Guitar Mania
Third party controllers for 'Guitar Hero'
Posted September 24, 2006
My kneejerk reaction when I first heard that Guitar Hero would be driven by a guitar-shaped controller was "...Flying V...?" Y'know, nothing against the Mini-Gibson SG that wound up being packed in with the game or anything -- it looks and plays great -- but I kept hoping Red Octane or some enterprising third-party would churn out a Flying V. Well, Virginia, it turns out that there really is a Santa Claus. Multiple Santa Clauses, even, since these new controllers are being put out by The Ant Commandos rather than a single, lone Ant Commando.
Gameplay:
The Ant Commandos currently have two lines of V-shaped guitar controllers, and both the Freedom V and the Rocking V are offered in the iconic cherry red and an indigo blue. The big difference between the two lines is that the Rocking V is a wired controller, and the Freedom V...well, take a stab based on the name.
The Freedom V is the first wireless guitar controller for Guitar Hero, no longer saddling players with that ten foot tether from the guitar to the PS2. Four AA batteries are already packed into the controller (or, at least, they'd already been popped into mine), so all there is to it is shoving a small cartridge into the controller slot on the console and waiting for it to locate the guitar. Sometimes the guitar and receiver take longer to initially sync up than I'd like -- there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to it -- but once the Freedom V locks in, the signal is rock solid. I pogoed around my living room with the guitar without a single hiccup, and I could even stroll into another room or dart upstairs without ever losing sync. The coverage is reportedly around a distance of 100' or so.
Aside from the wireless aspect, the other big selling point of the Freedom V is the shape of the controller. As a closet thrash-metal devotee, I love the look of the guitar. Full disclosure: I'm used to playing Guitar Hero sitting down (weak, I know), and the wings on the V make it a little more cumbersome to play that way. It doesn't rest on my leg as easily, and my forearm couldn't lean on the top of the guitar in quite the same as the SG. But then again...it's a Flying V! Dirk Diggler recording "The Touch" aside, who plays a V sitting down? The controller -- especially since it's wireless -- demands to be played standing up, flung around, and rocked out every bit as obnoxiously as your 3-D rendered character on-screen. The guitar also comes with a sticker sheet if you want to personalize your controller.
Making the transition from the Gibson SG to the Freedom V is pretty painless. The dimensions of both controllers are nearly identical, and even the buttons are the same colors and same distances apart. (In fact, the controllers are so similar that Red Octane/Activision and The Ant Commandos have been flinging lawsuits and countersuits back and forth.) Despite the wireless hardware packed into the Freedom V, it doesn't feel bulky or unevenly weighted. I switched back and forth between this guitar and the Gibson SG on a slew of different songs on various difficulty levels, and my score wasn't consistently higher or lower with either controller. Both guitars are responsive and easily playable.
That's not to say that the Freedom V is perfect, though. Tilting the guitar up didn't always immediately trigger star power, sometimes taking a little more effort and waving the neck around more than I'm used to on the Gibson SG. The 'Select' button can also be pressed to flip on star power, and although that's not nearly as fun as aiming the neck of the guitar skyward mid-solo, that button stands out more (and the 'Start' button to pause stands out less) than on the SG, making that a more viable option. When my guitar heroics would get especially spastic, the strap occasionally popped off the knob on the top of the guitar. Players using the Freedom V as a primary controller may want to consider reinforcing the strap somehow. Although I was generally pleased with the build quality, the Freedom V is made of a different plastic, and my fingers didn't slide up and down the fretboard or ease from button to button quite as easily as on the SG. Red Octane's controller uses a plastic that's slicker to the touch, and the V doesn't 'give' in quite that same way. It's not a dramatic difference and didn't knock my score down any, but it's definitely noticeable.
It all kinda boils down to this: do you want to shell out fifty-five bucks for a wireless, Flying V-shaped controller for Guitar Hero? If the answer's "yup", then you'll probably be pleased with the Freedom V. It's not a life-changing experience that'll redefine the way you look at gaming or anything, but it's a solid controller with a few easily overlooked flaws. If the answer's "no", then...wow, I'm not sure why you made it this far into the review.
Along with the battalion of Vs, The Ant Commandos have also released another guitar alternative: The Shredder. This wired controller is lighter and slimmer than the Gibson SG, sporting a body shape that doesn't immediately remind me of a particular style of guitar. Its smaller dimensions, lighter weight, and slightly flimsier build quality don't make it an instantly compelling replacement for Red Octane's controller, but Guitar Hero fanatics who want a more affordable second controller for multiplayer may want to give The Shredder a look.
Alternating between The Shredder and the Gibson SG in lower difficulty levels, I didn't find myself doing any better or any worse with either guitar (which is A Good Thing™ for a budget controller), but the deal-killing drawback is the difficulty in triggering star power. The tilt mechanism in the wireless V may have been a little flaky, but The Shredder requires violently shaking the controller. C'mon, I'm a wannabe guitarist, not a British nanny. The easiest difficulty level gives players enough breathing room to pull that off, but I kept losing my note streak when trying to nail star power on The Shredder on every other setting. Again, the 'Select' button is made more easily accessible to compensate, but mashing a button isn't nearly as fun or intuitive as flipping up the neck of a guitar. When sitting down, at least, I also found the SG to be more comfortable to hold and to play than The Shredder although not to the point where it had an impact on my score. The asking price for The Shredder is around ten bucks less than Red Octane's SG, making it a decent value for multiplayer, especially if you're not playing with frothing-at-the-mouth fanatics.
