There are guitar players and there are Guitar Hero players. Say, like this guy. (I so wish I had that much time on my hands!) The thing is, being as good as he is at Guitar Hero doesn't mean squat when it comes to actually playing a guitar. While Rock Band may give aspiring drummers a taste of just how tough beating the skins can be (not to mention annoying the neighbors with some lovely warbling), it just doesn't simulate plucking the strings or managing the chords of an actual guitar. Guitar Wizards looks to change that. First, it uses an actual guitar ...

Created by the same people who developed Piano Wizard, at first glance it looks very much like a guitar simulator. On the screen is an image with a bazillion colored rectangles in six rows at the top and a series of vertical lines — at least one, more depending on difficulty. These lines have icons that scroll up towards the colored boxes with a seventh thin line indicating when you should strum.

The icons, color and position of the vertical line all tell you which fret and string to place your finger on; when the icon reaches the 6th vertical line, you strum. Let me explain this again, slowly.

First, you must place decals on each fret. Then, a computer attached pickup (rather like the pickups on an electric guitar — but connected to your PC) is placed under the body. The guitar can be electric or acoustic — it doesn't matter as long as the strings are steel. However, they must be in tune. The good news is, the program will help you tune it.

Each decal is unique. A single fret could have a green triangle, red circle, blue diamond, black star, light green square and dark green heart. Each color matches a rectangle; each icon represents a string. The color of the rectangle highlighted lets you know the position of the next placement of your finger; a scrolling icon of the same color reinforces this placement and also reminds specifically which string. When the red circle scrolls up, you place your finger on the 5th string and then pick it when the red circle reaches the skinny line — much like Guitar Hero.

However, this is where Guitar Wizard departs from the simulator. It is not a "see if you can memorize the pattern" game. As you get better at playing, it will add additional notes — more strings, more plucking — and eventually chords. If you begin to make errors, it will decrease the difficulty.

I watched the creator play for some 15 minutes. He stated with great pride that he was very proud of the title because learning to play the guitar is so difficult. I have to agree. The unit he was performing the demo on is currently the only available for show — it is not due for retail until August.

This isn't really a game — rather, it's a training aid. A fun training aid. By using your own guitar, the goal is to familiarise you with the finger movements and locations required to play, while scaling (no pun intended...) the level of difficulty to your current abilities. Once you've finished with this software, you should have built up the muscle memory required to play guitar without the electronic aids. I suspect I'll be buying one and will go from hero in my mind to ... well, zero has such a depressing ring to it, doesn't it?