Guitar Hero: The Death of a Rock Star

So who didn't see this one coming from a mile away?  Or in my case, from all the way back in July of 2008 when I did my review of Guitar Hero: Aerosmith?  If you haven't heard, this week during their annual earning's call, Activision announced the closing of their Guitar Hero facilities, cancelling the planned 2011 Guitar Hero and basically killing the franchise.  The reason they gave was because of the over saturation of the music genre of video games. 

...this is my surprised face...

Actually, as I thought about my time with Guitar Hero, it dawned on my that it's life cycle was exactly the same as a one-hit wonder, and this week that artist was just dropped from their label.  So I guess this is the E! True Hollywood Story of Guitar Hero. 

I first played the game way back in 2007 with Guitar Hero 2 on the XBox 360.  I'll never forget how completely lost I felt as I tried to play the game the first time.  Sitting there on my couch, alone, pressing the buttons like some drunk monkey and hearing "clang" after "clang" ring from my TV before I eventually failed at the song.  Realizing I was doing something terribly wrong, I stood up, cleared away my coffee table, and got ready to rock.  The next couple hours was one of the best video game experiences ever.  By the time my roommate got home, I was exhausted, sweating, and having the time of my life.

Two years and approximately 27 versions of the game later, we reached the pinnacle of the genre.  In the summer of 2009 at the opening of a new movie theater in Hoboken, NJ, they set up a Beatles Rock Band and were giving away free copies.  The set up was a huge stage, with flat screen TVs, lights, amps, and a full Beatles Rock Band set and they were asking for volunteers to play the drums, which I was more than happy to do.  As I sat up there, getting ready to play, with The30yoWife on the bass, and a crowd of about 20 people watching, I thought, we've certainly come a long way from my couch in my living room.

We rocked it out that night to "Eight Days a Week" and to this day, we still talk about how awesome an experience it was.  I don't think I'll ever forget the smattering of applause our "tribute band" got when we finished and the smile on my wife's face when it was over. It was simply put the closest we will ever be to feeling like rock stars, and when you think about it, that was what the game was all about.  It was awesome.

That was the peak of my Guitar Hero career.  I guess it followed the same pattern of any one hit wonder.  At first, not a lot of people heard about it.  Then it became bigger than they could handle, faster than they could handle.  Before you know it, it's being played in every bar across the nation.  And just like that, when they can't produce enough of them, the audience turns and no one wants it anymore.  From "Nobody", to "Superstar", to "Has Been" in a matter of a couple years. 

And this is completely Activision's fault.  They were producing on average 4 Guitar Hero games a year and each one of them had a ton of downloadable content.  It was just way too much.  I like playing Guitar Hero, but I don't need every single song I've ever heard to be in a Guitar Hero game.  It kinda defeats the purpose.  Then you combine that with all of the Rock Band and DJ Hero games and you've got a complete over saturation of the market and everyone is tired of it.  The last game they released which was Guitar Hero 5 last year was a complete failure and it costs them too much to license all of the songs for no one buying the game. 

That's the life of a rock star I guess.  And the same can be said for a rock star video game.  Years from now when I tell my kids about these games, the story will end like every E! True Hollywood Story:  It was fun while it lasted.

Until next time,

 - The 30 Year-old Gamer

Good, but not Great - Call of Duty Black Ops Review

As I mentioned in my last post, I picked up a copy of Call of Duty Black Ops a couple weeks ago when Best Buy was running this fantastic deal on games.  I beat the single player version of the game last night and have plenty to say on it, both good and bad.  Let me just get this out of the way, technically the game is the best first person shooter out there.  However, there are many frustrating aspects of the game that hold it back and I fear that it's days in my Xbox are numbered.

First let's talk about how this game is technically.  The game is easily one of the two best first person shooters out there.  The debate of whether you like Halo or Call of Duty better can go on forever, but you can't deny that Call of Duty is awesome in the area of shooting things.  The controls are awesome.  They are so tight and accurate that when you play other games like it, you have to compare it to the gold standard that is Call of Duty.  There are also a ton of weapons that all fire differently with different accuracy.  There is no one weapon that's better than other.  In some scenarios you are inside and want a shotgun, while others you are in a field and need a rifle with a scope.  All are different and all are a pure joy to use. 

The graphics are insane.  If you shoot a guy in the head, he drops instantly.  Shoot him in the leg and he'll keep firing until you riddle him with bullets.  The sounds that come from the game couldn't be more realistic.  From explosions to gun fire to the great voice work by Ed Harris and Sam Worthington, the sound is top notch from beginning to end. 

And the story is probably the best in the entire series.  You play a black ops officer named Mason who is strapped to a chair and is being questioned from a shadowy voice about his adventures.  At which point you relive all of his Cold War adventures starting with the Bay of Pigs and going through Vietnam.  There were several moments throughout the game that I'll never forget, like sailing down a river blowing up everything that moves while Sympathy for the Devil is blaring.  The ending was fantastic and for the first time in a long time the story seemed believable.  I really liked it and for it alone it was worth the $60.

Now let me get to my gripes about the game.  First of all, did Michael Bay direct this game?  I don't think 30 seconds went by during the entire game where there wasn't a huge explosion or someone wasn't yelling at me for something.  "Mason Get Down!"  "Mason Grenade!"  "Mason I Need A Beer!"  Dear lord, just shut up.  I was seriously questioning whether to turn the sound off because it was giving me a headache.  Guys, I'm no history major, but I'm sure things didn't explode this much in Vietnam.

My second gripe is that I really feel like I've been there, done that.  How many Call of Duty games have I played over the past few years?  7?  12?  It's the same game over and over again.  The game is good, there is no doubt, but I've really played this before with Modern Warfare 2 and before that with World at War and before that with Modern Warfare and so on.  The "wow factor" of this game is completely gone for me.  It was enjoyable, but sort of forgettable at the same time.

That leads me to my biggest gripe of this game which will get the biggest feedback I'm sure.  The multiplayer is just not fun at all.  In my mind, it's broken.  It rewards people who live online too much and punishes people like me who play casually.  Here's how.  The more you play the game you earn these Call of Duty Points.  You earn them from completing games, killing people, etc.  You can then spend these points on better weapons, better rewards (I'll get to those in a sec), and being quieter so people can't see you on radar.  So if you play more, you have an advantage going into an online match.

Then when you are in a match on line you get a reward for having getting a kill streak.  So say you kill 3 people in a row, then you can get a radar scan which shows you where all the enemies are (not fair), which makes it easy to kill more.  Then you get 5 kills in a row and you can call in an attack chopper which will just gun down more guys for a higher kill streak where then you can get a napalm strike or some other ludicrous weapon.

So let me get this straight.  You start with better weapons and when you go on your inevitable kill streak they reward you with air support for more kills?!  I, on the other hand, start off with the equivalent of a supersoaker and run around the map with a bell on my neck.  Seriously, that's not far from the truth.  Five minutes later, I've killed 4 people and have died 16 times when I hear "Enemy Napalm Attack Imminent".  I actually spent one entire match just standing around.  Didn't touch the controller.  And you know what? I did better!  I had zero kills and nine deaths which is a better ratio than actually playing the game.  Sound broken to you, because it does to me.  I feel like a nerd getting picked on by the entire football team when I'm out there.  How is this supposed to be fun again?  Oh yeah, it isn't.  I have better ways to spend my time.

So while the game is good, it isn't great and I certainly don't consider it a masterpiece.  Play it for the single player and if you don't want to spend a significant amount of time getting owned online, skip the multiplayer. 

Until next time,

- The 30 Year-old Gamer