Guitar Hero

Used by musicians and non-musicians alike, Guitar Hero is one of the most played games in the country. Some say that the game is highly similar to playing an actual guitar and others scoff at this notion. Many real guitar players seem to get irritated by non-musicians claiming that they are playing actual music using only the buttons of a plastic xbox guitar. After all, it's just a silly game, right?

Saying that, many people who have never picked up an instrument of any kind before have been given the chance to become music legends in their own home. Air guitar has never been so good. The Guitar Hero format is challenging and addictive in its own right with thousands of people all over the world rockin' out to all kinds of familiar tunes. It's amazing to see people begin the game with little or no sense of rhythm and go on to complete the solo career on Expert. Music takes so many forms and who's to say it's not real music that gamers are creating. After all, if you muck up the notes they make a sound like a duck choking, kind of like playing an actual instrument.

I guess the thing about any simulator is that it's a skill in its own right. After all, not everyone has the kind of job where it's necessary to blow up aliens with laser guns or fly planes like Maverick in Top Gun. Also, no one can dispute that it takes a lot of practice to get good at something, whether it's a game or a real-life skill.

So what do I think about the Guitar Hero phenomenon? I'm a guy who can hold a basic tune on an acoustic or electric guitar, so I'd consider myself a semi-musician. I feel that learning new songs and appreciating the artistry behind them is something that everyone could benefit from, musicians or not. Throughout the course of the career mode, it's likely that everyone will come across at least one song they've not heard before, which can only be a good thing. And the artists receive good publicity having their songs available for anyone to play along to. Surely everyone's a winner, royalties galour!

When I managed to get through my first song on Expert, I fell to the floor in relieved joy like I'd just won the Wimbledon final. I didn't do such a thing even after braving my first real-life open mic set. There's something highly fulfilling about mastering a song, whether it's on an 'actual' or a 'fake' guitar.
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