Review: Fret Nice
Don’t fret.
Being a platformer controlled with a guitar peripheral, Fret Nice presented me with a unique problem: which one to use? The trusty old Guitar Hero 3 Les Paul? The sunburst World Tour Strat? The limited-edition Band Hero one with metal pegs? Or the ridiculously lifelike Logitech deluxe one made out of actual wood and metal, which I got as a somewhat extravagant present last year? I’ve got so many of these damned things lying around now that I’m desperate for new uses for them.
I’m glad I didn’t pick the wooden one, now, because after three levels of Fret Nice I got so vigorously angry trying to tilt the controller to jump that I actually hit myself in the face with it, which might have resulted in losing my front teeth if I’d been using the Logitech behemoth. Fret Nice is the first game to cause me personal injury since Mario Party when I was 10, which gave me a massive blister on my right palm from furiously spinning the N64′s horrible analogue stick in a Shy-Guy-related minigame. This is indicative of how unbearably frustrating Fret Nice’s guitar-based control system is. It’s a likeable musical platformer ruined by controls that are broken enough to provoke accidental self-harm.
This is particularly disappointing because Fret Nice not only attempts something new, but it does so with artistic flair. Initially, thanks to its attractive aesthetic, the game comes across really well. It has the collage look of LittleBigPlanet, as well as the distinctiveness of LocoRoco and Patapon’s blobbly, spindly-limbed, monocular enemies. Collectable musical notes colourfully adorn the cardboard cut-out landscapes, and unusual, vaguely Katamari-esque music keeps you floating along on a cheerful cloud. You guide the Vibrant Chords, a rock duo with extravagant hair, through lovely 2D platform levels either alone or in co-op, conquering strange enemies with guitar solos.
Related posts:
- Nice Hair, Miku, Real Nice I do not have long, plastic, aqua-coloured hair. If I did, I’d want it to look like this. (more…)...
- The Next Guitar Hero Will Send You On A Legendary Quest Guitar Hero is changing course with Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock, a music game with some unexpected additions, including a story-driven quest mode that involves a group of heavy metal...
- News: New Guitar Hero subtitle revealed? Amazon reckons it's Warriors of Rock. The official title for the sixth instalment in the Guitar Hero series appears to have leaked onto the internet. And no, it's not...
- Vuvuzela Hero In Action, In Our Nightmares I’ve seen Vuvzela Hero jokes for a while. Yes, the World Cup’s most annoying musical instrument could be merged with Guitar Hero. The results would be slightly more annoying...
- VG247 Playtest LittleBigPlanet 2 (LittleBigPlanet 2) VG247's Joe Anderson: LittleBigPlanet has been a very popular game since its launch in 2008, selling over 3 million copies and gaining support from the media and gaming public alike....
- Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock to include stupid story mode (Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock) Warriors of Rock, which Activision officially announced today, will become the 14th Guitar Hero game in five years, and never have we been so tired of rocking. Yes, we're totally...
- News: New Guitar Hero guitars detailed Swappable bodies. Video inside. Activision has unveiled the latest generation of Guitar Hero guitars and revealed that they all have swappable bodies. The new setup consolidates all the electronics...
- News: Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock confirmed Renewed rock focus, bonus DS modes on Wii. The new Guitar Hero is indeed subtitled Warriors of Rock and will be released on PS3, Wii and Xbox 360. That's...
- News: Neversoft staffing for “action shooter” Guitar Hero developer looking ahead. Current Guitar Hero developer Neversoft is seeking level designers to work on a "new action shooter game", prompting speculation the studio is going to...
- Review: Scrap Metal Rust stop. If you were to list the game concepts that should be automatically awesome, going by their base ingredients, then cars with guns would have to come somewhere...
Article Date: Mar 03,2010