Guitar Hero 2
Platform: PlayStation 2
Publisher: Red Octane
Review Type: Touchy
Version: E3 Preview
Guitar Hero 2 was on the show floor. But who can hear over all that racket? I was lucky enough to have an appointment to play the game on the Gibson-branded tour bus where I played through a handful of songs. Before we picked up our guitars, I pressed the folks from Red Octane and Harmonix about music licensing -- a subject they dismissed as dull. I still contend that smart music supervision and licensing is one of the major factors that made Guitar Hero such a hit. I mean, look at Beatmania. Everybody who knows anything about rhythm games think the game is tits, but the game's music sucks so bad that only beatmaniacs can get into it.
I did get them to elaborate a little on the thought process behind song selection. They don't take their soundtrack lightly. The told me that try to hit certain key subsets of rock music, so that they can offer a little something for everyone. But that they also allow slots for "street cred" tracks. These tracks are lesser known, but play with tastemaker-types who appreciate more obscure sounds. I'm guessing that my favorite of the playable tracks, Primus' "John the Fisherman" fits into that category nicely. Strange thing is; I haven't listened to Primus in years. But hearing the song as recorded by the band -- the song is a "master track" straight from the album -- put a big smile on my face. Playing Les Claypool's bass (actually the song's lead) while another journo covered Larry LaLonde's guitar parts was easily the most I had the entire week of E3.
Publisher: Red Octane
Review Type: Touchy
Version: E3 Preview
Guitar Hero 2 was on the show floor. But who can hear over all that racket? I was lucky enough to have an appointment to play the game on the Gibson-branded tour bus where I played through a handful of songs. Before we picked up our guitars, I pressed the folks from Red Octane and Harmonix about music licensing -- a subject they dismissed as dull. I still contend that smart music supervision and licensing is one of the major factors that made Guitar Hero such a hit. I mean, look at Beatmania. Everybody who knows anything about rhythm games think the game is tits, but the game's music sucks so bad that only beatmaniacs can get into it.
I did get them to elaborate a little on the thought process behind song selection. They don't take their soundtrack lightly. The told me that try to hit certain key subsets of rock music, so that they can offer a little something for everyone. But that they also allow slots for "street cred" tracks. These tracks are lesser known, but play with tastemaker-types who appreciate more obscure sounds. I'm guessing that my favorite of the playable tracks, Primus' "John the Fisherman" fits into that category nicely. Strange thing is; I haven't listened to Primus in years. But hearing the song as recorded by the band -- the song is a "master track" straight from the album -- put a big smile on my face. Playing Les Claypool's bass (actually the song's lead) while another journo covered Larry LaLonde's guitar parts was easily the most I had the entire week of E3.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home