Playing the guitar like a rock star no longer requires hours of practice and painful callouses.

The video game “Guitar Hero” lets users play a variety of songs without the practice a real instrument requires.

Josh Pickle, a sophomore elementary education major, plays bass guitar, but enjoys “Guitar Hero” because he doesn’t have to practice as much.

“You can just pick it up and play it,” Pickle said.

The PlayStation 2 game comes with a controller shaped like a mini guitar.

Compared to actually playing guitar, the game allows users to play complicated songs without all the tedious fingerwork.

Nick Sintos, a sophomore communication major and guitar enthusiast, feels it’s easier to play if the gamer has experience playing the real instrument.

“The main difference is that in the game there’s only four buttons,” Sintos said.

Pickle agrees it’s much easier to play the game than play the real thing.

The game’s appeal varies among students.

“It makes you feel like you can do something that you can’t,” said Bradley Vodicka, a sophomore accountancy major.

Some students, like Andrew Kennedy, got into the game when his friends did.

“It’s a really addicting game,” said Kennedy, a sophomore special education major. Kennedy began playing the game after his friends bought it. Kennedy isn’t a huge guitar fan, but the pianist enjoys playing the game anyway, he said.

“It’s almost like having a talent, if you’re good at the game,” Kennedy said.