Guitar Hero 5 is the latest in the hugely popular music based franchise, and so much has been said about the game. The game is developed by Neversoft and published by RedOctane and Activision. Everything about the game is colossal, from the 85 on-disc set list, to the playable in-game characters to the new and innovative party play mode.
The game allows you to play with any combination of instruments for any songs from the entire set list which is available to you right at the start, without the hassle of having to complete tasks and unlock each song individually by playing it, like it was in other games. As soon as we got the game, we popped in the disc expecting the many new things we had heard so much about. Also, we just couldn’t wait to play as some of the in-game characters announced prior to the game’s launch. But we learned that as it is with the set-list, the in-game characters are not playable right from the get go. In fact, the only way to be able to rock on stage as an in-game character is to play the career mode and complete one of their songs.
Many characters from previous games return, but that is not what’s great about Guitar Hero 5 when it comes to jumping on stage. The Rock Star Creator section gives so much control. Players can choose a type of rocker they want to create, ranging from the lighter Pop to the heavier Goth and Metal types. That’s not all though. Players can change clothes, hair styles, eye colour, and shoes and choose from a variety of beard styles all of which reflect individual musical styles. There are also a wide range of accessories which they can throw upon their still “unborn” rock star. There is the option of putting on tattoos and the player is granted some creative freedom in this department. Among the beard styles what caught our eye was the late-60s early-70s style moustache, called ‘The Stache’. That is so rad!
The songs in the game are just there for you to play at your own pace. No criteria to meet in order to unlock the next mini-set of songs. That is just a bonus in itself. But it is also there for a reason. The Party Play mode is definitely something that livens up any gathering. The songs just keep playing randomly one after the other, and players can jump in and out of a “jam session” at any time, using any instrument controllers, without affecting the other more serious virtual rockers. The game allows more than one player to play lead or bass at the same time in a song. Two fret boards appear on the screen with the lead notes or the bass notes scrolling towards you. There is also improvement in the vocals department. In addition to choosing from the standard static and scrolling lyrics which found their way into older games, players can now also choose the karaoke option, in which the words appear on screen and are then lit up when it comes time to sing them.
Also different from previous games in the series is the career mode. No money to earn here, just stars. Each song comes along with a maximum of five stars to be earned, based on player performance. In addition to these 5 stars, each song also features a bonus challenge to complete. These bonus challenges are spread over all the instrument types and completing gold, platinum or multi-platinum challenges, players can unlock everything from a drum pack, to a mic set to an accessory to take into the Rock Star Creator mode.
One truly spectacular feature in the game is the ability to play as your Xbox 360 Avatar. You can take your Avatar directly into the game to rock on stage with all the other members in the band. Watch your Avatar, who most of the time stays quite lifeless with only a few animations on the Xbox 360 dashboard, come to life on stage and dance about strutting and mouthing the words to songs. This is a unique innovative feature offered by Guitar Hero 5 to Xbox 360 owners. Imagine the possibilities if this feature was applied to other games. You could have your Xbox 360 Avatar jumping into all sorts of games and doing all sorts of things. And for online multiplayer games, there could be thousands of Avatars blowing each other up, and bashing in each other’s skulls. What an amazing concept!
Guitar Hero 5 is all about having the most fun with a bunch of friends that you can have, apart from engaging in certain other “unmentionable activities” that is. The Party Play Mode is obviously one of the modes in the forefront in this aspect. But also what is really amazing is the competitive mode that the game has to offer. In this mode there are various types of competitive challenges which players can use to battle one or more opponents. ‘Pro Faceoff’ is the general battle for the most points at the end of a song, while in ‘Do or Die’ players have three strikes before they are barred from playing each section; but complete the section without striking out to each to earn a point. Players with the most points win. But the two game styles which really caught our eye were ‘Momentum’ and of course, what is sure to be a party favourite, ‘Elimination’. Momentum is just about as hard as its physical concept. Starting at medium difficulty, if players miss notes their difficulty decreases, while if players hit notes on a streak, their difficulty increases. It is much harder than its sounds. In Elimination, the player with the lowest score when the time runs out is bumped out, until only one victor stands. Don’t get eliminated!
The Final Word: Even after all those Guitar Hero titles before it, Guitar Hero 5 can really hold its own. Introducing new and fun play modes, and the excitement of unlocking gorgeous and just amazingly great secret characters, plus taking into account the colossal set-list, the game never fails to impress and entertain. Probably the best addition to a party or friendly social gathering, not just for kids but for everyone to jump in and give virtual rocking a go.
Innovation: 9.7/10.
Gameplay: 9.4/10.
Music: 9.6/10.
Overall (not an average): 9.5/10.