Guitar Hero, my personal Mount Everest.

If you were alive during the holiday season of 2007, or are a regular viewer of The Ellen Show, you may have heard of a little game called Guitar Hero. My first exposure to this game was one evening in November, when after a day of playing golf and drinking beer, my friend and I stopped into Best Buy (I cannot remember why).

The place was PACKED full of holiday shoppers, and easily the most crowded section was where the video gaming systems were being sold. In the area where the demo games were set up, you could hardly move for the press of pre-pubescent bodies clogging the isles.

Well, miraculously, an opening appeared in front of a system set up to play Guitar Hero (Rock Band was nearby, but since I don't own that yet, I'll leave it alone for now), so I jumped at the chance and picked up the guitar controller before any of the nearby tweens could get to it.

That was really all it took. My first song was Slow Ride, and I rocked it (on Easy, but it was my first time, so cut me some slack). I HAD to have this game. Well, I quickly found out that they were out of stock, and they had no idea when the next shipment was coming. Over the course of the next week I went to stores all over town, but it was the same story everywhere... as soon as they arrive, they fly off the shelves. I must disclaim, I was looking for the Nintendo Wii version... there seemed to be plenty for PS3 and Xbox 360.

Anyhoo, I finally found it on eBay, and paid quite a bit over retail to get it, but it was worth every penny. As soon as I got it set up, I began my Guitar Hero addiction.

I quickly made my way through the game on Easy, then began to tackle the songs on Medium. After another few weeks, I had graduated to Hard. This is where my skills have let me down. I cannot beat this game on Hard. The only thing I have left to do is beat Lou at the end of the game, but I just can't seem to pull it off.

At this point, I've gone on to Expert mode, and opened up everything my skill level will allow there (I am stuck on The Metal, by Tenacious D). Now I'm finding that I am regressing. Sure, I don't have as much free time to play as I used to, but I think the real culprit is that my forearms are too tight... I blame that 100% on the fact that I'm a massage therapist.

I'm not sure I'll ever get past the point I'm currently stuck at, but the game is so much fun to play, that I don't really mind going back and rocking out to songs that I've already completed. If you haven't played this game yet, then I can't explain what it's like. You actually feel like you're the one playing... you feel like a Rock Star (minus the sex, drugs and money.... well, maybe not).

I think everybody should head on down to Best Buy and take a crack at it on the demo. From what I've seen by having my friends come over and play, not everybody is cut out to be a rock star... musical talent, or at the very least, rhythm, is a skill that will get you far in this game. Also, being a 12 year old boy would probably help, since that's the demographic that truly ROCKS!