Oh, look at that. My review of Power Gig: Rise of the SixString has gone up over at GamePro. What did I think of it? Well, it would be spoiling to tell you here. But I’ll give you a couple quotes to whet your appetite:
“…truly impressive, something I hope other music games will replicate in the future…I’ve always liked it…I hope other music games copy…packed with great tracks…”
Now as for the context for those quotes, well, you’ll just have to click through to find out.
[Read]
Man, say what you will about Power Gig: Rise of the SixString, but they sure as hell know how to put a track list together. Today Seven45 Studios revealed the remainder of the tunes featured on the disc, and it’s a pretty impressive lineup.
Most impressive (and shocking) to me personally is the inclusion of Channels’ “Chivaree,” a really excellent song from a really excellent — and fairly obscure — band. You’ve heard me talk about Jawbox and Burning Airlines in the past? This is the current band from the main singer/songwriter for both bands. Their Waiting For The Next End Of The World
And if you’re looking for the remainder of the Power Gig track list, it can be found here. Now let’s get to the lineup. Continue reading →
Well, it’s an attention-getter, you have to give them that. The folks at Power Gig have elected to advertise the superiority of playing music games on a real, stringed guitar by collecting a huge payload of what appear to be off-brand guitar controllers, taking them up in a plane, and dumping them into a volcano.
See the whole video right here:
I guess now we now know where Acclaim’s PR staff ended up.
[thanks to Simon for the HOT TIP]
Don’t get ready to dismiss that other music game coming out this year just yet. IGN has just posted videos highlighting some of the tracks from the upcoming Power Gig, and as goofy as the game may look…well, see for yourself:
| The Academy Is… | His Girl Friday |   |
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| Bad Religion | I Want to Conquer the World |  |
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| The Black Keys | Strange Times |  |
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| Black Sabbath | The Devil Cried |  |
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| The Get Up Kids | Martyr Me |  |
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| Mastodon | Crack The Skye |  |
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| Mutemath | Chaos |  |
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| New Found Glory | Listen to Your Friends |  |
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| Paramore | Ignorance |  |
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| Queens of the Stone Age | You Think I Ain’t Worth a Dollar, but I Feel Like A Millionaire |  |
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| Superdrag | Aspartame |  |
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| Surfer Blood | Swim |  |
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| Three Days Grace | Break |  |
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I have to say this is a pretty impressive lineup, featuring some deep cuts from some fairly big-time bands. Whatever else you want to say about Power Gig, you can’t say they’re not putting a lot of effort into securing a solid setlist.
Check out a playlist of all 13 songs after the break, and the gameplay videos at IGN by clicking the Read link.
[Read, via @murdoc129]
Call it a natural evolution, call it great minds thinking alike, or just call it coincidence — the music-game scene at this past E3 was all about real guitars…or reasonable facsimiles thereof. I was fortunate enough to be able to squeeze in meetings with all of the companies preparing to unleash these things on the market, and I’d like to share my experience with you. You know, if that’s OK.
And so I present to you, ranked roughly in order from least favorite to favorite: the real — and real-ish — guitars of E3.
Peavey HeroMaker
$TBA | Early 2011 | www.peavey.com/heromaker
Previously on Plastic Axe
As a guitar: Peavey has been making solid, if unremarkable, entry-level guitars for decades, and this seems like pretty much that: solid, but unremarkable. This is the one guitar I wasn’t able to get hands-on time with, but based on the specs — Strat-style body, one dual-coil pickup, and a fixed bridge — it seems like it will do the job fine as a training aid, but it’s nothing you’d want to take up on stage.
As a game controller: The HeroMaker takes an unusual approach to the whole real-guitar-as-game-controller thing: Only one string (the high E) has a sensor beneath it, so all of your in-game playing will be on that single string. The sensor covers 12 frets, but only recognizes the five traditional “colors,” which presumably repeat.
The technology here is optical, which appeared to offer very quick response. And since it’s optical, the guitar can detect the presence of a capo or finger when starting up, and will “zero out” at that fret — so you can move the actual in-game detection area as high as frets 8 through 12.
The guitar also includes standard guitar-controller features like a whammy bar (digital, so it works in-game only), effects switch, and d-pad.
The verdict: Looks fine enough as a guitar, but it’s almost comically limited as a game controller thanks to the single-string sensor. You can strum and fret a single string, but really — how much better is that than a regular plastic controller?
Now, the Peavey rep showed me a prototype neck being developed for a second edition, which featured optical sensors across the whole neck, allowing for play outside of the single string. That could be worth checking out. But in its current form, the guitar function and controller function are almost completely separate. It’s hard to think of a target audience for this one, given what else will be available by the time it releases. Continue reading →
Yes, folks, that’s right: Eric Clapton is at long last making a solo appearance in a music game, but it’s not in Rock Band. And it’s not in Guitar Hero. It’s in the forthcoming Power Gig: Rise of the SixString.
And he’s not alone: Dave Matthews Band and Kid Rock have also signed exclusive agreements with Power Gig to provide songs for the game. From the press release:
“We think Power Gig is a much needed and much welcomed game because, unlike any others before it, it puts a real guitar into the hands of aspiring musicians, and we hope it inspires our fans and others to start playing even when they’re not playing the game,” said Dave Matthews Band. “We love the thought that fans of ours who’ve never picked up an instrument can now play our music on a real guitar and experience what we love to do day in and day out.”
This is blowing my mind. From the start, it seemed like Power Gig was looking to jump into the deep end of the music-game arena with both feet; it seemed like they were throwing lots of time and money into guitar design, production, and advertising. But I never suspected they’d be able to secure exclusive deals from such big artists.
And I find it even more surprising after seeing the game in action:
It’s hard to watch that and not draw comparisons to Rock Revolution. But I’m going to be very careful to reserve judgment until I actually get hands-on time with the game, especially since it apparently includes a chording option that sounds like it’ll be a lot closer to playing real guitar. I will say that the trails and links on the guitar track are an interesting touch that might actually make it a little easier to sight-read.
But oh, this is only half the story: Seven45 Studios also announced that the game will include a drum controller. And it’s not like any drum controller you’ve seen so far. Continue reading →
Last week I mentioned Power Gig: Rise of the SixString, a game/guitar combo that appears to take a slightly new approach to music-game gameplay and a very new approach to controllers — that is to say, it uses what’s basically a real guitar.
If that sounds interesting to you, you’ll probably be interested in this piece in the Chicago Tribune. It doesn’t include much in the way of new info, but it does mention something about the manufacturer that makes me think this is more than a shot-in-the-dark experiment:
Seven45 has the advantage of being owned by the same people who own First Act, a line of affordable, introductory-level musical instruments and accessories sold at Wal-Mart, Target and other major retailers, potentially giving “Power Gig” a foot in the door to a mass audience.
So there’s experience — and perhaps more importantly, money — behind this project, which is a promising sign.
Looking for more? There’s not much out there at the moment; Joystiq posted a trailer the other day, but it’s completely devoid of any gameplay footage. I’m hoping to get a look at this thing in person at PAX East next week, whereupon I will divulge every bit of info I can wring out of the experience. Just for you.
