After five long years of playing only dancing games, I was thrilled to learn that both "Guitar Hero" and "Rock Band" were coming back to life.

My memories of "Guitar Hero" and "Rock Band" are plentiful, and each one is as precious to me as the next. The excitement you shared with your friends after you beat Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird" on medium difficulty and then actually managed to pass Dragonforce's "Through the Fire and Flames" was always a fun discussion. The greatest moments in both series happened when family and friends came together to play some songs that they either grew up listening to or were hearing for the first time. Listening to my dad fake-rap his way through "Sabotage" by the Beastie Boys remains a highlight of my adult life, as well as a frustrated friend throwing his guitar controller to the ground after failing Van Halen's "Hot for Teacher" for the umpteenth time.

"Guitar Hero" is also what convinced my parents to buy me a bass guitar and ultimately led to being in a band with my best friends. My virtuoso medium guitar controller-playing was good enough for them to invest money in a real instrument for me. In other words, these games managed to open doors for me and plenty of other individuals that were not available before.

Not only have these two series managed to introduce players to songs that they may not have listened to before, but they also have inspired people into actually taking up an instrument and performing in a band with their friends. So you managed to play the drums to "My Own Worst Enemy" by Lit? Then try taking up the actual drums and see if you can keep the rhythm just the same. It enables you to experience the feel of playing songs, the joy of succeeding in front of a virtual audience and the horror of epically failing to a chorus of boos and jeers. It's adrenaline-rushing, to be sure, and a good gateway drug into the actual playing of music.

This is even more evident now that "Guitar Hero" has changed their button layout to make it more like fretting on an actual guitar, giving you an even better feeling of rocking out like a true rock star. Even with the old, clunky, plastic controllers, it was difficult not to fall to your knees during solos and really bang your head to the songs as you played. You knew that you looked like an idiot to anyone passing by, but you didn't care. You were a rock star, and you didn't have time for those haters.

There's also a good deal of teamwork you learn from playing with your plastic controller band. You learn to rely on your friend getting the drum fill in KISS's "Detroit Rock City," and know when to encourage your bassist to start whammying on the long notes. You grow closer through your shared experiences and become better friends for it. Plus, the competition on who can score higher is always a good motivating factor and a fun time overall.

I was raised on classic rock growing up, so I was familiar with a ton of the songs that were playable on these game series. Perhaps a young kid has never heard of Cheap Trick and finds out that he really likes the song "Surrender" through "Guitar Hero." He might be inclined to check out some of their catalog. The two series allowed a younger generation to discover songs that they may not have thought to check out before. I started to enjoy Avenged Sevenfold after their song "The Beast and the Harlot" appeared next on my setlist for "Guitar Hero."

The fact these amazing rhythm games are back gives me hope for the future of both music and the next generation, as the classic tunes found within the games will help shape new people into true music fans, and perhaps even into the next big musician.