Wannabe rock & roll stars learn to ‘shred’ using plastic guitars with colored buttons

A craze has struck students everywhere, and it is known as Guitar Hero. It is a game for Playstation 2 in which famous songs can be played with plastic guitars as the song’s notes scroll down the screen.

The game is for all ages and all difficulty levels. Five notes on the plastic guitar can be played.

If the game is played on easy, only three notes are used for the song, medium uses four notes and hard all five notes are played, which allows people to learn the game and work their way to becoming a guitar hero.

“I thought the game looked stupid and childish,” junior computer graphics major Chad Hilton said. “But once I played my first song, I was hooked. Now it is all play and no work.”

Hilton said he has been able to manage his studies, but it’s sometimes tough.

“Sometimes I think to myself, just one more game, and the next thing I know I am late for class,” he said. “It is a lot of fun, which makes it extremely addicting.”

The game has songs from artists such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jimmy Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughn. The game allows players to work on a whole song in a career mode, play quick games or battle headto- head with an opponent to see who can best play the song.

The game has done so well that the makers have blessed the gaming community with Guitar Hero II. The game came out Nov. 7 and has players more excited than ever.

Adam Aguilera, a sophomore exercise and sports science major, said he prepaid for the new game and could not wait for it to come out. He said his expectations were high, and the game did not disappoint.

“The new game is fresh and has a lot of new options available,” he said. “It is a nice change from the first one with new songs, and it is much more difficult.”

Aguilera also said that sometimes his house is filled with friends playing Guitar Hero, and emotions can run high.

“If you play and you beat your opponent, you get to keep playing, so when people lose, they can get a little upset,” he said. “It’s funny that it gets so competitive, but it makes the game more funny.”

In the sequel, players can play cooperatively in a band. One player can play the song’s guitar parts while the other plays the bass or the rhythm, which allows for less competitive play, but the head-to-head option is still available.

Senior accounting major Kelvin Kirby said he enjoys both games and believes the more people are exposed to the game, the better it will do.

“You can’t put that plastic guitar down,” he said. “People come over and laugh at me for playing the game, but once they try it, they are hooked.”

Kirby said he hopes everyone tries the game out at least once.

“The game grows on you,” he said. “Try it, and I bet you will love it.”