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As a last generation fan of this and its rival “Band” games, I was very keen to see what the new incarnation of the Simon Says plastic peripheral strummer was bringing. It’s here with its new plastic smell, but how do things differ to previous releases and, more importantly, is it better than ever?
First up, let’s talk about the re-designed guitar peripheral that comes bundled with the game. As we are dealing with a reboot, none of the previous devices released across the Sony, Microsoft or Nintendo consoles are compatible here. Boo. Gone are the five different coloured keys which are replaced with six buttons: three black and three white located on top of each other on the neck. The way these work with the note highway is that you have three lanes and as the “notes” fall they’ll appear up black markers, down white markers or a black and white squares. Not teaching anyone who has ever played one of these types of game to suck eggs, but to operate you hold down the corresponding black/white 1, 2, 3 button (or both together for the block symbol) and strum! The reinvented method for playing did feel very alien to begin with but after a while lent itself to a more natural guitar playing “feel” (not that I can play a real guitar to save my life), and stringing together chords successfully makes for a more satisfying simulated musical emulation as well. Yay! Other than the six buttons, the clicky strum bar, option buttons, whammy and star power activation remains the exactly same.
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Delving into the game itself, you can experience two distinct modes – Live and TV. Live is in essence similar to the classic story mode and as before playing through specially filmed and different set lists then unlocks tracks which you can revisit at your hearts content. The key difference to that of bygone releases is that rather than standing on stage as your computer avatar in front of rows of 2D concert goers, the view switches to a first person perspective and you play with your real life band in front of actual people. The better you perform, the more positive they, and your band mates, react. If you play badly, expect a sign in the crowd confirming this or some disgusted looks from your on stage companions.
In the TV mode, you can jump into Guitar Hero TV (GHTV) you select from, currently, two music channels which offer up 24/7 videos from the licensed artists. Here you play along to earn GH coins and level up your online persona. Throughout the day and night set programming runs which cater for different musical tastes, and drastically ranges from happy pop rock to oh-my-lord-my-brain-is-going-to-explode death metal. These stop for no man or rock and roll beast and you can drop in and out. At the end you’ll receive a score and be ranked against other players of a similar level who happened to be doing the same thing as you.
The other part of GHTV is freeplay. Here you can select any song in the unlocked library and play. The rub is you need to spend one of your play tokens you’ve accumulated to do so. You earn these tokens by leveling up or by purchasing them with the coins that you earn on GHTV ….or by purchasing them with real money. I’m going to digress a little here to talk about the games microtransactions and what they offer as I feel it’s important to clarify why you ‘may’ want to use them.
To be clear you don’t need to, as you do start with a hefty amount of coins and play tokens off the bat and when leveling you earn either more. Nevertheless you can purchase GHL’s premium currency and spend them on:
- Aforementioned free play tokens.
- Instant access to premium events, without having to earn entry buy playing the songs/achieving the required score.
- Special note highway graphics.
- Player card graphics.
- Star Power power-ups.
The last purchasable content is a “Party Pass”. The pass grants you 24-hours access to all the songs in the game for an unlimited number of playthroughs. Ideal, as the name suggests, for when you want to play GHL locally and socially.
The song catalogue is extensive and is updated weekly. I can’t pin down an exact number of tracks present, but it’s around 250 at this time. As traditionally this is eclectic and ranges from Hillary Duff and Ed Sheeran to Korn and Slipknot. Chances are you’ll find something you’re familiar with and like, and an even better chance that playing GHTV you’ll come across an artist you may not be familiar with and enjoy yourself nevertheless. As mentioned, new tracks are adding frequently at no additional charge. That’s right, unlike previous games or in Rock Band all songs that appear in the game will be free – however because of the token system I felt that I’d never actually own them. I had invested quite a substantial amount of time solo and with pals, as well as money on Guitar Hero peripherals and DLC, so the thought of throwing it all away and starting afresh with a new guitar and content felt irksome, but this method of constantly offering new content for free lightened the blow.
Local multiplayer is the one big let down to the new release. I enjoyed playing Guitar Hero with friends together in my front room. Getting slightly sozzled and mashing along to “Wannabe” by the Spice Girls which wasn’t exactly “rock and roll” I know, but the comradery of the experience was a big part of the previous releases. You can still play with local friends, however to sing-along you need to download the iOS virtual Mic app and pair it with your system, or if you do know someone who owns a second controller this can be used in the same game, however the note highway is exactly the same (no more separate and unique bass and guitar option).
Graphics at the core remain unchanged, however specially filmed sequences do more for the virtual rocking than ever before. Original artist music videos in TV are also appreciated over the faux CG garage band characters that needed to be suffered to progress a story.
Overall I’m bitterly conflicted as to if I *like* Guitar Hero Live vs. the previous games. I’m an old dog with young family, so I don’t generally get to hold as many drunken Guitar Hero nights as I used to (smoke machine, flashing lights and all) so the opportunity to play casually appeals to me greatly. The controls scheme feels better and things are simpler. The specially filmed Live sequences finally allow me to be a rock super star also.
What we’re left with is a super consumer-friendly and light Guitar Hero experience than before. I don’t like the free play token system as a feel like I never actually own any of the songs. If all I wanted to do was play “Eye of Tiger” to perfection, I’d need to either cough up some microtransactional money or suffer having to play random songs that may not always be to your taste. Thankfully the game has a lot more to offer and play around with. The bitter lack of legacy DLC is sweetened by the promise that I never need to pay 99p per song ever again, as all future songs are free – albeit locked away behind some coin grinding or a microtransaction.
Guitar Hero Live is available now for Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Wii U and select mobile devices.
Review copy provided with thanks from Activision.