May 31, 2009 Playing music is therapeutic in myriad ways. It can soothe the mind, lower blood pressure, increase your IQ – but most of all, it's fun. The recent advent of the Personal Media Player may have taken music to the masses, but it's a fair bet that musical console games will be seen in decades to come as the true democratizing force behind creating your own music. Now, the massive success of play-along games, such as Rock Band and Guitar Hero, is about to progress to the next level with the European release of MAGIX Music Maker RockStar for PlayStation 2, which turns your guitar controller into an instrument to be played with complete freedom.
Other rock guitar games for PS2 only let you play songs written by someone else. If you already have a guitar controller, Music Maker RockStar turns your guitar controller into an instrument that can be played with total freedom. Get right into it – become a freestyle rock legend and discover everything that your guitar controller is capable of!
Getting started is easy. Connect the guitar controller to the PS2, select an appropriate guitar – acoustic or electric – and start rocking. In technical terms, "rocking" means combining audio building blocks or so-called "loops", by using the guitar controller. The loops have been created by professional musicians. You can also add your own vocals via a USB microphone.
It's completely up to the player which loops he or she picks to make a track – be it a ballad or an up-tempo song. The game lets you add not just guitar samples, but also melodies, entire drum kits, and all other instruments required to make a high-quality recording.
The virtual studio enables you to to mix your own recordings, add effects, and lets friends try to play your songs, just as in Guitar Hero.
MAGIX Music Maker RockStar for PS2 is available now for GBP20 (USD$32).