So I'm sitting here in an office in San Francisco, enjoying the daily pratfalls of gaming journalism and soaking in hours of fun with my fellow staff members. On my first night back out here, I remember going down to Pier 39 mainly to play a couple of rounds of Guitar Freaks, Konami's Bemani-themed guitar rhythm game where you would actually strap an axe to your body and strum away at a fast-moving pace. It was a great game, but I found faults with its interface and song selection, probably the two main things that kept Konami from bringing the game out here.

Oh, well, their loss. Who knew that a mere three days later, I would find myself introduced to Guitar Hero, RedOctane's second attempt at game publishing behind the impressive Into the Groove, an obvious DDR clone. Hero manages to outdo Groove quite handily, in a number of given areas. First off, it introduces an all new format to the rhythm/music genre for home play, the one that Konami made popular with Guitar Freaks. Secondly, the game was handled by Harmonix, a company that's dabbled more than once in the rhythm/music category. Third, it actually packs a guitar peripheral all its own, one instantly more accessible than anything Konami's offered.

Let me describe this peripheral. It's shaped just like a real guitar, albeit slightly smaller. It comes with five "fret" buttons built into the handle, multiple colored from green to orange. On the other end is the "strum bar", a piece of plastic that you click along with the fret buttons in question in order to hit the proper notes. Also on there are the select and start buttons, as well as a "whammy bar" that you can use to obtain Star power when the right carry notes are hit during a song. ThisSstar power comes into play with the peripheral, as it has some kind of motion sensor that requires you to actually tilt the guitar upward and then right up again to activate it. In other words, it reacts just like the real thing, and rewards you when you're actually acting like a guitar hero. How cool is that?

The gameplay is very reactive, as Harmonix has happily dialed it in to an interface that's far easier to read than Freaks. Instead of a single bar simply rolling upward, you're given a 3-D rolling ramp that shows the icons coming at you, which are easy to spot and follow in the beginning songs. If you see a string tune, you have to continue holding the corresponding "fret" button after you've hit the strum bar. It all comes across like second nature, however, and you'll soon find yourself catching on and playing along to the likes of Judas Priest and Megadeth rather easily. I can't get enough of it.

The graphic interface is only partway made up by this scrolling bar. The other half actually shows a concert scenario featuring the guitarist of your choice, rocking out as you successfully (or unsuccessfully) complete your notes. As you perform, you'll notice a Rock meter in the lower right hand corner, rating your performance from red to green. Rock too badly and the crowd won't be into you. Continue rocking and the crowd will love your performance and give you more confidence. Activate Star power and you begin throwing around the axe like a possessed Jimi Hendrix. The animation in this is really well done, and the number of places you play all look impressive, like real concert halls.

The game has a few modes to its credit. You can go into Quick Play and try out your wares with the guitar peripheral, or you can dig your heels into Career Mode, which is more loaded than you might expect. In this mode, you can earn a number of new items. You can unlock new songs, earn some cash to buy some guitars and other items, unlock new characters and check out some cool behind-the-scenes videos on how the game was made. All of these add up pretty significantly to the replay value. There's also a two-player jam-out mode where a friend can team up with you or take you on competitively as a fellow Rock God. Granted, your friend COULD play with a second Dual Shock 2 controller, but that's like trying to replace a steak sandwich with a rice cake. Shouldn't be done. The best option to take is to hit RedOctane's website and plunk down for the two-guitar bundle. Sure, it's $110, but the joy will last you a lifetime.

The game also has a progressive difficulty scale, so you can gradually get further into the game. You start off only using three of the "fret" buttons to get a hang of the gameplay, but, as you get further into the higher levels, you'll access the other two buttons, as well as faster melodies and buttons to hit. Good luck in Expert, unless you really know your way around a strum bar. I thought I had the game mastered and then BOOM! "Symphony of Destruction" in Expert handed me my collective ass and turned me from Angus Young to Angus steak.

Fortunately, the game has replay value galore, even for just the rookies. Right away you'll notice that Guitar Hero has an impressive selection of songs, ranging from classics from Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan (good God- TEXAS FLOOD!!) to new stuff from the likes of the Exies and Incubus. There's 40+ songs in all, although some might be bothered that most of them are covers by other bands, not the original bands. Don't be too hasty, though- they're damn good covers. And pros will be delighted to find a Freezepop tune thrown in for good measure, a staple of Harmonix's work.

Guitar Hero has been getting some impressive scores around the Web, and you can count me in on it. It is quite simply the best rhythm/music game since the original Dance Dance Revolution, doing everything just about right and providing an experience that will even benefit those who never touched a guitar in their lives. If you own a PS2 and somehow don't check this game out, you probably fall into the "if it's too loud, you're too old" category. Sleeper of the year, baby.

Our Final ScoreExcellent

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