I know you ‘ve been dying to pretend to play an instrument on your iPhone, and although there you’ve tried great apps like Ocarina, they still require too much actual musical talent. No, what you want is something that fools your fingers into thinking you ‘re playing something, without forcing your brain to make any melodies up.
Luckily for you, earlier this week Activision released a musical game along along the lines of EA ‘s Rock Band, but without the $6.99 ticket price. It ‘s called Guitar Hero ” perhaps you ‘ve heard of it?
Tap Tap Strum?
The primary elements of Guitar Hero ‘s music-based gameplay are probably familiar to you if you ‘ve ever played Tap Tap Revenge or Rock Band on the iPhone. You ‘ll tap on the base of one of four columns in time with notes that cascade down the screen. Some notes require just a simple tap, while others require you to tap and hold to sustain the sound. As with other titles, earning enough star points (obtainable via special notes) will unlock the ability to double your score multiplier for a period of time.
The new mechanic in Guitar Hero is strumming, which requires a quick slide left or right. These notes will often come in sequence, creating a motion that is not unlike strumming a guitar string, but with a lot more neon lights.
Overall, I ‘ve found Guitar Hero ‘s setup my favourite out of all the music games I ‘ve played on the iPhone. Taps have to be precise, but the difficulty isn ‘t as punishing as it can be in Rock Band, and the variety of note types makes the game feel less like you ‘re mashing on a touch screen, and more like you ‘re playing a guitar or bass solo.
Music
Guitar Hero comes with six songs, and each one is playable as lead or bass guitar on four different difficulty levels. Normal is a good starting point for newer players, but I found Hard to be just the right amount of challenge for me. I don ‘t even want to think about the torrent of notes that Extreme mode is.
Most players will likely burn right through the first six songs within a day of purchasing Guitar Hero, so it ‘s a good thing the game has a fair amount of DLC right out the door (14 bands x 3 songs). Songs are priced at three for $1.99, and organized by artist, and the app even offers to scan your iPhone to see if any of your iPod tracks are available for in-app purchase.
Conclusion
Aside from refining Guitar Hero ‘s actual gameplay mechanics, I believe the majority of the game development effort went into creating a very flashy, concert-like experience on the iPhone. I also think it paid off.
As you play, your in-game avatar will rock out right in the middle of the screen, and almost everything you touch or do will cause some sort of very bright effect. Even the main menu is well thought-out, with filters for songs, and a very beautifully organized Music Store (complete with song previews).
Little details, like the way the score multiplier builds, or how the music volume dives when you make a mistake, really help turn the game into a spectacle of light and sound, and it’s amazing how easily you can get sucked into the music with the screen acting as the interface and the display.
At a mere $3, Guitar Hero makes a great case for in-app purchasing, since it allows gamers to buy as much of the game as they want to play. Just keep in mind that the low starting price does come at a sacrifice: all of your performances will be solo for now — at least until Activision comes up with a multiplayer version or patch.
”
Guitar Hero is available for $2.99 on the App Store.
The app was provided by Step 3 for review on Just Another iPhone Blog. For further information regarding our site’s review policies, please see the “About” page.
Continue reading:
- Everything New Apple Just Announced (Septembe
- Apple Watch Pre-Order
- Apple Research Kit launches with 5 Apps
- Apple TV now only $69
TAGS: iPhone music games
