Catching up with Guitar Hero champ

While many students add internships and summer jobs to their resumes, Engineering sophomore Chris Chike has a unique accolade under his belt — a Guinness World Record

In 2008, Chike earned the rank of Highest Score for a Single Track on Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. That year, Guitar Hero III became the most popular game sold in both the United States and Europe, offering players the ability to transform into Keith Richards or Slash, even if only virtually.

Although he no longer holds the record — the title was awarded to then-14-year-old Danny Johnson in 2009 — Chike believes video games will always play a role in his life.

“Ever since I was little I’ve been playing video games,” he said. “My first memories are of video games.”

In his sophomore year of high school, Chike was introduced to Guitar Hero by friends. An avid video gamer from a young age, he was apprehensive at first.

“I thought, ‘Why would anyone play a plastic guitar?’” Chike said. “It sounded absurd.”

Before abandoning the idea, Chike tested out the game at a local Best Buy store. Within a few weeks he was playing expert-level songs, no longer competing with the friends who had originally introduced him to the game.

“They said I ruined the game for them,” he laughed.

Chike began recording his top scores on YouTube, grabbing the attention of Guinness World Records. The organization contacted him in early 2008.

According to Chike, world records “have to be sanctioned” and made official. Guinness flew him to New York to play for the world title, an honor that was published in the 2009 Gamer’s Edition of the book. At the official presentation, Chike scored 899,703 with 97-percent accuracy on DragonForce’s “Through the Fire and Flames,” the most difficult song on Guitar Hero III.

Chike was the first person to score 100 percent on the song several months later. This personal best amounted to 987,786 points, and has since garnered nearly 5 million views on YouTube.

“I’ll never forget that,” Chike said. “No one believed it was possible.”

Since coming to Penn, Chike no longer plays competitively. Chike’s Sigma Phi Epsilon brother, Engineering sophomore Mike Fernando, learned about Chike’s talent when each fraternity brother had to share an interesting fact about himself. However, Fernando noted, “he’s always really humble about it.”

Last year, some of his Sig Ep brothers encouraged Chike to compete in the Pottruck Health and Fitness Center’s Guitar Hero competition. His score topped those of his three competitors combined.

What he plays “religiously” and sees as an “addiction, almost,” he also considers a potential career.

Chike currently majors in computer science and aspires to work at Activision, the makers of Guitar Hero and other popular rhythm games. “That’s always been my dream,” he said.

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