The Checkpoint 7.14.08: Will POD 6 Technology Make Guitar Hero Fresh Again?

Posted by John Curry on 07.14.2008

With the announcement of the POD 6 Technology being implemented in the new Guitar Hero game, the Checkpoint looks at whether this is enough to make the game fresh again.

This past week there was an announcement made regarding the upcoming Guitar Hero game having Line 6's POD 6 Technology. For those of you who are not familiar with POD 6 Technology take a look at how the press release from Activision explains it courtesy of IGN.

July 11, 2008 - Activision, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) and Line 6, Inc. announced today that Guitar Hero World Tour for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system will integrate Line 6's guitar tone technology, enabling gamers to use amps, cabs and effects from the world-renown Line 6 POD in the game's Music Studio. The game's innovative new Music Studio lets players express their musical creativity by giving them access to a full complement of tools to compose, record, edit and share their own rock 'n' roll anthems.

The sound modeling technology of Line 6's POD is integrated into Guitar Hero World Tour's Music Studio so gamers can now join the ranks of elite POD using bands including, U2, Radiohead, Keane, Muse, Nine Inch Nails, Story of the Year, Slipknot, Dashboard Confessional, Alice in Chains, Stone Temple Pilots, Garbage, Lenny Kravitz and countless others.

"With Guitar Hero World Tour's new Music Studio functionality, we wanted to give gamers access to the most authentic music creation tools available, so we went to the pacesetters of professional guitar technology-Line 6," said Dusty Welch, head of publishing for Activision/RedOctane. "The integration of Line 6 technology in the game underscores our commitment to delivering unprecedented innovation to the Guitar Hero® franchise that has the potential to revolutionize consumer generated music."

The signature sounds of legendary bands and top musicians today come from a combination of guitar amps, cabs and effects. Through digital signal processing, POD delivers accurate emulations of the most coveted amplifiers, effects and cabinets ever made. It is famous for revolutionizing the way guitarists record, perform, rehearse, and write songs. It eliminates the need for complicated setups with its proprietary technology for simulating the complex interaction of amplifiers, effects, microphones, speaker cabinets and room acoustics. Whether POD is used with headphones to practice, for direct recording or playing live, POD is what musicians turn to for the best guitar sound.

"Line 6 strives to push the boundaries, from revolutionizing the way guitarists record to how they perform live to helping enable the creative process for musicians," said Marcus Ryle, Line 6 Founder and SVP of Research and Development. "Thanks to the incredible processing power of the of the next generation video game consoles, we placed the actual tone algorithms right into the game to give gamers the tools to choose their own sounds for the music they create. For the first time, gamers will have the ability to compose and record with the same technology used by professional musicians."

While this looks like great news, especially for fans of Music Studio, I am a little hesitant as to whether or not this is the breath of fresh air the Guitar Hero series needs to stay fresh. The reason why many of us, myself included, decide to buy the Guitar Hero games are the enjoyment we feel playing an instrument that we can't play in real life. When Guitar Hero 2 came out for the Xbox 360 I scooped it up and played until I beat all of the songs on Hard, not Expert, but Hard. I was deeply satisfied at the enjoyment I received from this game and the songs I liked and songs I never heard of that I ended up liking. Then came Guitar Hero III. While I enjoyed the showdown aspect of the game, there was really nothing new about this game in comparison to Guitar Hero II. At the same time Guitar Hero III rolled around, RockBand came out and presented a superior guitar playing experience. Now with Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, Guitar Hero DS, and scores of cellular phone games having flooded the market and the continuing sense of rehashing the same old formula.



With the new information about the ability to create your own anthems using the same technology that many famous bands use to create their songs my interest is peaked. I look forward to seeing how this concept and innovative game play translates to the console systems. If they put an effort into making the creation studio easy to use and strong enough for people to want to continue playing, it might bring the fresh air the game needs to show that it is progressing forward rather than running in place with the same gameplay and new songs. However, if the game makes the system too complicated for a normal individual to pick up and play then many of the fans will grow frustrated and actually resent the game. There is a thin line to walk between being easy and being complicated in the world of gaming. In order to properly do it there must be a realistic sound and studio controls with a thorough tutorial so that many of the players can enjoy how advanced this system will be.



One thing that I think this game will really prosper on if they choose to explore it, is to incorporate the studio creation into the actual game's story. Take for instance you have to create a jam in a certain amount of time and play it for the audience. Based on a set selection of requirements, you will be rated on the game.



While there are very few words I can really say about a game I have not played, I have to say I am intrigued about the new incorporation of POD 6 into the game. I will however state, as I have stated before, that the series just needs to go away and focus on downloadable content. This game however has a chance of reinventing the series if done properly and could very well make me eat my words. Only time will tell.