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I'd rather be playing DDR.

This may be an unfair comparison, but the fact is that Guitar Hero uses a very unique input device, much like DDR, so the two are inevitably going to go head to head. And the gameplay is very similar - match the strums (or your steps) to the beat. Though, in this match up, I'd put my money on DDR.

Guitar Hero suffers first from a polarization of the experience of its user base. Most people have almost no real guitar playing experience. When I watch them try to play Guitar Hero on the medium difficulty they get frustrated and upset very quickly, even if they are familiar with the gameplay concept from something like DDR. I've seen it take hours to pass a single song. However, when experienced guitarists have a go, they have no issue, and fly through the game. When I spent my three hours sitting down and beating the game, I only had to try two of the thirty songs twice - the other 28 I passed on my first try. Could an experienced dancer say the same after their first time through DDR?

So, what did the developers do to give someone like me more to do? They added a vast array of unlockable guitars, songs, characters, paint jobs...that affect absolutely nothing. I used the money to upgrade my guitar, and get a more stylish paint job, figuring that it would make me more popular and help me get a higher score on the songs, but it didn't. Other than your own skill, nothing affects performance in the game. The "cool RPG like elements" that make games like GTA so replayable are merely illusions here. So, now I've spent three hours beating the game, discovered that the unlockables are only aesthetic, and I've spent $60 of real money. Was it worth it?

No. Games shouldn't be dependent on higher difficulties or meaningless unlockable items to keep me coming back. In fact, after beating this game, I really have no desire to play it again. Being a hardcore gamer, most of the time I want to explore every inch of a game and unlock everything and complete it until I have dominated it 100%. But I don't want to do that with Guitar Hero. Maybe there are some people out there that will find the gameplay fun, rather than repetitive, boring, or frustrating, but I'm not one of them. DDR keeps me coming back with good solid gameplay that has no endgame (and the potential for burning calories), rather than dangling a double-fretted Gibson in my face.

Comments

says

Oh, sad. But I STILL WANT TO PLAY IT!!! I'll probably find it easy too, considering that I play guitar AND DDR, but it still looks really fun. Maybe it'd be more fun as a party game?

(post author) says

I'm sure it'd be more fun as a party game. DDR definitely improves when another person jumps on a pad, and I'm sure Guitar Hero would follow suit. The game is definitely worth trying though, I think you should play at least some of it so you get a feel for it yourself. There are even some fun, catchy tunes, it's just not enough to keep me coming back.

says

I also consider myself a fairly hardcore gamer. I own a PS2, Gamecube, PSP, 2 GBA SP's and a DS. I'm not a child, and I don't like rhythm games. I laughed in my friend's face when he told me about Guitar Hero. I pointed and laughed the first time I watched him play it. When I played it myself the first time, he had to threaten me with a weapon in order to get the controller back. The bottom line is that this game is just damned fun to play. And since when is it a crime for a game to be based solely on your skill in playing it, instead of letting you get powerups or unlockables that make the game a cakewalk? I suspect that when you say you "finished" the game...you did it on easy, *maybe* on medium. Try it again on hard or expert, and you'll find that it's not only quite challenging, but also very gratifying. The bottom line is that despite the company rushing this game to market unfinished, it looks polished, crashes extremely rarely and is just a great time. In fact...I've shown this game to hardcore and casual gamers alike, musicians and people with no musical talent, yet this is the first negative response I've heard from anyone who has actually played it.

(post author) says

What it comes down to for me is desire and time. I have a lot of things to do, including a lot of games I'd like to be playing, and very little time to play them. It takes a lot for a game to make me come back for a second time around. Guitar Hero is very polished and performs well, but I think that it is still lacking in the fun department, at least for me. After beating about half the songs on medium, I really felt no desire to continue playing. Out of habbit, I finished it, but now that it's done I have other things I'll be spending my time on. Just as an example, and I know I shouldn't be using this game as a bench mark, because it sets the bar way too high, but consider Ninja Gaiden. Even at its most frustrating and tedious points it has me wanting to come back and just play it. That's what games are about - just entering the game world and exploring. Hence, I bought Ninja Gaiden: Black, which is just some small expansions for a game I had already beaten three times. The difference is that you won't find me buying any song packs for Guitar Hero.