Yes, that is the shortened version of the new story mode for Guitar Hero: Warriors Of Rock, the recent iteration to the Guitar Hero franchise. When there is little more to improve upon regarding the game play of a genre already near perfection, why not add a new dimension and give players a bit of story as to why they should stick with the guitar controller and not move into the realm of real guitars.
I'm sure acquiring Blizzard and their fantasy genre had no effect on this decision, but enough on just the story. How is the overall game of Guitar Hero: Warriors Of Rock?
Graphics:
First off, remember this is Guitar Hero. Don't expect anything all that new in the way of graphics besides a few more polygons and a style to fit the overall story. Then again, eye-popping graphics aren't exactly why we all play rhythm games is it? I mean, outside of the character transformations, there are only minor changes to the heads-up display (HUD) and basic note rails. By minor, I mean they have little extra added on graphics to indicate any special abilities the character you are playing has - mainly a little sprite.
Now while none of these really got an update - as they were not really needed - the characters and in turn, character creation, graphics did. This appears mainly in the form of all of the alternate versions of each character after they transform. Obviously from the videos they take on a Brütal Legend feel to the characters. They are being transformed into the warriors of the Demigod of Rock, why would they not have the "Metal" world look to them? I do love some of the alternate looks as they add a bit more depth to the creation process.
Audio:
Again, like the graphics, nothing too updated here outside of the actual tracks that you get to play. Just like all the games in the genre, there are some big hits and some huge misses. I don't care who you are, but the Metallica cover of Black Sabbath's Paranoid was a horrid choice. Metallica butchered a great song when the developers could have easily added the master track were it not for Metallica's need to have more money than they deserve. There are others, but that example is one shining piece of crap that should have been left out.
You all should know the track list by now so you can pick and choose what is great for yourselves. I'm sure my tastes in music are way different then many others. I will say that seeing Rush's 2112 album set up as one long "Boss Battle" was a nice touch. It was set up and integrated very well, even though the reward is a little lacking, but that isn't totally audio.
I will also add that it was nice to hear Gene Simmons with more work in the rock industry. At first, it is a little hard to tell it is him doing all of the narration, but he does a pretty good job with it overall. The script could have been improved, but we can't blame him for that. He did great with what he was given.
Controls:
Since the controls have not changed at all no matter what guitar game you are playing, I'm going to take this portion to talk about the new guitar controller that has come out for the game. You know, the configurable one with the detachable wings.
First, the look of the new controller is really sleek. It has the basic design of past Guitar Hero controllers, but the inlays and basic design just have that little extra to blend in well with the game. Unfortunately, the quick tab buttons have been removed from the neck so the battery pack and wireless connection hardware could be housed there. So you only have the basic five buttons on the neck and that is it.
Moving down to the base, the strum and whammy bar are still in the same location, but all the other buttons have been shifted for easier use. Specifically the Select button, or as it is known, the SP button. That has been shifted to be under where most of us would place our palms while strumming. So if you are one of those people who love to press a button to enter Star Power mode and not rock back, this makes it just as easy. You should rejoice.
Another thing to rejoice about is the fact that there is even less lag, at least I found, with the new wireless set up. I had zero to very limited latency while playing completely wireless and from across the room. Almost like playing while wired, just with freedom. I wouldn't recommend it for any tournaments still, but for casual use, I doubt you will find any problems.
Well that is, until you go to turn the damn thing off so your batteries don't drain. I have not found a simple way to do this besides pulling the USB wireless connector from the system, pulling the batteries out of the guitar or letting the controller utilize the auto-off-after-five-minutes control. It does not seem that the makers of the guitar took into account that batteries do not grow on trees or the fact that having to replace batteries in generally something we all don't enjoy doing.
I need to touch on one last thing: the "wings." Everything in the guitar is now housed in the neck. In fact you can play while looking like you are still in the 80's by using just the neck. The "wings" add nothing other than flavor to the overall guitar. That, and a place to rest your hand. It is a fun feature for all the hardcore Guitar Hero enthusiasts out there as they can customize the guitar with a little more ease, but it is really a novelty for everyone else.
Game Play:
I really hate to write a review that says that everything is basically what we have grown use to, but for the most part, the core game play is just that - a recycled version of what we are accustomed to seeing. Not a reflection on the game, but rather on this genre where the ceiling is extremely hard to breach. That is not to say there were not a few new and interesting things added to the overall game play.
There is the new quest mode. This, at first glance, looks like another career mode. It kind of is. Only this time there is a better story than you and your band slowly working your way up to stardom; you need to save rock from being destroyed. Also during the quest mode, each rocker essentially receives one cheat added on for them. Then after earning enough stars, it gets supercharged and the character changes. This all leads up to a legendary challenge where four of the powers are active at once. So, it does have its differences.
Another interesting change is that there are no longer the star caps of six. From numbers I have seen, you can earn up to 52 in a song with the correct powers activated, difficulty level chosen and every note hit. Did I mention that your unlocked powers get to move over to the "free play" mode? They totally do, which is really the only way to get this high in stars. So it kind of adds a bit of strategy for each song, at least if you want to get the most out of each performance.
Overall:
I really wish this would have been released instead of Guitar Hero 5. I really do. GH5 was just another rehash with nothing even trying to be new since Guitar Hero: World Tour. Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock at least adds a twist to "cheats" and the story on why you are playing these songs outside of free play. If you are not going to try to innovate your genre to force players to learn real instruments, then at least give them something other than an updated Karaoke list. This is something that GHWOR completely achieved. It wasn't much, but I like the new angle the developers tried.
If you are on the fence about which new Guitar Hero to pick up, I completely recommend Guitar Hero: Warriors Of Rock as the version to acquire. It adds something new to what GHWT - something that GH5 didn't really do. If anything, it is worth it just to play the new Quest Mode for a bit and then trade in.
The new controller is also pretty decent, even with its power-off fault. In fact, if you are in need of a second guitar or a new one, I recommend purchasing this model. It costs the same as your basic controller, but comes with a lot of extra bells and whistles. Just be sure to buy stock in your battery of choice, not to mention a stock pile of said batteries.
Guitar Hero: Warriors Of Rock was developed by Neversoft/Vicarious Visions and Published by Activision on September 28th 2010 for the Nintendo DS, Wii, PS3, and XBox 360. The game retails for $59.99. A PS3 copy of the game, the new guitar controller and the special axe add-on wings was provided by the publisher for review purposes.
