The Rhythm is Gonna Get Ya

If you were to ask most gamers what the most saturated genre in the industry was these days most would point to rhythm video games. Ever since 2005, when Harmonix unleashed the original Guitar Hero on the gaming public, rhythm games have become as common as hooker calling cards on the Las Vegas strip come sunrise. There have been four more Guitar Hero titles (not counting band specific spotlight releases), three versions of Rock Band (not counting the upcoming Lego Rock Band), the SingStar series, Band Hero, and the upcoming DJ Hero having flooded the market 2005, to name but a few. And guess what; all these games are essentially the exact same product, having you pick up your hulking plastic instrument and hit the right notes to succeed. So the question becomes; have rhythm games overstayed their welcome, now nothing more than further proof that the video game industry is more concerned with banking on the easy buck through sequels than stretching their imagination to come up with something new and innovative?

To begin, can we start by discussing the need for all music titles to come with obnoxious accessories and peripherals these days? Has it come to the point where companies can only push thier product on consumers if it includes the latest crazy accessory? I can tell you for a fact that whether I'm behind a $80 plastic drum kit or on your couch with a standard gaming controller, I can still play a rhythm video game and enjoy it, it matters not. And the proof is in the fact that I was playing Frequency and Amplitude years ago without a plastic guitar, drum kit, or microphone. Maybe it has something to do with the whole "casual gamer" craze that has taken over the industry--where being active and getting fit is the new preferred model of the quintessential gamer--but odds are the only reason these plastic toys are still included with every new release is because it makes the companies that own them ridiculous amounts of bank.

These "instruments" give Activision, Harmonix, or whoever, the right to charge over $100 for a video game without their companies' headquarters being burned down by mobs of angry gamers. Which, inversely, has caused a ripple effect through the gaming industry where we're now seeing games that don't need some ridiculous accessory including it just because they can (*cough* Tony Hawk: Ride *cough*). Turning around and charging $120 for essentially a game that's a decade old. For shame.

And as mentioned in the introductory paragraph, rhythm games no longer have the same thrill they use to. Originality has crashed into a brick wall going 90 mph and is now crippled. Remember when the first Guitar Hero came out? Remember how all your friends laughed at you when they saw the plastic guitar controller for the first time, but as soon as they saw you shredding to Eric Clapton's cover of "Crossroads" they immediately clammed up and patiently waited their turn to play the game. Or how about when the first Rock Band released, introducing the full band experience to friends/ family who might love experiencing music together but are either too afraid or not talented enough to participate in their local open mic nights. But where are we now. Oh yea, Lego Rock Band.

Yup.

But there is hope; the jury is still out on DJ Hero, and if it can help spark the rhythm genre into new and unexplored territories. The inclusion of 93 original DJ produced mash-ups tracks is definitely a start, adding a bit of uniqueness to the title and to a genre that some could argue has already seen the best of days in the music selection department roughly three or four iterations ago. And the turntable, while still an overpriced "evil" peripheral, definitely has a bit of mystic to it since it's a completely brand new concept. But if DJ Hero doesn't catch on, let's pray that some other company grows a pair down the line and dares to be different, hopefully delivering a rhythm game whose experience brings the same level of excitement as the original Guitar Hero, or Rock Band that followed. Because as much as I do enjoy rhythm based video games, even I have to acknowledge how stale the genre has become. And even worse, how painful it's been to watch a genre brimming with potential and originality fall into the same pitfalls as the rest of the gaming industry.