In fact “Frets on Fire” is a “Guitar Hero” clone. But it’s well done and it’s “Guitar Hero” for free, so who am I to complain about that?
When you play the game for the first time, you should start with the tutorial. It’s quite funny and helps you to understand the basics of the game (in fact it’s not so hard to understand). When you download the game three songs are included and at least one of them (“Mystery Men”) isn’t very hard to learn. Anyway it’s incredible how fast you’ll get better when you just try the game for a few times.
If you don’t like the three songs that come with the game, you can visit one of several sites of the big fan community and download new ones. There are original songs and songs from professional bands (for example “Paradise City” from Guns’n Roses or “One” from Metallica). Not all of them have the same quality, but if you search for a while you’ll find something that you’ll like. One source for songs is Keyboards on Fire
The graphics and the sound of “Frets on Fire” are fine and there are several options (language, keys, graphics) that you can change to make the game even more suitable for yourself. So after all this is a great game. I played it every single day since I downloaded it and I’m still not bored!
IMPORTANT MESSAGE FOR MAC USERS: The Mac OS X version is known to be buggy, especially on PPC machines. Unfortunately, as none of us in the development team have Macs, we can’t really improve the situation. If you’re a Mac developer willing to help out with this, please get in touch.
Another thing that really makes Frets on Fire enjoyable for me is how it manages to stay interesting even after playing it multiple times. Many games feel repetitive after a while, but here, the experience still feels fresh because of the small details and different ways you can approach the gameplay. As you continue playing, you naturally start improving and understanding the mechanics better, which makes everything feel more rewarding. I also appreciate the balance the game maintains—it’s not too difficult, but it’s not too easy either. You can play it casually for a short break or spend longer sessions without getting bored. That flexibility is one of the biggest reasons why I keep coming back to Frets on Fire. Overall, it’s the kind of game that doesn’t just entertain you for a moment, but actually gives you a consistently enjoyable experience every time you play.
