It all began
with Guitar Hero, then Rock Band upped the ante with additional instruments. So
Guitar Hero answered back with World Tour, taking the full instrument band in
another direction. Now, the heir apparent to World Tour, Guitar Hero 5 drops
like a hammer on all of eagerly awaiting rockers. And for those owners of the
Wii, this could be the rock game to end all rock games.
Now I said
"could be" and that is because everyone has different tastes in music. What I
consider good "rock" my father, who is a fan of these games, might not always
see eye-to-eye with me. And likewise, his affinity for long-winded 60’s and 70’s
rock isn’t always my cup of tea. So it was with mixed emotion that I played
through the plethora of songs on the latest Guitar Hero. For me, "Kryptonite" by
3 Doors Down, "You Give Love a Bad Name" by Bon Jovi and Nirvana’s "Smells like
Teen Spirit" represent everything that I love about these rock games. Good,
fast-paced rock songs that I can get behind. Of course, there are plenty of
others to enjoy for my taste; these just happen to come to mind as genuinely
good songs and help to power through the many songs I did not particularly care
for.
"Hi, I’m Johnny Cash,
check out my hair."
But that’s
the thing now isn’t it? You simply cannot make games like this with every single
song a winner. Some people like their rock with punk flair, some more classic,
others really hard, and the game does a fairly good job at making sure all the
different "types" of rock music is represented. So while I might not be behind
the song selection, I can’t really fault it either. Plus, with the Wii, you can
download the entire song library from World Tour and with that comes improved
sound and info downloaded from your World Tour game. So with the game itself,
and the free Van Halen add-on that some retailers are offering and the
downloadable content, that’s like 7 million songs right there. Ok, maybe not
that many, but the sheer number of songs is mind boggling to say the least,
putting all fears aside, because even if you only like 33% of the songs, that’s
still a ton of good music.
Now,
interestingly enough, the game has made several subtle changes to help move the
franchise in another direction. Starting with the game’s title screen, you can
access the hidden "party" mode which allows anyone to play any instrument with
any difficulty easily and on the fly. Meaning, if you have the game going with a
bunch of people, everyone can play simply by passing instruments around and no
matter how bad or good you are, its easy to switch difficulties and get to
rockin’.
"That’s right, four
instruments, no singer, they usually cause all the problems anyway."
But if you
are a hardcore rocker and have the full band wanting to take the game’s tour,
then this title also has some answers for you. Having the game’s downloadable
content available is a big step in the right direction, but then the system
itself manages to do something it hasn’t done before by allowing the player to
log on and remain online for up to the minute info really helps the game become
something more. Auto detection will find and make friends without ever having to
have to plug in the Wii system information. And, the new SD cards allow players
to pull information straight from the cards (which can have downloaded info) and
into the game rather then jump through the systems onboard memory first.
Add to all
of this the ability to actually connect your DS to the system and game and begin
affecting the stage lights, cameras and on-stage shenanigans. It’s kind of a
quirky add-on, but still intriguing and fun all the same. But to finally push
players over the edge, there is a new mode called the roadie battle that
requires two players playing on the guitars and two other players playing on
their DSs which is now wirelessly connected to the Wii. The battle starts off
with both guitarists playing like normal, then the fun starts. The roadies begin
messing with their opponent’s equipment, messing with speakers, fluctuating
power and doing all sorts of other underhanded stuff. As the roadie you must
provide an offense and a defense, quickly correcting any attacks on equipment
that has occurred while doling out the same. This is in all actuality the most
fun I have had playing a rock style game in a long time.
"The
roadie rock battle is on!"
Of course,
the game’s sound is much better than your average game. It is a rock game and
there is an awful lot of rock music coming out, but it sounds really well. I
have lamented on how I wish the Wii had made the possibility of Dolby digital
plugs in the past, and while the game isn’t screaming out of my system, the game
does come across very clean sounding and tight. Miss a note in competitive mode
and you can hear it crisply. This is a powerful addition to the Wii library in
terms of sheer rocking sound.
Lastly, the
game looks very nice. I have spoken about other rock games and how you really
don’t look at all the stuff that happens in the background because you are too
busy watching the note line. Well, with roadie battle that does change the
way you look at the game since you are fiddling around with amps and electronics
as you attempt to sabotage your competition. It is a smart looking game, it
certainly doesn’t push the envelope of how we look at games, but it is a solid
and well put together looking title.
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Gameplay: 8.8
It plays
like many other games in the genre, but then you throw the Roadie Rock battle in
and things get really crazy. A well tuned and oiled machine.
Graphics: 8.2
Well, its a
pretty looking game. I can’t complain about the looks, there simply isn’t too
much more any dev team could do to make the game look better. The crucial
element in this game is the guitar note bar that the notes scroll down and it
looks and functions just fine.
Sound: 9.0
Good sounds
despite only coming through a component set of audio cables. A strong selection
of varied songs. Some I like, some not so much. But they all sound clean and
rock-ish.
Difficulty: Medium
Yes, there
are some finger-blistering challenges, but if you have played the other games,
then you should be just fine. Rookies can start with the game and the learning
curve is friendly and easily adjustable.
Concept: 8.0
The fact
that the development team actively tried and succeeded in moving the game
forward in terms of gameplay and newness, makes this game that much sweeter.
Multiplayer: 9.4
The roadie
battle is, by far, the most fun I have had in a local multiplayer environment
in the past 12 months. It is very, very addictive.
Overall: 8.7
A strong
title that pushes the genre forward while retaining much of its original appeal.
If the Beatles Rock Band wasn’t dropping in mere days, I would say this may be
the definitive band title to have, but until we get a hold of that title, this
game shall reign supreme at the top of the rock heap.
