Positives:
+ The game was developed for the controller. This gave the developers a unique opportunity to create a game that actually mimicked playing a guitar. The earlier versions of the game can be played with a standard controller but the guitar controller is required for the more recent versions of the game that include drums and vocals.
+ Some of the guitar controllers look like real guitars. Gibson designs, including the Les Paul, were used to make some.
+ The game allows players to toggle which hand is dominant so both lefties and righties can play with ease.
+ There are five colored fret buttons instead of strings. The differing colors help make identifying each fret easier.
+ The addition of a touchpad on the version of the controller released with the “World Tour” version of the game allowed players to mimic the slide technique.
Negatives:
- If you’re not familiar with the order of the colored fret buttons you’ll find yourself constantly looking from your hands to the screen and back again. This can kill gameplay because dropped notes will cause your Rock Meter to drop below red, your song will suddenly end and you’ll be booed off the stage.
- Whammy bar is adjustable. Constant adjusting causes it to loosen and no longer stay in the “up” position. This made it practically unusable because players would have to hold it up and that was uncomfortable.
- Controller can be finicky, especially the wireless ones. The wireless controller packaged with Guitar Hero III had issues with the contact points on its detachable neck. This caused a delay in fret button presses registering properly with the game.
- PlayStation 2 Guitar Hero controller will not work with the PlayStation 3 console. So, even though the PS3 will play the games (both are fully backwards-compatible), you won’t be able to use the controller they came with.
- Players tend to strum in one direction, either up or down. This wears out the strum bar in the preferred direction and causes notes not to be recognized.
Thoughts:
~ A unique controller inspired a very popular game franchise. This game franchise’s success highlights the fact that a game does not need to use a standard controller in order to be popular.
~ The controller should not have been made modular in order to package it more easily. This lead to technical and gameplay issues caused by damaged contacts. If the controller had been left in one piece these issues could have been avoided.
~ If you want to play the game with a buddy (Face-off mode) then you need to have a second guitar controller. True, your buddy can play his part with a standard controller but who wants to do that? Unfortunately, this can get expensive if you happen to like games that require specialty controllers.
~ Quality control seemed to be lacking in the later generations of guitar controllers. It seemed that the manufacturers was more interested in making a quick buck off of a proven game franchise than actually providing a quality product. Unfortunately this lead to quite a few complaints about the controller from frustrated gamers.
Would Like:
* The fret buttons and strum bar make a clicking noise when used. It’d be lovely if that noise could be silenced as it is distracting and takes away from immersion.
* If possible I’d like a Guitar Hero controller and game that actually teaches how to play the guitar. The game simulates a reasonable facsimile of playing but it doesn’t actually teach.
* Wireless guitar controllers that are comparable to wired ones. Wireless ones drop more notes and the constant fiddling with the wireless receiver to get the best reception takes up valuable play time.
* More variety in the actual controller. I acknowledge that Gibson makes some of the best guitar designs around but how about a Fender?
Credit where credit is due:
Roper, Chris. (2005, November 02). Guitar hero (game & guitar controller). Retrieved from http://ps2.ign.com/articles/663/663674p1.html
Terdiman, Daniel. (2007, November 15). "guitar hero iii" users reporting problems with their axes. Retrieved from http://news.cnet.com/8301-13772_3-9818556-52.html
Ramsay, Randolph. (2006, May 25). Guitar hero. Retrieved from http://www.cnet.com.au/guitar-hero-240063203.htm
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