Games TM looks at the world of peripheral-based rhythm action games

Guitar Hero World Tour and Rock Band unite family and friends, transforming them into rock stars within their own living rooms. The phenonmenal popularity of these games is totally deserved, but while many of their fans see each game's plastic instruments as wholly original inventions, longtime gamers know better. Great rhythm action titles have been around for years. From the obvious to the obscure, so lets take a look at the world of peripheral-based music games - those plastic instruments that paved the way for Guitar Hero and Rock Band, and which have dug themselves so far into a niche that Harmonix and Neversoft still can't compete with them? If you must experience every style of musical performance then these are the games for you...

Vocals

Even with the current generation of ‘music’ games, singing is not something that has been included as part the band ethic until now. If you think about it, pure karaoke titles, with only a microphone and a song list, only started to show up in 2004 with the release of SingStar. Developed by Sony Computer Entertainment, it effectively turned PlayStation 2 from a gaming console to a fullblown party-friendly karaoke powerhouse. The title actually started out as two separate entities, both aimed at a younger audience, but in 2003 the whole project underwent a direction change, and the newly crafted microphone technology was paired up with some contemporary tunes to create the series we all know and love.

Called Karaoke Stage in Europe, all the songs on SingStar were performed by the actual artists where possible. Karaoke Revolution only has cover songs, and the software used actually meant that you could either hum or sing completely different lyrics, so long as you were at the correct pitch. Released around about the same time was Get On Da Mic, courtesy of Eidos, it came with a microphone developed by Logitech, was based on Konami’s engine and was also EyeToy compatible. For some reason though, it focused purely on hip-hop songs, which may have limited its appeal.

Still, all you need is one good series, plus one more to rival it, and you have a franchise war that will suck in consumers left, right, and centre. Even Microsoft is getting in on the karaoke frenzy, with its forthcoming title Lips. Announced at this year’s E3, Lips could be a strong rival for SingStar. Featuring official songs, not covers, it will have limited support for your own music by plugging in your MP3 player.

And now we come full circle, first with Rock Band, and now Guitar Hero World Tour. However, there is still a firm line between these band-sims and the light-hearted karaoke classics, so those not wanting to rock out should check out the above for the lighter side of fun.

Percussion

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