Guitar Hero 5 (Xbox 360) Review
Posted by Dan Owen on 10.27.2009
Does the newest iteration of the franchise rock or fall flatter than an silent note? Find out inside!
Title: Guitar Hero 5
Publisher: Activision
Developer: Neversoft Entertainment
Genre: Rhythm
Players: 1-4 on any instrument combination
Rated: T for Teen
The Guitar Hero franchise has come a long way. The first game snuck up on people and the second elevated the game the “hit” status. By the third installment, things had started to change. Where the franchise had once relied on cover bands to supply the music it now was serving up master tracks straight from the bands themselves. Now, Guitar Hero is completely mainstream and has even seen a number of other games of a similar type, pop up on the market.
So how does the 5th edition stack up? Let’s find out!
Graphics:
Guitar Hero 5 marks a departure from the series’ more cartoony graphics, as this edition shows much more realistic, defined graphics. Each music venue has its own unique look and feel, and this time around each band member actually looks like a real person. When you’re playing the game, though, you’ll barely have any time to look around at the band. Instead, your attention will be drawn to the note chart as you and your fingers try to keep up as the notes fly by. The note chart looks very sharp so you shouldn’t have any trouble distinguishing any of the notes. The one problem I found with the game’s graphics is that the “tap” notes; ones where you need not strum even if you missed a note in the string, are very hard to distinguish from regular notes. The “tap” notes are slightly transparent, but when they are flying across the screen in the middle of a song it can be very hard to recognize.
Gameplay:
The basic gameplay of Guitar Hero 5 remains unchanged from the previous editions. Notes fly down a note chart and the player strums a peripheral guitar in time with the song, pressing down the corresponding buttons on the controller. Of course, you can also do this with the drums or while singing into a microphone - both recent additions to the series. You play the songs, rack up points, and hope you don’t miss too many notes which would result in failing the song.
However, this game does sport a redesigned single player mode. Before, players were presented with a set list which they had to work through, song by song, to beat the game, and songs were only available to be played in Free Play once they were beaten in single player. No longer are players presented with a set list of 5 songs which they have to beat in order to get to the encore song, which also needs to be beaten before the player can advance to the next set list. Now players are given a list of songs to play at each venue. However, you do not need to clear all of the songs in order to advance to the next venue, which means there is a little flexibility in case one song proves to be too difficult for you. Also, in Guitar Hero 5, every song is available right off the bat. If you have no interest in playing the single player game, you don’t have to venture into it.
There is an added wrinkle to the whole career mode and that is the challenges that have been added to each song. Each challenge asks you to achieve a certain thing (be it a specific score or perhaps having a certain amount of time spent using the whammy bar in the song) in the song. For doing this, you can earn up to 3 extra stars on top of the 5 stars for your overall performance. Challenges span all instruments, and if you’re trying to play through the entire career on one instrument you will not be able to complete even a quarter of the challenges. Each venue will have a full mix of challenges for all instruments (singing, drums, bass, and guitar, as well as full band). The challenges really add a new dimension to the songs. No longer are you trying simply to pass the song, you now have an additional task that isn’t always just about scoring the most points. Depending on the challenge, you might need several run-throughs to even take the lowest level (the challenges move in three levels: gold, platinum, and diamond). The challenges certainly add a new layer to the Guitar Hero series.
In addition to the newly revamped single player mode, there is also the new Party Play mode. Party Play mode allows players to pick up any instrument and just play. Three drummers? No problem. Everyone want to play lead guitar? Not an issue. Essentially, you are now able to pick up any instrument and just play without any issues of having a “complete” band. This makes the game a lot more accessible to the casual gamer, which can be really nice if you just want to play with a bunch of friends and skip the setup menus.
The third major mode of the game is the music studio mode. Here, you can create your own customized songs. While it still takes a lot of time and skill to make a decent sounding song, Guitar Hero 5’s mode is a lot easier to get into than World Tour’s version. If creating a custom song isn’t your cup of tea, you can also lay down a freestyle tune in the jam session mode. In this, you select a background beat to loop while you rock out to your heart’s content.
Sound:
As one might guess for a game based solely around music, the sound aspect of the game plays a big role in determining the quality of the game. Guitar Hero 5 certainly delivers in this department. All of the songs are high quality master tracks, recorded by the bands that made the songs famous. One problem that has popped up from time to time in the Guitar Hero series is having the note chart become “disjointed” from the song, meaning that the notes you had to play didn’t line up with the rhythm or melody of the song. While I cannot say that I played every instrument for every song, I didn’t encounter any problems with things getting out of line.
Lasting Appeal:
Guitar Hero 5 is a game you can expect to be playing for a long, long time. The gameplay remains pretty standard, but it’s still fun. I still find myself picking up Guitar Hero 2 and 3 every now and again to play a few songs, and I’m positive Guitar Hero 5 will be the same. Once you get tired of playing guitar, you can simply pick up another instrument like the drums and run through the game again. Guitar Hero 5 also makes for a great party game, with numerous competitive and cooperative modes to keep you and your friends entertained for hours. Then, of course, there is the downloadable content that is coming out on a weekly basis for the game. This will provide gamers with a constant stream of fresh songs to help prevent things from getting stale. Unfortunately, though, the DLC does come at a price of 440 Microsoft Points ($5.50) for a track pack of three songs or 160 MS Points ($2.00) for each individual song.
Fun Factor:
Guitar Hero 5 is a game that is simple, yet fun. It’s easy to pick up and get into quickly no matter how good you are. The mix of songs is pretty good, too, and I find that the game is fun in a variety of situations. If I need something to play for a half hour just to relax, GH5 is perfect. If I’m looking for a game to play for a long play session, GH5 can be that too. And if I have a bunch of friends over that are looking for a fun party game, GH5 fits the bill once again. All in all, it’s a great game in a tried-and-true mold that has a pretty high degree of fun.
The 411:
In the end, Guitar Hero 5 is nothing too new. They’ve added the Challenges on to the single player mode, but beyond that none of the other changes stick out as anything too different than the old stuff. However, the old Guitar Hero formula is still a lot of fun to play when you throw in all of the new songs that accompany the game. Fans of the genre should not be disappointed.
Graphics
8.5
The switch to more realistic graphics really works for the series.
Gameplay
8.0
Nothing ground-breaking has been added to the franchise, but I guess you don't fix what ain't broke.
Sound
10.0
Each and every one of the songs sounds great.
Lasting Appeal
9.5
With DLC coming out each week there is certainly no lack of fresh content.
Fun Factor
9.0
GH5 is great for any occasion and the fun never lets up.
