Problematic Bars Whammy Guitar Hero II 360 (Updated)
Following yesterday's release of Harmonix's Guitar Hero II on Xbox 360, various message board denizens claim to be experiencing problems with the included X-Plorer guitar controller. Specifically, they report the whammy bar--an optional game mechanic to boost one's score--is unresponsive compared to previous editions of the game on PlayStation 2, marked by either a slight delay between input and on-screen action or no in-game response at all. Other posters disagree with these statements, noting their whammy bars function perfectly, leading to speculation that the issue may stem from a defective batch of guitar controllers. These notions were further reinforced by the discovery of at least two different revisions of the guitar controller--one placing the expansion port for future effect pedals on the bottom of the guitar next to the controller's cord, the other with the port located on the controller's side next to the headset jack--though owners of both models appear to be experiencing the problem.
Since I too noticed a bit of lag with the whammy bar while playing yesterday, I took the opportunity to perform some additional rocking testing. My brief and unscientific personal investigation with the model that has the expansion port next to the cord indicated the problem lies not with an inherently broken whammy bar, but one of varying sensitivity. Slightly tweaking the angle of the whammy bar--designed to swivel 360 degrees for easier use--drastically affected my results, with a variation of a few degrees being enough to alter whether my whammies appeared immediately, lagged briefly, or did not appear at all. Update: The placement of my fingers on the bar itself also made a substantial difference--whammies activated from the rubber tip of the bar were reflected far more quickly than those made from the exposed metallic midsection.
It remains unknown if such experiences stem from design or defect, though the lack of a similar issue with the PlayStation 2 guitar controller strongly suggests a manufacturing problem. The number of Xbox 360 X-Plorer guitar controllers possibly affected also remains unknown, though it should be stressed that this potential issue only affects a non-essential gameplay mechanic meant to boost high scores.
Chris Faylor was previously a games journalist creating content at Shacknews.
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