Guitar Hero. Wow. Holy shit.
Totally lives up to the hype. I was in on the whole DDR fad briefly, it was fun, but never really got that deep into it. Guitar Hero, though, is more accessible, easier to jump into. It's easier to whip out the guitar controller and jam to a couple tracks than it is to clear out space on the floor, unfold those awful Konami dance mats, dance a couple of songs, and collapse from the resulting coronary.
It's given me half a mind to pick up guitar again. I miss playing music.
--
Oh, about Gunstar Super Heroes:
The release of this game a few weeks ago was a seminal moment for me. The original Gunstar Heroes was a monumental point in my gaming history. For about a year or so -- end of junior year in high school, thoughout the better part of senior year -- it's essentially the only video game I played. (Well, that and Doom II). Whenever I pick up the game now, a Proustian stream of high school memories comes back to me. Pink's woodland stage conjures memories of an old high school crush. The flying battleship reminds me of procrastinating before trumpet practice. It's the sort of game that can be replayed endlessly, and enjoyed on a simple, almost atavistic level, without need for much intense thought or concentration. The mind tends to drift while playing it -- hence the bountiful memories I associate with it.
To say that the remake of this game held high expectations, then, is an understatement.
And for the most part it meets them, but only about 75% of the time. To put it another way, there are a lot of annoying little changes that slow the pace of the game. F'rinstance, they took out the throw move. In the original game, you used to be able to pick up just about anything and throw it with a press of the fire button. Even bombs! One might argue from a practical standpoint that the throw slightly unbalanced the game, and that its removal makes GSH more skill-dependent, but fuck that shit. The throw is one of the things that made GH crazy fun. And even if the game is improved objectively, a crucial bit of fun is lost.
And then there's the proliferation of story interludes and title screens. The original game didn't have tons of dialogue, and GSH really isn't enhanced by the chatting anime heads that pop up constantly. Worse, after you die, you have to slam the A button five or six times to get through all the title/continue/etc. screens just to continue your game. Really breaks up the flow.
All in all, it's great to have Gunstar on the go, but I'm a little disappointed in the final product.
Totally lives up to the hype. I was in on the whole DDR fad briefly, it was fun, but never really got that deep into it. Guitar Hero, though, is more accessible, easier to jump into. It's easier to whip out the guitar controller and jam to a couple tracks than it is to clear out space on the floor, unfold those awful Konami dance mats, dance a couple of songs, and collapse from the resulting coronary.
It's given me half a mind to pick up guitar again. I miss playing music.
--
Oh, about Gunstar Super Heroes:
The release of this game a few weeks ago was a seminal moment for me. The original Gunstar Heroes was a monumental point in my gaming history. For about a year or so -- end of junior year in high school, thoughout the better part of senior year -- it's essentially the only video game I played. (Well, that and Doom II). Whenever I pick up the game now, a Proustian stream of high school memories comes back to me. Pink's woodland stage conjures memories of an old high school crush. The flying battleship reminds me of procrastinating before trumpet practice. It's the sort of game that can be replayed endlessly, and enjoyed on a simple, almost atavistic level, without need for much intense thought or concentration. The mind tends to drift while playing it -- hence the bountiful memories I associate with it.
To say that the remake of this game held high expectations, then, is an understatement.
And for the most part it meets them, but only about 75% of the time. To put it another way, there are a lot of annoying little changes that slow the pace of the game. F'rinstance, they took out the throw move. In the original game, you used to be able to pick up just about anything and throw it with a press of the fire button. Even bombs! One might argue from a practical standpoint that the throw slightly unbalanced the game, and that its removal makes GSH more skill-dependent, but fuck that shit. The throw is one of the things that made GH crazy fun. And even if the game is improved objectively, a crucial bit of fun is lost.
And then there's the proliferation of story interludes and title screens. The original game didn't have tons of dialogue, and GSH really isn't enhanced by the chatting anime heads that pop up constantly. Worse, after you die, you have to slam the A button five or six times to get through all the title/continue/etc. screens just to continue your game. Really breaks up the flow.
All in all, it's great to have Gunstar on the go, but I'm a little disappointed in the final product.
Not that I doubt you, because I'm sure it's true, but to me that means something else even more horrible must seep in to fill the same brainspace. Ugh.