Activations’ Neversoft beginning with Guitar Hero 5 (GH5) when Harmonix left seemed to lead to a downfall and a lot of unhappy gamers after the production of Rock Band. Rock Band and Guitar Hero lovers have been waiting for quite some time to see if Harmonix could ever bring back or compete with Neversoft with a production of and end product that didn’t bring with it almost complete negativity in what the game was all about! Well I believe I can be safe to say that with the production of GH 5 a positive improvement and effort was made and Guitar Hero fans can expect a lot of new and improved features that the earlier games had previously seem too left out.

 

With the production of GH5 Harmonix brought together a total of 85 hot rock ‘n’ roll songs with a total of 83 artists in all, and I have to say these are pretty good numbers. Artists range from singers like Bon Jovi, Johnny Cash, and the Rolling Stones to name a couple; and I do admit other bands that I haven’t even ever heard of but this is defiantly not a negative point because we all have different interests in music. I also will admit that I did find that some of the songs or music can bring forth a challenge if chosen and depending on the instrument chosen for the simple fact that the beat and feel of the music doesn’t always match up well (especially with some of the older songs.) But again this isn’t always a bad you will see what I mean I’m sure after you have played a while and sometimes it just means picking the better instrument for that song.

 

With GH 5 the game starts almost immediately when you put in the disk with Party Paly and then the music starts. Immediately you can pick your instrument, then jump in and start playing! You can also jump in and out of the song at any time and play any instrument you choose. That’s right any instrument, and it doesn’t matter if everyone in the band is playing the same you can still play whatever you choose which is great, whatever “rocks your boat or band.” This is one of the best features of the game because of the variety in instruments and the ability to change songs, levels, and instruments at any time with minimal interruption. Another great little addition to GH 5, that is if you choose, is the ability to import your avatar to use in the game.

 

The Career Mode has also changed in that it doesn’t seem as much anymore like a job and you don’t have to earn money, etc. just work your way through the song lists, do new gigs, and play whatever instrument you like and not have to change your career at the same time. You also don’t have to play every song to beat the game. If you for some reason can’t complete a song of just simply just don’t like one you can just choose a different one to progress. The career mode is probably 2nd in line with game changes by being also divided into tiers and venues. This means depending on how good you are and achieving stars in which you then use to unlock each venue.

 

If playing in multiplayer mode it has a standard and Pro faceoff momentum. Band moments have also been added in which certain song sections have to be hit by all its band members to activate a bonus multiplayer. Star power can also be shared if your share of stars overflows and you have a fallen fellow player who gets dropped. You and the rest of your band can simply play your best and if you rock as a group you can bring your fellow player back into the game.

 

Each song also has an attached challenge for the guitar, bass, drums, vocals, or band. Your reward if the challenge is met is either diamond, gold, or platinum making each song worth 8 stars up from the previous 5. They also added a large variety of mix-ups to these challenges to make them more interesting and trickier. The Studio also received a much needed improvement for the hardcore player when creating your own songs with its prerecorded samples. They sound much better, are quite a bit longer, and are much easier to navigate, which is by far a positive improvement.

 

With GH5 the variables and options and overall total improvements are sure to bring more hours of play from the previous fall or disappointments seen when Neversoft first took over with Guitar Hero World Tour. Graphics are definitely improved and better fitting to its characters or should I say artists? Variety is there, but can’t compare by no means to the song library of Rock Band. Menus also have received much needed improvements which provide better and quicker navigation with are a plus for any games of any type. With GH5 whether you’re simply a Guitar Hero fan or just a rhythm lover GH5 won’t be a total disappointment but bring many hours of fun play for you no matter which form of play you choose, so Rock On!