GIVEAWAY: Get your Guitars up!

MERRY CHRISTMAS! It’s my first GIVEAWAY on my new blog space. Read my review and don’t forget to read my request at the end to enter yourself in a drawing for a FREE Wii GAME!

When I was contacted about reviewing PopStar Guitar, a new game by XS Games for the Playstation 2 and Wii, I jumped at the chance. But, before I write this, I should admit to you that my family are very serious fans of this game’s main competitor.

Some might be surprised to know this about me, but it is a well kept secret that I love me some “GH.” Having never learned to play a REAL guitar, I tend to stay on the beginner or medium levels, but I can throw a mean “whammy bar” to Joan Jett or Guns & Roses now and then. My nephew, who is definitely an advanced level player, introduced my son when he was about 6 and we’ve bought almost every version that has come out since that time and have all enjoyed them.

But, my one complaint is that I feel like I have to preview it all before my son plays. While most of the songs are cleaned up, you never know when a song might be thrown in that has lyrics that you might not feel like having to explain to a 9-year-old. (He has yet to ask me what “I Wanna Be Sedated” means and I really don’t look forward to the day he asks about “Cherry Pie.”)

So, I had high hopes for Pop Star Guitar. Being a bit of a “pop princess” myself, I also liked the fact that the music on Pop Star Guitar features current hit songs my hot artists and bands, such as Daughtry, 3 Doors Down, Carrie Underwood, and Rihanna. The contemporary music was a big plus for this game, actually.

In terms of how the game functions, I found getting into the game a big tedious. I played my first song, not realizing that I was on a setting where you continuously play the same song over and over. The category name, when I went back and rebooted the game, did make sense once I looked back, but not initially. This could be because I’m used to playing a song and then moving on to the next level of song if I reach a certain level of success with the first song. It might have made sense for designers to make that sort of category setting the default, versus this continuous play mode.

Visually speaking, this game sticks to the basics, focusing on the guitar strings and notes and without the distracting band performances behind where you are playing. I liked that, although I think my 9-year-old much prefers seeing his mowhawked rocker slamming the guitar around after he finishes a set.

I also had some glitchy things happen when I went to play my second song, which locked up my PS2 and I had to reboot. I’m not sure if it had to do with my memory card, my guitar controller, or maybe a user error. With that said, the actual songs seemed pretty true to the level–Easy was a little easier than their competitors’ Easy level setting. I liked this because I think it is one that my almost 5-year-old will enjoy more.

For the most part, I think this game might be good for anyone who has NOT played Guitar Hero, but wonders about a guitar-based game and how they work at a little bit cheaper retail price (59.99).  

I also think most of the songs are probably more kid-friendly and geared towards “tweens” and younger, whereas their competitor focus on teens more. My daughter will love this because it has Miley Cyrus. And, if you have a penchant for pop music over heavier rock, give this game a try too! You can check out a trailer for the game on their VERY cool website.

And, here’s an early MERRY CHRISTMAS to my readers. Want to give guitar playing a whirl without ever touching a string? Respond in my comments and you can win your own copy of Pop Star Guitar for the Wii!

This game retails for $59.99 and you get with it two AirG controllers as well! I will randomly select the winner by Monday at midnight, so make sure you comment today!