Rock Band/Guitar Hero are quickly become as
ubiquitous as the iPhone and other tip of the tongue tech toys that populate
the headlines in the gadgetry sections of newspapers and websites. And like
anything even remotely approaching popularity these things are subject to
imitation. You know, the highest form of flattery? Otherwise known as the
quickest way to make a buck. Now, it’s hard to place an emphasis on
originality. One could argue that Rock Band has taken the ball from Guitar Hero
and run with it and with great success; they broke the redundant cycle
established by the originators and brought something new to the field. But for
every evolutionary step forward, there are countless other stubborn
Neanderthals. I think the ethos of Guitar Rock Tour, the latest
rhythm/instrument clone to appear on the iPhone, is summed up quite succinctly
in their own marketing one-liner on iTunes: “Perform, without musical
knowledge, the most popular worldwide hits on your iPhone.”
The game features smooth, entertaining
graphics and has a spiffy interface, not to mention several features lifted
from its popular big brothers on the consoles. And rather than simulate one
instrument, Guitar Rock Tour features both a guitar and drums. Remember, no
musical knowledge is needed, so if you can’t distinguish one from the other,
all is forgiven. The drums actually just feature two less columns for notes,
simulating the binary nature of the instrument…uh wha?
So, decent graphics, multiple instruments,
$10 price tag. What’s not to like? Well, for starters, the set list is weak
sauce due to its helter skelter approach to genres (note, Helter Skelter is not
among them). The tracks range from classics like ‘Smoke on the Water’ to everyday pop in ‘Girlfriend’, all in cover form. But what’s really at the heart of my distaste for this title is
that Guitar Rock Tour is just a costumed Neanderthal; a stubborn, redundant bit of software that’s actually
an evolutionary step backwards than most side-stepping that goes on in the
industry. Publisher GameLoft is actually marketing a game for people that have
a product virtually dedicated to music with the tag line that it’s for those “without
musical knowledge”!? The iPhone houses music people! It’s not some console that
needs to read tracks off a disc; it already contains the consumer’s favourite
tunes. Even if
someone enjoyed every track in the game, they’d already own the original
version (on that same device no less), and should be dissatisfied with some hackneyed
cover!
But hey, it’s not all GameLoft’s fault; it’s a systemic problem with the iPhone and access to the music library. However, back in the jailbreaking days there was a little app called Tap Tap Revolution which relied on WiFi to get the necessary tap-files. Assuming your library contained even remotely known songs, you’d likely find a match. That meant your entire music library was open to gaming. My god, you could actually listen to the exact song you felt like at that moment, and game to it at the same time. Now that’s evolutionary!
Guitar Rock Tour DOES NOT work on the iPod Touch
at this time.
