The Rice Thresher, Vol. 93, No. 22, Ed. 1 Friday, March 10, 2006 Page: 12 of 20
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12
THE RICE THRESHER LIFESTYLES FRIDAY, MARCH 10,2006
Guitar Heroes just want to rock 'n' roll all
night, play game every day
It's a recreation and an obsession for the ages. It takes
talent, time and dedication ... or a PlayStation. It is the
life of the rock star, and in the immortal words of
Kiss, "If you want to be a singer or play guitar/
man, you have got to sweat or you
won't get far/because it
is never too late to
work nine-to-
five/You can
take a stand,
or you can
compromise/
You can work real
hard or just fantasize."
Hanszen College soph-
omore Nick Alexander has been
sweating hard for the last three years
playing the guitar. He has a rugged
demeanor and shaggy goatee that looks
more at home at a jam fest behind his
double neck guitar than hovering over his
mechanical engineering problem sets. But
in the past three months, he has realized
that maybe fantasy is better. He finally became
a guitar hero, wailing away on the newest
interactive video game craze.
Basics of the some
Harmonix Music Systems created the button-
mashing music-based video games Frequency and
Amplitude, but the company's newest game, Guitar
Hero, blows the previous two away. Guitar Hero
has rock instead of techno, raving fans instead
of a roller-coaster-esque background and a mini
Gibson SG instead of a standard PlayStation 2
controller. What Dance Dance Revolution did for
mall-dwelling nerds with fast podiatric reflexes,
Guitar Hero will do for air-guitaring, greasy-
faced nerds with nervous fingers.
"I first heard about Guitar Hero on a plane,"
Alexander said. "I was reading a gaming
magazine and they had an article about Guitar
Hero and I was thinking to myself, 'Man, that's
either going to be totally awesome or suck
hardcore.' It was totally awesome and still is
totally awesome."
With a choice of eight different
characters, ten different guitars, six different
venues and great rock hits including Joan
Jett's "I Love Rock and Roll," David Bowie's
"Ziggy Stardust" and Eric Clapton's "Crossroads,"
any red-blooded American should be ready to
salute those about to rock.
How to play
While ideally you do not need any
instructions to know how to rock, Guitar
Hero is pretty easy to learn anyway.
Color-coordinated notes scroll down
a decorated guitar neck on the video
screen, matching up with the five fret
buttons on the mini-guitar. Meanwhile,
the player's character dances around
on stage, entertaining the crowd and
generally rocking out.
To play a note,
you have to have to
hold the correct fret
button, or combination
of buttons for chords,
while banging away on
the guitar's strum bar.
The more correct notes
you get in a row, the more
points you get. There are also
long notes, requiring you
to hold down the
fret and giving
you the chance to wail on
the whammy bar. Get precise
enough and you can build up Star
Power, activated by jerking back the guitar in a
rock star wail and temporarily doubling points.
The more accurate your musicianship, the higher
your Rock Meter climbs and the better your
crowd responds on-screen — and if you mess up
too much, they will boo you off stage.
It sounds easy, and it is when you are on the
Easy setting, strumming along to Boston's "More
than a Feeling." But sliding four fingers on five
frets during the multiple solos in Blue Oyster •
Cult's "Godzilla" on Expert is nigh impossible.
Feeling the glory
Nevertheless, Alexander said he has little
trouble getting through the song, his favorite.
"If only Guitar Hero were as effective as
playing acoustic guitar at a party," Alexander
said mid-strum. "The chicks would be all over me."
by Evan Mintz
Then he tweaked the guitar in an aggressive act of
frustration, activating Star Power mode.
"I can't talk and play at the same time," he said. "[Star
Power is] for those times when I'm not as good as I
thought I was.... [It] helps me get back in the groove."
