More than that, it makes it a whole lot easier to align your notes with your keyboard controls.

A simple glance at your screen is all that’s needed to see what notes you’ll have to play and how long you’ll need to pick them. For another, it just works amazingly well. It may seem shamefully derivative, but there’s probably a good reason for that.įor one thing, it’s attractive in spite of the game’s independent origins. The action primarily unfolds over what appears to be a five-string guitar tail, with notes sliding down toward you. In terms of appearance, Frets on Fire borrows so heavily from Guitar Hero, it’s a wonder Activision never sued the makers. That’s assuming you’re also willing to overlook many of its glaring issues. It may not have the production values or include its own guitar-shaped controller, but it still finds some creative ways to simulate the rock star experience using an ordinary keyboard. They created Frets on Fire, a freeware rhythm game that borrows quite heavily from Guitar Hero and adds a few of its own little innovations to the mix as well.

Sadly, most titles in the series were only available for the consoles PC, Mac and Linux gamers were generally left in the dust.įortunately, the ingenuity of a team of skilled independent developers soon came to the rescue. Throughout the latter half of the 2000s, the rhythm genre was dominated by Guitar Hero. Somehow, he managed to find a way to combine the two passions. Dave Galvin is a freelance writer and avid gamer.

Frets On Fire X Themes