New Rhythm Game Uses Real Guitar

A few representatives from Seven45 Studios, a Boston-based company with a background in entry-level musical instruments, dropped by the Giant Bomb offices last week to show off a very early version of their new game, Power Gig: Rise of the SixString. On the surface, this PS3/360 release appears to be aping the gameplay style of Guitar Hero and Rock Band. You'll use the first five frets to play and the basics of holding down a finger on the appropriate fret and strumming along to master recordings of rock songs.

The catch is in the controller, which also doubles as a real, amplified guitar. Here's one version of the controller:

By default, the presence of strings doesn't make any difference in the gameplay, as the game still has you hitting those frets and strumming. But an advanced "chording" mode will place additional notation into some parts of the song. So in addition to telling you which fret you need to hit, a number on the screen will also tell you which string you need to press down. While our hands-off demo made all this look easy, I bet it's actually quite difficult.

On top of using it as a game controller, push in a little chunk that blocks the strings for gameplay mode, plug it into an amp, and use it as a real guitar.

The gents from Seven45 claimed that having a real guitar is helping them make headway with artists and bands that have been put off by the plastic controllers used by Guitar Hero and Rock Band, but as those discussions are still ongoing, no examples of licensed bands have been officially confirmed for the game. The developers also claimed that there would be a big back story and universe to Power Gig that sets it apart from its competition, though I wouldn't say that a rockin' story is the thing that other music games have been missing for all these years.

This all seems like it could serve as a way to teach people how to work with an actual guitar, but the developers seemed to shy away from this aspect of the game, preferring to position Power Gig as a game first and foremost. The game will allow for full band play, complete with drums and vocals, though they weren't talking specifics about a drum controller and didn't want to talk at all about bass players. That's understandable. No one wants to talk about bass players.

Power Gig: Rise of the SixString is currently scheduled for release on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 this fall.