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It may look very Fisher Price, but this is going to wean you off air guitar

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Peripheral vision

Following the release of Guitar Hero top quality air guitar

for technophiles Henry Northmore delves into the weird and wonderful world of physically involving games add-ons.

PERIPHERALS FACTFILE Three new games extras have been launched on P82 fliis month. Singstar Rocks (SCEE) costs £39.99 with microphones. or £19.99 without. Buzz: The Big Quiz (SCEE) costs £39.99 with buzzers. or 224.99 without. Guitar Hero (RedOctane) costs £49.99. The guitar's not optional.

just a karaoke simulator is it judges your timing and pitch

here was a time when Duck lliml's light (iun on the

NI'LS was the pinnacle ol‘ extras lor the console market.

Hardly any games on the home market tise guns any more. The next hig era/c was dance mats spurred on hy the ever popular [More l)(lll('(' Revolution series. .-\nd then we got the liy‘c"loy‘ lor the PSI. l'or which new games are still coming out. It's a tan idea: the camera picks tip on your movements lor a truly interactive experience. landing punches on your cyher opponent or dodging ninjas on screen. l'nl‘ortunately the tech just doesn‘t quite live up to the promise and it's a lrequently glitchy experience. l-'ortunately. there's a whole new generation ol peripherals on the market. and we tried a levy of them out.

.S'ingSIor is perhaps the hest karaoke-style game out there. It is packaged with a double mic. and there are live titles in the series. The latest. .8'ing.8'lor Rocks t... l. ol‘l‘ers more than the usual pop llul‘l'. going tor some lel'tlield helters lrom the

likes ol‘ the llives. Maximo

Park. the Killers and Nirvana.

What 'l-vat‘. thi. l'r m h‘ing

H U i U L HERO HAS THAT ‘JUST ONE MORE I is a cracking party game. hut GO with only 30 songs on each disc

it‘s ama/ing how quickly you cxliaust the options.

Bur: the Big Qui: (0000 l is another pcrlect closing time game a pub quix. 'l'rial Pursuit and Him mum to by A Millionaire? rolled into one. This is the second edition ol the series. lollowing Bit/1's inusic quil. (‘oming with hu//crs. this is as near to being on a real game show as there‘s been yet. lixpect l'ren/ied game play that'll have you laughing and cursing. without having to share oxygen with the likes ol' 1 cs Dennis.

However. the pick has to he (iiiitor llt'ro ( l. with replica (iihson controller. Basically it‘s a take on the rhythm l‘ormat of Home Dance Revolution. You have to play your 'guitar" and strum along with split second precision. The guitar itsell' is very liisher Price in nature but l'eels chunky when strapped on. It‘s pretty damn tricky at last and l'or non- guitarists the hand positions needed to pull ol’l~ the correct this l‘eel lairly alien. But as your rhythm and technique improve its got that irresistible ‘jtist one more go' appeal. l-rom ‘Smoke on the Water“ and ‘lron Man~ to "lake Me ()tit‘ and ‘liat l.ip' the masic is solid and diverse (it's all guitar-heavy. of course) but the main tank is that they're all covers. Decent covers. hilt covers nonetheless. l'nlike many rhythm games there's a career mode and you can rack up star points (which you unleash by raising your guitar neck to the ceiling in true loot on the monitor styleel. As the dilliculty level increases the contonions you have to put your aching hands through become ever more complex (your pinkie isn‘t a normal gaming linger). Sure it's a novelty. but a good one. Who needs an air guitar when you‘ve got one of these beauties hooked up‘.’

’37 ’/)' AV 20"}. TI'IE LIST 99

and gives you a score based on your accuracy. With SingSior 80s and other pop specials this