Gitaroo Man might just be the most insane game I’ve ever played.

In this Playstation 2 rhythm action game you are U-1, a loser school boy with an annoying dog. But, low and behold, you can turn into a Gitaroo Man, which means that you get a magical guitar and costume change, and fight villains/win a lady’s heart/become the ultimate gitaroo man.

The game has a unique spin on the rhythm action genre, graphics reminiscent of, but far superior to, Parappa’s, and fun animations in the background to distract you from doing well. The music is good, and the gameplay is straightforward, but challenging.

Especially to one as rythmically deficiant as I am. A green line moves towards the center of the screen, from changing directions. You must use the analog stick to aim at the line. On the line are orange segments. You must press a button as the orange segments hit the center of the screen, and release it at the approrpriate time. Sometimes Circles, Squares, Xs and Triangles will come at you, and you have to hit them at the appropriate time to “dodge” the enemy’s “attacks.”

What does all that add up to? You make U-1 play guitar, charging up his power, draining the enemy’s and avoiding sonic attacks from a variety of foes so wacky you might not believe me if I told you about them (for instance, an O-shaped spaceship that shoots “dance-till-death” rays at the townspeople).

So, while the basic idea is still press a button at a specific time (as is the case with most video games), it is a sufficiently different take on the idea to keep me interested, and it’ll give all you dance-dancers something to do when your legs get tired.

Buy Gitaroo Man from Amazon