Over the last few years, Guitar Hero and Rock Band have given us hundreds of songs to tap out on plastic guitars—-not even talking about any of the DLC. But there's still something missing.

I'll be honest; I find that orange key down at the end nearly impossible to press and still make it back up to the others. I've never been able to get very far in hard or expert difficulty. Instead, I try to make the game a bit more challenging instead by singing and playing at the same time. To me, this is the ultimate rock star image; whether it's James Hetfield or Paul McCartney, the singer playing guitar is the image that comes to mind.

Of course, there's nothing to stop an ambitious gamer from attempting this in the games, but you're always missing out on something. Whether it's the tambourine crashes of Rock Band or the star power in Guitar Hero, there's something to keep you relegated to one or the other.



What I'd love to see is a mode specifically for players who want to do this. The guitar parts while the singing is going on would be a little easier—-rhythm guitar type stuff—-with solos and such in between vocal segments or during the chorus sections of the songs. Overdrive would be initiated from the guitar, of course. Similar to the way solo accuracy is counted independently, players who can play accurately while singing could be awarded for higher percentages during those parts. With the addition of achievements and a character that is shown doing both actions, I think a lot of people would step up to the challenge of coordinating the actions.

Even on normal difficulty, just about anyone who has played both franchises can tell you that Rock Band is easier than Guitar Hero. This might add a nice level of difficulty for people interested in that, as well as a fun way to live out a few more rock star fantasies. If you haven't tried this yet, what are you waiting for? It's the most fun I've had with a music game. Now if only Harmonix and Activision can step up and make it part of the game.