Wednesday, 10 March 2010 13:53
Previously Owned by Eddie Riggs
Music games have been at the center of a weird argument, taking place mostly on the Internet. Ever since "Guitar Hero" hit the big time, the gaming population has been split between those who love music/rhythm games and stick-up-the-bum musicians who worry that their past-time is in danger of
being trivialized. As someone who both plays "Rock Band" and a real guitar, I can say that the two could not be more different. Sight-reading colorful jewels on a TV screen is so removed from the technique of a real guitar, you might as well be playing bass (). But now, a game has come along that might bridge that gap.Seven45 Games announced today that they are developing "Power Gig: Rise of the Six String" for PS3 and Xbox 360.
The press release calls the game "an entirely new universe,with its own mythology, politics, setting, heroes and villains, where music rules all." While this description sounds a lot like "Brütal Legend" to me (which is not in and of itself a bad thing) the innovation comes via its controller, pictured above. This new plastic guitar is reportedly capable of not only the familiar colored buttons already on a plethora of other guitar controllers, but it can even recognize chords via the new "Chording" play mode. And, if you get tired of playing and want to rock out for real, you can plug this guitar into a real amplifier and it'll work. METAL!!!!!!!Now, this isn't the first time that a music peripheral has found its way into the world of real music. The Ion Drum Rocker will, for the hefty price of $600, act as both "Rock Band" drums and a fully-functioning electronic drum kit.
The difference is that electronic drums are a necessity for some people (If you live in an apartment, buying a real drum kit is a very quick way to make people hate you) and getting a kit that can play your music games and practice your real drumming without annoying an entire county seems like a bargain. This is the first time where the addition of real musical functionality to a controller seems like an odd move. Basically, if you want to play guitar, there are plenty of cheap guitars to learn on and if you were to play them at a gig, they wouldn't look like they came from a Gamestop. That being said, I love that video games are introducing rock and roll and guitar-playing to a new audience, and "Power Gig" is a very interesting step forward technologically. I almost want to get my hands on the guitar just to hear how it sounds. This fact alone may keep the lagging music-game genre alive for just a little bit longer. But I can't wait to see the first time a kid trained on this game has to change a string on stage. I will larf my butt off.
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