But Guitar Hero is not just for guys fantasizing
about being rock gods. Martel College senior Sheena
Barbour has been hopped up and ready to go ever since
her brother got her Guitar Hero for Christmas. With
a grin reminiscent of High Fidelity's Marie DeSalle,
this punk rocker has turned her living room into a
discotheque A Go Go.
"I was addicted to Amplitude, and [my brother] was like,
This one has a guitar controller,"' Barbour said. "As soon
as I started playing Guitar Hero, I sold my real guitar."
Like dynamite with a laser beam, this rocker chick will
blow your mind, anytime — especially to Killer Queen,
her favorite song. And wailing away to Queen makes
everyone feel like a rock star.
"They tell you 'y°ii rock' after every song," Barbour
said. "And that's the most amazing personal validation
ever. I rock. Over and over."
Roc kins to the beat
Just as "Jukebox Hero" predicted it would, the game's
Gibson controller feels good in your hands, and it does
not take long to understand. It is like having your very
own Foreigner belt... except for Guitar Hero's noticeable
lack of Foreigner. And Jimi Hendrix and "Stairway" and
other expected homages to guitar excellence.
"[The game] could use a Lynyrd Skynyrd song,"
Alexander said. "If they come out with a sequel,
i you should be able to unlock [better bonus
songs after extended play, including] the gigantic
'Freebird' solo."
While Guitar Hero's current bonus songs can be
entertaining, they are mostly by obscure indie bands
— so obscure that most music-hip rock gurus would only
recognize half of them.
The list of popular chart-toppers and party-worthy
favorites compensates for some of the absent-but-expected
classics. And the multiplayer rock-off mode lets players
see just who among their friends is the true rock god,
without the ridiculousness and energy expense of DDR.
"Everyone looks great with a guitar," Alexander said,
grinning as the game announced he had attained the final
expert five-star rating.
"This is probably the biggest self-esteem booster,"
Alexander said.
Judging by his and Barbour's newfound sense of rock
star glory, the game's only downsides are an inflated ego,
potential carpal tunnel syndrome and a $70 sticker price
— acceptable sacrifices to the gods of rock.
77ieR I C
COFFEEHOUSE
is now hiring!
Pick up an application from the Coffeehouse anytime
we're open from Monday, March 6 until they're due
on Wednesday, March 22. Application is for
Summer/Fall 2006 employment.
THRIFT
From page 11
Near Rice
That '70s Shop - Thrift, vintage
2202 Bissonnet
at Bissonnet and Shepherd
(713) 874-1970
This store is reminiscent of hot
summer days and sitting on the patio
with a cold glass of lemonade, and
it delivers: It has all the 1970s fash-
ions you can dream of, and all the
prices are tagged with an amount
ending in — what else — 70 cents.
Wild Shaft-friendly tops and vests
in the front rack greet incoming
customers, while floaty summer
dresses fill the racks in the back-
room. Wicker-box purses and
worn cowboy boots adorn the cor-
ners and walls, making the store
seem like a large 1970s closet.
Upscale
More Than You Can
Imagine - Consignment
2817 Westheimer Rd.
at Westheimer and Ferndale
(713) 668-8811
Expect to find dresses and suits from
big-label European designers. The best
items can leave the store in a few hours,
while others linger for months. Prices usu-
ally do not fall under $40 — still a signifi-
cant discount.
Purses from Gucci, Tod's and Versace
hover above the clothes. A gently worn
Manolo Blahnik or two has been seen
among the array of shoes. On the last trip,
a black Dolce & Gabbana dress with an
open-V back and cinching belt was spotted
for about $100.
Cheap Thrills
Baker College
junior Connemara
Courtney shares her
second-hand threads
The Shady Tavern
1980s leather jacket
Value Village
7 jeans
Buffalo Exchange
wedge sandals
Urban Outfitters
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Obermeyer, Amber. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 93, No. 22, Ed. 1 Friday, March 10, 2006, newspaper, March 10, 2006; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth443086/m1/12/: accessed June 21, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.