745 Studios has a huge hill to climb. Guitar Hero popularised this style of rhythm game and Rock Band has been the leading innovator for years. Power Gig hopes to change this by actually teaching us how to play the instruments ourself while playing the game. While Rock Band 3 has announced the same idea, Power Gig was actually playable on the show floor. With me and my love of rhythm games I had no choice but to check it out
I had the opportunity to play both the guitar and drums. The guitar resembles a noticeably heavier and slightly wider Guitar hero controller only with a full 6 strings instead of the standard 5 buttons. Not only can it be used in the game but also be used as an actual guitar which can be plugged into an amp. Which actually makes a great incentive for those who want to take up what they’ve learnt from Power Gig further. I’m one of those people who has played Rock Band to death and wants to learn to play a real guitar but hasn’t got round to it. Maybe Power Gig will be that stepping stone to my inevitable rock stardom. I only got a chance to play on easy so I wasn’t able to take advantage of learning chords but using strings and actually strumming is a lot more different. I can handle most songs (just) on Rock Band on an expert level but I was struggling on an easy difficulty. With me being so used to buttons my hand ended up sliding down the fret without realising and missing the note causing me to have to constantly look down at fret. You know, like what real guitarists do!
The drums are different kind of beast. Instead of hitting an actual physical object. You hit the parent friendly air. The sticks have sensors on one side and a grip on the other telling you what side you must hold them. This takes a bit more to get used to compared to the likes of Rock Band or Guitar Hero. Not having anything to hit does make it more difficult to judge where you are, I ended up paying more attention to the floor seeing if I’m hitting the right areas. This is something that I can get used to over time but it’s not quite the same experience. By adding a more realistic guitar it baffles me why they decided to go with a toned down drumming experience.
At the moment the game is looking decent, no-where near the same polish as Rock Band. The game goes for a run-down future world, with the plot revolving around saving the world with the power of rock, the setting is fitting. Levels also change depending on how well you are playing, more things will come alive the better you are. The fret has a top down display and the notes resemble discs. Unfortunately this is the weakest aspect of the presentation. It looks a little dated, more like the music rhythm games of the past. However this is still a working progress.
Power Gig is attempting to do something different in this over-saturated market and for the most part it works, with it’s unique guitar and drums. Chances are Rock Band 3’s Pro Mode will overshadow Power Gig in all aspects, but it’s looking to at least be a decent alternative for those seeking more. I shall be keeping an eye on Power Gig as the months go by.
