Guitar Freaks

"A wannabe's heaven!"

What can I say, except that Guitar Freaks is an incredibly cool game. Even if you don't know a fretboard from a whammy bar, this game will let you experience what it's like to be a Guitar God for as long as your fingers can hold out.

Gameplay 10/10
Like other Bemani games, Guitar Freaks has a very simple concept: a song plays as colored beads scroll by on the screen, and you must press buttons on the controller that correspond with the beads to create the song. If you are musical, the learning curve is quite small. But even if you aren't, the beads give you a visual representation of the timing. You can also set the controller to vibrate on the beat, and there is a learning mode where you can slow the song down.

Your local import store should sell the Guitar Freaks guitar controller, and I would strongly suggest buying one. The game is much more intuitive this way and your hands will thank you. It is possible to finish stages using the playstation controller, but you probably won't be able to get a perfect score since the harder stages like Hypnotica are brutal on your hands.

Audio 10/10
There is a normal mode and an expert mode, and you begin with 6 songs in each mode. You will be able to unlock more songs, but I still think that 6 songs is not enough to start with. However the small number of songs is offset by the fact that they're all really good, so you won't get tired of them. The songs come in many different styles including ska, grunge, pop. blues, electronica, jazz and rock. Most of the songs are harder-edged, and always have the guitar in the forefront doing something interesting--playing the melody or soloing. The quality of the audio is top-notch, and the guitar samples are amazing. There is even an effects selector so you can give your guitar sound that extra kick of distortion or flange.

Video 7/10
Video in these games is always so-so, but the graphics get the job done and don't take away from the gameplay in any way. As the song is playing you get a little music video in the middle of the screen, which I'm usually too distracted to look at so I couldn't say if they're any good or not. I guess it gives the people watching you play something to look at.

Replayability 10/10
This is definitely a game you would come back to many times. There is a perfect balance of easy and difficult songs so that you won't get discouraged at the beginning, but will have enough challenge to keep you interested once you start to get the hang of things. Songs are good quality and you won't get tired of them. Adding to the replay value is the 2-player mode where you can play duets (or dueling guitars if you want to look at it that way) with another person. In duet mode the guitar part isn't the same as in single-player mode, which means that there are actually 3 different ways to play each song (single, player 1 duet and player 2 duet).

Buy or rent?
It's an import so you'll have to buy it. So buy it, you won't be disappointed!

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 08/12/02, Updated 05/06/03