Video Game Review: SG Gibson Guitar Controller for Guitar Hero

The SG Gibson for Guitar Hero and Guitar Hero II is the one that comes in the bundle package, along with Guitar Hero II. Its made quite solidly. Its a good size, and good weight, you won't get tired of holding the guitar and it won't feel awkward either. Its very durable, my controller has withstood several drops and a lot of use, and is still in fine working condition. The set up of the controller all feels very natural, everything is spaced out and mapped well on the guitar. I have no complaints at all about its basic design. Now, Guitar Hero controllers come in many different varieties, including different models and wired/wireless variation. While theres no difference between the Gibson and the other models, there is quite a difference between the wired and wireless variations.

Playing Guitar Hero with the wired Gibson controller is surprisingly a very different experience from playing with its wireless counterpart. Both guitar controllers have very similar designs in terms of shape, weight, and layout. However, the wired controller definitely has a few perks over the wireless one.

First and foremost, the fret buttons on the wired controller are either larger or placed closer together then they are on the wireless controller. This is a crucial difference. When you learn to play on the wired controller, you will have an exceptionally hard time adapting to the wireless controller. This is especially evident on the harder difficulty levels with some cords that require you to push the fret buttons that are on opposite ends of each other, it really force you to stretch out your hand. If you start off on the wireless controller, this difference is not really felt much. Another issue I have with the wireless version is the whammy bar. The whammy bar on the wireless controller is very loose and tends to move around when you play. This issue is not present in the wired version, it stays firmly in place. The price is also another issue. The wired controller sells for about $39.99, a good $20 cheaper then the wireless controller. This is something you will want to look into if you are purchasing an additional controller. The wireless controller does have some benefits though. When you get into the song, you can really go wild with the wireless controllers, jumping off furniture, running around all over the place, etc. Obviously, you can't do this with the wired version.

Guitar Hero is a great game and you need to play it, regardless of what controller is available to you. I like the wired controllers better, but thats my opinion. If you can try both kinds out first, do so and find what works best for.