Girl Gamer

New Music Game Uses Real Guitar as a Controller

By GG-AngelThanatos 1 year, 5 months ago • 2 Comments

Ever since the music game phenomenon hit parties and basements everywhere, the debate has continued: why spend all that time perfecting an “expert” level on a game when you can spend that time playing the real thing on stage FOR REAL?

A company called Seven45 has emerged from the darkness like a mysterious roadie and handed gamers a real guitar. Before you worry that you don’t know how to play, think again – it’s also a game controller.

Power Gig: Rise of the Six String employs a real guitar that can be used as a controller, then plugged into an amplifier for real-life jams.

Check out this demo from GDC 2010!

I, myself have fronted bands on stage and have to admit that nothing beats the real thing for me. I avoided music games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero until a friend got Guitar Hero III for her birthday, so to be nice I played it with her. Needless to say, I was addicted. The following day I bought the game and so began our 12-hour Guitar Hero sessions. (Your hands get SO sore, but it’s SO fun!)

The closest thing to a “real” instrument until now would be the keyboard in Rock Band 3, or perhaps the drums on either franchise. Problem is, playing these games just inspires me to drop the game and go pick up the real thing for a while, so I’ve never gotten past “Medium” difficulty. That all is about to change with Power Gig.

The guitar controller in this game is the real thing – you strum just as you would a guitar, and the string(s) you hold down are pitch accurate. Depending on the difficulty setting, you can hold down one string or make chords. In essence, you’re learning to play the guitar or learning new songs to play as you game. Awesome!

Naturally, the guitar has been the spotlight controller, but Power Gig also features an “air drum” kit that claims to emulate more life-like movements without the annoying tap-tap on plastic. The microphone is, well a microphone. No word on a bass guitar yet, though.

All Power Gig controllers are wireless and are compatible with Rock Band and Guitar Hero games! You can even plug your 5-button controllers into Power Gig, if you want.

Now you can put all that practice into rocking out with friends, and who knows…this could be the start of the next super band!

Track List Includes:

Eric Clapton – Layla
Eric Clapton – Lay Down Sally
Eric Clapton – Let It Rain
Dave Matthews Band – Funny The Way It Is
Dave Matthews Band – Tripping Billies
Dave Matthews Band – Why I Am
Kid Rock – All Summer Long
Kid Rock – Rock 'N’ Roll Jesus
Kid Rock – Son of Detroit
John Mayer – No Such Thing
Jane’s Addiction – Been Caught Stealing
No Doubt – Platinum Blonde Life
Ozzy Osbourne – A.V.H.
Queens of the Stone Age – You Think I Ain’t Worth a Dollar, But I Feel Like a Millionaire
Smashing Pumpkins – Cherub Rock
Disturbed – The Night
Rage Against the Machine – Bombtrack
Stevie Ray Vaughan – Couldn’t Stand The Weather
Black Sabbath – The Devil Cried
Stone Temple Pilots – Plush
Living Colour – Cult of Personality
John Mayer – Who Do You Think I Was
Snow Patrol – Hands Open
Three Days Grace – Break
Paramore – Ignorance
Silversun Pickups – Substitution
The Offspring – You’re Gonna Go Far Kid
The Black Label Society – Retribution
Breaking Benjamin – Breath
The Tragically Hip – New Orleans Is Sinking
The Used – Blood on My Hands
Mastodon – Crack the Skye
A Perfect Circle – The Hollow
Buckcherry – Tired of You
Firewind – Head Up High
The Black Keys – Strange Times
Flyleaf – Again
Godsmack – Awake
Incubus – Wish You Were Here
Jet – She’s A Genius
The Hives – Tick Tick Boom
John Mayer – Crossroads
Bad Religion – I Want to Conquer the World
Korn – Hold On
The Academy Is… – His Girl Friday
Lacuna Coil – Spellbound
MuteMath – Chaos
New Found Glory – Listen to Your Friends
P.O.D. – Alive
Puddle of Mudd – Blurry
Rise Against – Paper Wings
Sick Puppies – You’re Going Down
The Donnas – Fall Behind Me
The Get Up Kids – Martyr Me
Idlewild – Reader and Writers
Surfer Blood – Swim
Channels – Chivaree
Superdrag – Aspartame
Envy on the Coast – Headfirst in the River
Damiera – Silvertongue
A Cursive Memory – Everything
The Hounds Below – She’s Alchemy
A Love Like PI – Innocent Man
The Willowz – I Know
I See Stars – Comfortably Confused
The Paris Riots – Hotel of Infidels
School Boy Humor – Camera Shy
So Many Dynamos – Artifacts of Sound
Taxpayer – When You When Young
The Fatal Flaw – Don’t Start Believing

Power Gig hits stores in October for PS3 and XBox360. Rock On, Gamers, I’ll see you on stage!!

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