This was a long time coming. A VERY long time coming. Ever since I bought Guitar Hero III for the Nintendo Wii late last year, I’ve been itching to get my hands on a second guitar without having to buy the game-guitar bundle a second time. Even waiting for an official separate guitar from Red Octane took far longer than it should have. PS3 fans were a little luckier though with a far better selection of aftermarket axes.
We first saw the Nyko Frontman for both the Nintendo Wii and the PlayStation 3 at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) earlier this year. I was hopeful that the wireless guitar would hit retail outlets shortly after that. Unfortunately for all the shredding fans in the audience, it took about another six months before the Nyko FrontMan arrived. Has it been worth the wait? Are there any differences between the Wii and PS3 versions? Let’s find out!
Nyko Frontman Wireless Guitar for Wii
Since I got Guitar Hero III for the Wii before I got Rock Band for the PlayStation 3, I’ll start with the Nyko Frontman Wireless Guitar for the Wii.
As far as I can tell, not much has changed here compared to the version that was being demonstrated at Nyko’s CES 2008 hotel suite. Our test sample had a yellow body and a beige neck, but I did notice that they went with a different approach for the fret buttons. They have also released white version in case yellow doesn’t do it for you or you just want all your Wii stuff to be white. The wireless guitar at CES had solid-colored buttons, whereas the final retail version has fret buttons that are largely the same color as the neck, save for three polka dots.
Compared to the version that ships with Guitar Hero III for the Wii, the Nyko Frontman Guitar is slightly bigger, the neck is a little thicker, and the fret buttons are noticeably smaller. Two other observations that I have made about the fret buttons are that they are rounded and have a “softer” feel to them. Taking all of these together, I found that I had more trouble playing the harder songs in the setlist compared to the Red Octane guitar. There was less of a “feel” for where the orange fret button was and “sliding” wasn’t as easy. This was much the same with the PS3 Nyko Frontman as well as they share the same fret board.
You’ll notice that the + and – buttons have been moved from above the whammy bar to below it for the Nyko Frontman. I have no idea what that white slider next to the + and – buttons are for, because it doesn’t move and doesn’t seem to do anything. I can’t quite put my finger on why, but the Nyko Frontman guitar also feels a grade or two “cheaper” than the real deal. The neck is not detachable either.
On the plus side, the Nyko Frontman Wireless Guitar for the Wii does come with one extra faceplate. On the downside, it only swaps the black portion for a white plate. The unpleasant yellow is there to stay, it seems.
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Nyko Frontman Wireless Guitar for PS3
Hopping on over to the PlayStation 3, we find a Nyko Frontman Wireless Guitar that comes with a very useful piece of functional extra gear. As you may recall, it is impossible to use a Guitar Hero III guitar with Rock Band and vice versa on the PS3. Yes, all you Xbox 360 owners can laugh it up. Thankfully, the Nyko guitar allows you to switch between the two games using the same guitar. This is achieved through a simple red box shaped like a guitar effects pedal that plugs into your PS3 via USB, much like the wireless receiver that comes with your PS3 Rock Band guitar.
Although there are three dials on this thing, only one of them does anything. I have no idea why Nyko decided to go with non functional buttons. Non functional buttons are kind of like throw pillows you know. On the other hand, the switcher does look like a guitar effects pedal which is cool to have around your kit and makes you a little bit more bad ass…or not. In any case, the functional dial lets you switch between — you guessed it — Rock Band and Guitar Hero. That black pad near the bottom is for synchronization purposes. To indicate the player associated to the controller, there is a light behind the Nyko button on the guitar. A different color corresponds to a different player. I personally would have just preferred four LEDs, like on the SIXAXIS.
Comparing the Nyko Frontman Guitar with the version that comes bundled with Rock Band for the PS3, I found the former to be a good size smaller than the latter. If you thought you looked a little goofy with the Rock Band guitar, you’ll look even goofier with the Nyko one. Unlike the Wii one, they did away with the ugly yellow and offer you a choice of black and white. Can’t go wrong with that. There are two other very notable exclusions on the Nyko guitar: no second set of fret buttons and no power switch on the back. Both of these are pretty important, I’d say, but they’re not deal breakers. They did include batteries though.
One thing that I did really like about the Nyko guitar for the PS3 is that they moved the switch for toggling between different guitar styles to the edge of the body. I really didn’t like the original placement of that switch so this was a plus for me.
Differences Between Wii and PS3 Frontman Guitars
By and large, the Wii and PS3 versions of the Nyko Frontman Wireless Guitar are much the same. The unfortunate fret buttons are exactly the same and it wasn’t just a matter of trying to get used to them. The fret buttons on Guitar Hero Wii and Rock Band PS3 guitars are different too, but I was able to switch between the two without too much trouble. This simply was not the case with the strange-feeling fret buttons on the Nyko Frontman.
The same can be said about the strum bar. It’s not quite as “clacky” as the Wii Guitar Hero III guitar, but it’s not as “soft and quiet” as the PS3 Rock Band guitar. It’s somewhere in between. This was a little odd to me in the beginning, but I grew to accept it (unlike the fret buttons). Gameplay with either the PS3 or Wii Nyko guitar was much the same, except for how the controllers synchronized with their respective consoles, of course.
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Final Thoughts
I appreciate the valiant effort from Nyko to provide us with additional choices in replacement guitars. I also appreciate that they’ve priced the aftermarket axes at about $20 less than the official versions. For beginner and novice players, there won’t be much of a difference in terms of gameplay and usability, but intermediate to advanced players will likely have more trouble hitting that fifth fret button or feeling for three-finger chords using the Nyko Frontman compared to the “original” guitars.
Build quality isn’t the best, but it’s good enough. The strum bar isn’t quite as responsive as the real thing either. That said, the biggest gripe that I have with the Nyko Frontman — both for the PS3 and Wii — has to do with the fret buttons. If Nyko makes those bigger and flatter, I’ll be glad to save myself twenty bucks. The PS3 version gets an extra 0.5 point for being compatible with both Guitar Hero and Rock Band.
Nyko Frontman Guitar for the Nintendo Wii
Wii Pros
- Comes with everything you need for shredding
- Built-in expansion port for future peripherals
- Perfectly usable for “easier” songs
Wii Cons
- Fret buttons are too small, too soft
- Wii Remote compartment not padded enough
(Nyko Frontman Guitar for the Nintendo Wii)
Overall Rating: 7.0 / 10.0
Nyko Frontman Guitar for the Playsation 3
PS3 Pros
- Compatible with both Rock Band and Guitar Hero
- Different colored Nyko lights looks nice
- Cheaper than the official alternative
- Batteries are included
PS3 Cons
- No on-off switch
- No second set of fret buttons for solos
- Synching can be a little finicky
(Nyko Frontman Guitar for the Playstation 3)
Overall Rating: 7.5 / 10.0
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