Posted 03/10/10 at 10:31:45 AM by Paul Lilly

You're not likely to find a bona fide rock star on stage pounding a series of colorful buttons rather than strumming away on real guitar strings, so as fun as Rock Band and Guitar Hero are to play, they're not very faithful recreations of the real deal. Looking to bridge that gap is Seven45 Studios and the company's upcoming game, Power Gig: Rise of the SixString.

Like other musical videogames, you'll follow on-screen beat sequences, only you'll have to strum the right string rather than mash a button. There will also be a "Power Gig" mode in which players have to hit specific strings to produce chords. When you're finished chasing achievements, you can then plug the guitar into any standard amp and start playing for real.

"The leap to (playing) guitar will be seamless," said Jeff Walker, vice president of marketing at Seven45.

While price could end up an obvious prohibiting factor, Seven45 promises it will be comparable with existing music games. Look for Power Gig to ship this fall for the PS3 and Xbox 360 consoles. And if you get attached to the included guitar, Seven45 says it will also work with Rock Band and Guitar Hero. Groovy.

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Posted 01/13/09 at 05:26:09 PM by Andy Salisbury

CES there was a new kid on the block by the name of Disney Star Guitarist that was looking to teach you how to play an actual guitar instead of memorizing the five color-coded buttons.

The game works about the same as guitar hero, little gems float down the screen and once they hit a certain spot it’s up to you to place your fingers in the right place and strum (you can find a video here). Only this time, instead of the aforementioned color-coded buttons, you’re using actual strings, on an actual guitar.

Should the game actually be good enough to hold people’s attentions (read: not just Disney songs), there could be some real value here. After all, as a drummer I can see it as a good possibility for someone that plays Rock Band on the harder difficulties to hammer out a beat on a real kit. Perhaps the same rule could apply, once someone’s had enough opportunities to play “Hakuna Matata” on the 5-string?

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