Conclusion:
The Shredder is an okay second controller to keep around for multiplayer, especially if your friends aren't hardcore enough for you to want to fork over forty bucks for another Mini-Gibson SG. The rock-god guitar shape and wireless features of the Freedom V make it a more compelling grab for Guitar Hero fanatics. It didn't improve my mock-guitar shredding any, but I prefer the look of the Flying V-style body, and not tripping over a ten foot cord is always a plus. Whether or not that's worth fifty-someodd bucks plus shipping is a question you'll have to answer yourself, but I'll slap the Freedom V with a thumbs-up.
Gameplay:
The Ant Commandos currently have two lines of V-shaped guitar controllers, and both the Freedom V and the Rocking V are offered in the iconic cherry red and an indigo blue. The big difference between the two lines is that the Rocking V is a wired controller, and the Freedom V...well, take a stab based on the name.
The Freedom V is the first wireless guitar controller for Guitar Hero, no longer saddling players with that ten foot tether from the guitar to the PS2. Four AA batteries are already packed into the controller (or, at least, they'd already been popped into mine), so all there is to it is shoving a small cartridge into the controller slot on the console and waiting for it to locate the guitar. Sometimes the guitar and receiver take longer to initially sync up than I'd like -- there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to it -- but once the Freedom V locks in, the signal is rock solid. I pogoed around my living room with the guitar without a single hiccup, and I could even stroll into another room or dart upstairs without ever losing sync. The coverage is reportedly around a distance of 100' or so.
Aside from the wireless aspect, the other big selling point of the Freedom V is the shape of the controller. As a closet thrash-metal devotee, I love the look of the guitar. Full disclosure: I'm used to playing Guitar Hero sitting down (weak, I know), and the wings on the V make it a little more cumbersome to play that way. It doesn't rest on my leg as easily, and my forearm couldn't lean on the top of the guitar in quite the same as the SG. But then again...it's a Flying V! Dirk Diggler recording "The Touch" aside, who plays a V sitting down? The controller -- especially since it's wireless -- demands to be played standing up, flung around, and rocked out every bit as obnoxiously as your 3-D rendered character on-screen. The guitar also comes with a sticker sheet if you want to personalize your controller.
Making the transition from the Gibson SG to the Freedom V is pretty painless. The dimensions of both controllers are nearly identical, and even the buttons are the same colors and same distances apart. (In fact, the controllers are so similar that Red Octane/Activision and The Ant Commandos have been flinging lawsuits and countersuits back and forth.) Despite the wireless hardware packed into the Freedom V, it doesn't feel bulky or unevenly weighted. I switched back and forth between this guitar and the Gibson SG on a slew of different songs on various difficulty levels, and my score wasn't consistently higher or lower with either controller. Both guitars are responsive and easily playable.
That's not to say that the Freedom V is perfect, though. Tilting the guitar up didn't always immediately trigger star power, sometimes taking a little more effort and waving the neck around more than I'm used to on the Gibson SG. The 'Select' button can also be pressed to flip on star power, and although that's not nearly as fun as aiming the neck of the guitar skyward mid-solo, that button stands out more (and the 'Start' button to pause stands out less) than on the SG, making that a more viable option. When my guitar heroics would get especially spastic, the strap occasionally popped off the knob on the top of the guitar. Players using the Freedom V as a primary controller may want to consider reinforcing the strap somehow. Although I was generally pleased with the build quality, the Freedom V is made of a different plastic, and my fingers didn't slide up and down the fretboard or ease from button to button quite as easily as on the SG. Red Octane's controller uses a plastic that's slicker to the touch, and the V doesn't 'give' in quite that same way. It's not a dramatic difference and didn't knock my score down any, but it's definitely noticeable.
It all kinda boils down to this: do you want to shell out fifty-five bucks for a wireless, Flying V-shaped controller for Guitar Hero? If the answer's "yup", then you'll probably be pleased with the Freedom V. It's not a life-changing experience that'll redefine the way you look at gaming or anything, but it's a solid controller with a few easily overlooked flaws. If the answer's "no", then...wow, I'm not sure why you made it this far into the review.
Along with the battalion of Vs, The Ant Commandos have also released another guitar alternative: The Shredder. This wired controller is lighter and slimmer than the Gibson SG, sporting a body shape that doesn't immediately remind me of a particular style of guitar. Its smaller dimensions, lighter weight, and slightly flimsier build quality don't make it an instantly compelling replacement for Red Octane's controller, but Guitar Hero fanatics who want a more affordable second controller for multiplayer may want to give The Shredder a look.
Alternating between The Shredder and the Gibson SG in lower difficulty levels, I didn't find myself doing any better or any worse with either guitar (which is A Good Thing
Conclusion:
The Shredder is an okay second controller to keep around for multiplayer, especially if your friends aren't hardcore enough for you to want to fork over forty bucks for another Mini-Gibson SG. The rock-god guitar shape and wireless features of the Freedom V make it a more compelling grab for Guitar Hero fanatics. It didn't improve my mock-guitar shredding any, but I prefer the look of the Flying V-style body, and not tripping over a ten foot cord is always a plus. Whether or not that's worth fifty-someodd bucks plus shipping is a question you'll have to answer yourself, but I'll slap the Freedom V with a thumbs-up.