If you have been a fan of the series since the beginning then Guitar Hero 5 is a MUST HAVE in your collection
The Guitar Hero franchise is one which over the years has been the victim of scrutiny and ridicule. Activision has had to do little to enhance the Guitar Hero experience over the years. Aside from the admittedly excellent addition of new instruments, they have stuck closely to the formula. This time around, developer Neversoft has made obvious attempts to innovate and improve the game.
Aside from the obvious graphical update and the improvements made to the interface, the game has a few extra-ordinary tweaks that are worth noting.
What? You want 4 guitars at the same time?
With the new Party Play mode, players are now able to “jump in & jump out” of gameplay at any time. What this means is that players can easily join and leave games that are already in progress. The Party Play option allows for up to 4 players to be on screen at one time, with any instrument they choose. By pressing the power button on the controller, a fret bar (the button designation pattern that tells you which buttons to press) will pop up, from where you are able to select your instrument, as well as the difficulty.
Once you have selected your preferred settings, you will merely continue as if you have arrived late. The notes drop in from the section of the song where you joined, and the rest is history. So if you decide to join at the beginning of the song, or at the final solo, it makes no difference. And when you’re done, simply turn off your controller, and leave. Your fret bar will merely disappear, filling up the screen with the other players that are still in game, and allowing them to continue the song further.
But I don’t just want to play 6 songs! I want to play 40!
The new playlist design allows players to select as many songs as they’d like. So if you’d like a quick session by yourself or if you want to rock the night away with some friends, it’s as simple as creating a new playlist, adding all the songs you like and playing till your fingers bleed. Even better, the game saves all your previous playlists, so next time your friends come around, you won’t have to pick your brain to try and remember what songs you dabbled in. Merely load your previous playlist and get to rocking. The game also comes out with a smorgasbord of different playlists already created as to cater to each player’s taste and skill.
So players that prefer songs that have blister inducing solos can select the “Killer Guitar Solo” playlist. If punk is more your thing, choose the “Punk” playlist. It really is that simple. Furthermore, players are able to import all their downloadable content from Guitar Hero: World Tour, to use in GH5. So don’t stress about losing your Metallica track pack that you blew your last pennies on. Simply import it and get to rocking.
My friends and I are bored of playing Duel the whole time! WHAT? 7 new modes? BRING IT ON!
As I mentioned before, Neversoft has truly gone above and beyond to tend to their customers’ needs, and it’s no different when it comes to game modes. Building on the conventional dueling mode, known as Face-Off, players are now able to pit any instrument against another locally (up to 4 players) or online (up to 8 players). Apart from that, they have now included the following modes:
1. Momentum: Players will compete for the highest score, with the difficulty automatically being modified according to how well they are playing.
2. Streakers: Players will go head to head, challenging each other as to who can get the longest note streak.
3. Do or Die: Almost the same as Streakers, except, in each note streak players have a set line which they must complete perfectly. Much like Star Power from the previous games, if you fail, you don’t get squat. Here though, if you fail, you get a strike. 3 strikes…you’re out!
4. Elimination: Up to 4 players (or 8 online) compete against one another in each section of the song. The lowest score in each section will drop out, until the last man stands.
5. Perfection: The player with the best score in each section is the winner.
And the best was saved for last…ROCK FEST!
In Rock Fest players can vote on which mode to play, then play alone or in teams against one another.
Apart from all of these, the game makes a number of additional changes. The previous GH Studio program, which allowed players to create their own music, has now been updated to a newer version named: GH Mix 2.0. What makes this mode so great is that players are able to use almost any instrument they want to make music. Keyboards, rhythm guitars, bass, vocals…whatever you want, throw them together and start your own record label. And your songs don’t sound like ripped off MIDI versions!
The final honorary mention has to go to the detailed celebrities that feature in your career mode. Apart from being able to play songs in the order that you choose, there are certain events that pop up at random times. One of the early highlights is playing Lithium (Live) alongside Kurt Cobain.
Bottom Line
If you have been a fan of the series since the beginning then Guitar Hero 5 is a MUST HAVE in your collection. If however, you have been rather weary of the entire plastic guitar trend, but have been curious to try it out, then this is as good a time as any to get into it. This is, without a doubt, the best Guitar Hero yet.
Information supplied by MyGaming
