Can’t carry a tune? Is your real guitar collecting dust in the corner? Never fear: The following five games will have you singing your heart out – with only a console to judge you – strumming to a “live” audience and setting off fireworks in time to epic classical music tunes.
Have a look at our top five reasons to give up music lessons, and then let us know what you think.
After all, who needs rhythm when you can just buy a rhythm game?
Tell us: What are your Top 5 favorite music games?
-- Brian Crecente";
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games_top5_070425[i-1].body = "'Guitar Hero II'
Harmonix’s original “Guitar Hero” brought music to the masses, giving anyone with the ability to push a button the chance to not just hear the music, but be it. To play, just follow the instructions on your TV screen and hold down the proper color-coded fret button on the plastic Gibson guitar replica that ships with the game. Time your strumming right and it sounds like you're wailing away on “Ziggy Stardust” - mess up on the timing and you’ll get ear-aching plunks.
“Guitar Hero II,” which released for the PlayStation 2 late last year and Xbox 360 earlier this month, added a bass guitar to the mix, letting you and a friend work your way through “Message in a Bottle,” “War Pigs,” “Cherry Pie” and more.
"; games_top5_070425[i++] = new Array("","'ELITE BEAT AGENTS'","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/070425/070425_elitebeatagents_4p.hmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "", "Nintendo", "", "273", "344", "#000000", "", "", "", ""); games_top5_070425[i-1].body = "'Elite Beat Agents'
If “Guitar Hero” is “Spinal Tap,” “Elite Beat Agents” is “Pulp Fiction.\" It’s retro cool, distilled for your DS.
On the surface, this game is about perfecting your rhythm, and the objective seems simple enough: listen to music and use your stylus to tap in time to the beat. But “Elite Beat Agents” is tougher than it looks.
Just when you’re ready to throw your DS against a wall, here come the men in black. Dressed to the nines and dancing along to the beat, their moves get smoother as yours do. You just can’t let ‘em down, so keep tapping.
OK, so the plot, the dialogue and the missions make no sense, but that’s part of the fun. Besides, all that really matters are the catchy tunes and the sharp steps."; games_top5_070425[i++] = new Array("","'ELECTROPLANKTON'","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/070425/070425_electroplankton_4p.hmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "", "Nintendo", "", "273", "359", "#000000", "", "", "", ""); games_top5_070425[i-1].body = "'Electroplankton'
More experimental art experience than video game, “Electroplankton,” from Nintendo, gives you a set of ten musical tools to play with and then lets you loose on the DS. Each little musical shaper is presented in the form of a digital microorganism – Electroplankton – that you tease, poke and coerce into music with the help of your stylus.
Some plankton use the DS’s built-in microphone to let you record and loop sound, while others are more about setting sounds and music into motion. Still others let you play with noises from retro Nintendo games, like the sound of Mario jumping, to create your own remixes or set a beat.
Once you’re done manipulating your plankton, try putting the game in Audience mode to see a run-through of your organisms’s performance. Plug in your lava lamp and enjoy the tiny, trippy music video you’ve created."; games_top5_070425[i++] = new Array("","'SINGSTAR'","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/070424/singstarrockstar.hmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "", "Sony", "", "273", "349", "#000000", "", "", "", ""); games_top5_070425[i-1].body = "'SingStar'
Straight-up karaoke delivered through two microphones and a PlayStation 2 make “SingStar” one of the most accessible music games of the lot. The Sony franchise, already a smash hit in Europe, made its appearance stateside late last year with “Sing Star Rocks,” a rock-centric version of the game, and “SingStar Pop,” the same game with a more modern selection of music.
Sing a solo or duet with the provided microphones as you try to wow the PlayStation 2’s digital ear, (no fickle audience will judge you here). The console analyzes your timber, pitch and timing and then tracks it live as you sing, letting you see, real-time, just how bad, or good you really are.
"; games_top5_070425[i++] = new Array("","'BOOM BOOM ROCKET'","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/070424/boomboomrocket.hmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "", "Bizarre Creations", "", "237", "423", "#000000", "", "", "", ""); games_top5_070425[i-1].body = "'Boom Boom Rocket'
Bizarre Creations’ entry into the world of musical games is as stunning visually as it is musically. “Boom Boom Rocket” is all about setting off fireworks in time to galloping techno remixes of such classics as “Flight of the Valkyrie,” “The William Tell Overture” and the “1812 Overture.”
The object of this game, which is really a playable screensaver for the Xbox 360, lets players push buttons in time with rocketing fireworks. If you set the multi-colored rockets off at just the right moment, you’ll be rewarded with juicier graphics and a bit more pop to the sizzling soundtrack.
Tell us: What are your Top 5 favorite music games?
";
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