Guitar Hero

This is a good game. I suppose that's like pointing out that we're no longer a colony of Britain, but last night we had a Guitar Hero III party out in Goodfield with in-laws Troy and Dona, and their kids Kelsey and Lane.

Here's how it works: You start out as a garage band playing a gig at some run-down facility where the local cops are more interested in shaking their booty than preserving order. As you hold a guitar-shaped joystick in your hand, a series of notes cruises at you like squirrels on a highway. Your job is to hit each one by pressing a certain button on the joystick corresponding to the right note. On easy mode (our choice) there are only three buttons used, so it's more simple than playing an actual guitar.

After each gig, you make a little money, some of which is spent on things like replacing hotel walls you destroyed. Whether that's realistic or not is unimportant, like the fact that your lead singer sings exactly like Mick Jagger, Aerosmith's Joe Tyler, and every major lead since 1974 as you play over 30 years of famous music. Likewise the throngs of adoring, entirely caucasian fans are more synchronized than most marching bands, leaping and fist-pumping madly as if it were the only way to keep their hearts beating.

Of course the point is not to make money, but to advance to the ultimate stage, advancing through eight levels and four songs per level en route to the big time. Unfortunately, due to some technical difficulty (i.e. Lane pulling the memory card out of the game system) we made it only to level seven before turning into pumpkins at midnight.

This is a must-buy for the McDonald household!