been with Guitar Hero since the beginning. I ran around trying to find a copy of GH1 on release day and had to go to some Best Buy in Iowa to get it. Even then, the woman at the register looked at me funny and asked, "Does this
teach you how to play guitar?" I told her, "Sure. Just like Call of Duty teaches me to be a Marine." I love this series. I'm pumped for 5, but it looks like just another new Guitar Hero. It'll look a little better and there will be a lot of new songs. Sympathy for the Devil should be fun to play. Nothing to get all worked up about. I recently saw this picture today along with the announcement that Kurt Cobain will be a playable character along with Johnny Cash, Shirley Manson and a bunch of others. Personally, there was no topping Zakk Wylde showing up in GH World Tour. Kurt looks good and I'm glad "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and "Lithium" will finally be in a game. Then I read some of the comments on that website asking if Kurt would have approved of showing up in a game like this.Interesting. On one hand, Kurt Cobain was known for being none too happy about always being in the spotlight or the subject of pop culture fame. Isn't that what "Smells Like Teen Spirit" is about? "I feel stupid and contagious. 'Here we are now, entertain us'." On the other hand, he had a sense of humor about himself. He didn't have any problem with Weird Al doing a parody of Teen Spirit that made fun of the garbled lyrics. Plus, Kurt was a smart guy. I think he would have found the irony amusing. Well, I'd say there's about a 70% chance that he would have been cool with it or at least chuckled and given an off-handed ok to showing up in a video game. I definitely don't think the GH creators meant any disrespect. The way this whole music game thing is going, it's a pretty damn good compliment.
The week after GH comes out, The Beatles Rock Band hits stores. To say I'm excited for this one doesn't even begin to cover it. Every detail I've seen in this game looks lovingly crafted to be so much more than John, Paul, George and Ringo dumped into a Rock Band game. This thing just feels like every Beatles fan's dream. Literally. Performances start off in a studio and melt into a flowery landscape with rolling hills and blue skies and...so maybe it sounds kind of fruity, but it's n
ot. It's Beatles through and through and it's awesome. I played a few songs at a demo kiosk in Best Buy and loved it. When I played "I Feel Fine", it started with a shot of an audience filled with screaming girls straight out of my mom's high school class picture and panned over to a scene that, at a quick glance, looked like it could possibly be a picture of the actual band on stage. I wanted to pick up one of the replica guitars they're putting out (ok so I wanted to pick up ALL the replica guitars) until I saw the price tag. $100. For a guitar and the game? I can swing that. For JUST the guitar?? Yowch. I'll have to wait until a few more of those Best Buy Reward Zone certificates pile up. I'm even pumped to sing with this one. I may have said all of this in an earlier post, but I don't care. Beatles Rock Band!!!!
