Does it Live Up to the Hype?
For those about to rock, virtually speaking, we salute you – and the video game Guitar Hero®. Launched in 2005 for PlayStation®2, the original version of Guitar Hero created such a legion of head-banging fans that the brand now includes Guitar Hero II, a Guitar Hero 80s edition and the new, much ballyhooed Guitar Hero III.
If you’ve never heard of Guitar Hero, you must be living under a rock. Or you’re just too old to rock, which is probably impossible since we have 40-somethings in our office who are enormous Guitar Hero fans.
In essence, Guitar Hero is video game karaoke, but with guitars instead of singing. Selecting from a number of artists such as Deep Purple, David Bowie, Cheap Trick, Guns N Roses, The Beastie Boys, Incubus, Queens of the Stone Age and lots of others, players get to transform themselves into rock stars, even if they are just in their living rooms. The game comes complete with guitar controllers to make the axe-grinding experience even more realistic.
As mohawked and tattooed characters perform on-screen in packed virtual arenas, pyrotechnics light up the stage and the crowd goes wild – unless, of course, you suck at the game. In that case, the audience boos and the show’s over.
But enough about the premise. The question we need to answer is whether Guitar Hero lives up to the hype. Well, there was only one way to answer that. We set up a PlayStation2 in our conference room, played it on the big screen and rocked. Rocked hard. We invited a number of staffers, ranging from total newbies to some hardcore players, to try their hands at all four versions of the game.
According to Guitar Hero novice Sadie McCrary, the whole phenomenon is a bit overblown. In her words, “It’s not like it deserves to be hyped … you know … like the next Batman movie Dark Knight.”
Media Relations Representative Ciri Haugh couldn’t disagree more with Sadie. Ciri, our Guitar Goddess, has been playing “the Hero” for about a year, and she said simply, “I love Guitar Hero! You can play by yourself or at a party. The great thing is, you can play one song and put it down, or you can play all night!”
It should be noted that Ciri has seemed a bit groggy in meetings lately.
According to Associate Creative Director Todd Brashear, who’s played a time or two before, “Guitar Hero is completely addictive. Today, I got booed off the stage twice, but that’s okay. The audience must not understand my genius.”
Karen Hansen, Vice President, Media, agrees. She’s so wrapped up in her virtual rock star personality that she would not return our calls for a statement. According to a spokesperson, “She’s not the one to ask.”
Amanda Myers, Production Manager, wasn’t really into video games in the first place, and her Guitar Hero experience did little to change that. Her response: “Not so much. I … got bored.”
Going the furthest to examine this social phenomenon, Account Coordinator Kevin Krekeler said, “It’s so smart! It’s riding the wave of DDR [Dance, Dance Revolution, another video game.] Not everyone’s gonna dance, but everyone loves music.”
With just a couple of exceptions, that level of enthusiasm swept through our office during our little rock-speriment. Nearly everyone loved Guitar Hero. As Kevin put it, “Totally worth the hype!”
Now, only one question remains. With Guitar Hero IV scheduled for release later this year, will it live up to its predecessors?
There’s only one way to find out.