What would be better than living the life of a rock star? Who cares if your fans are all in your living room, you are the man, or woman! Into the world of video games has come the latest interactive game. Guitar hero takes you from the role of interested observer to full rock and roll participant. In other video games, you have a controller and varying views that draw you into game play but with the invention of the guitar controller, you get a full-on experience tough to find in other games.



Guitar Hero has come out with six different games so far for a plethora of platforms. It was made available for Playstation 2 & 3, Xbox 360, and PC and more recently for the Nintendo DS. With the exception of the DS, game play and peripherals have been much the same on all platforms. Of course, due to the size of the DS a full size guitar controller was not practical so the creators came up with a guitar grip that plugs into the second slot of the console. One major difference between platforms is that Guitar Hero 3 can be played online with the Xbox 360 console only.

Overall, the impact of the game has been phenomenal no matter which console it is played on. Game play includes different levels of challenges, tour and arcade mode, cooperative play as well as competitive.

Guitar Hero was challenged last year with the release of Rock Band, a similar game idea but one that incorporated the whole band. You could play guitar, bass, drums or sing with Harmonix answer to Guitar Hero. The challenge would be very short lived, as the equipment did not measure up at all.

Soon, RedOctane and Activision will follow up this challenge with Guitar Hero World Tour. Kids and parents have been waiting with baited breath for the latest release in the Guitar Hero games. The play promises to be intense as drums and vocals are added. Another positive is that though the new guitar is awesome you don't have to purchase it to play. If you have the earlier version of the game, the guitar will be compatible. They have also announced that for Xbox 360 the Rock Band instruments will also work. This is not the case for Playstation 3, though Sony says they are working on making the units compatible.

Guitar Hero World Tour may well be on the Christmas list of all little girls and boys. If past performance is any indication to go by, in 2008 Activision released that their total sales from the Guitar Hero franchise had exceeded one billion dollars. This craze has led some bar and grills to have a Guitar Hero night instead of karaoke. One in New York reported that their business triples on those nights.

It is obvious that Guitar Hero has just begun to make an impact on the kids that play and sounds like their parents as well. A terrific idea that has so far been perfectly executed. Look for the new release soon and expect that all the kids are going to want one.