Ninety Master Tracks Can’t Be Wrong
It is time to unlock your inner rock warrior and devastate the masses with serious guitar licks, pounding drum beats, and searing vocals. Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock changes the rhythm game in this new addition with an intriguing storyline and transforming characters. The game consists of over 90 tracks and all are masters!
The new Quest Mode, narrated by KISS front man Gene Simmons, brings you fully into the storyline where you begin the game as Johonny Napalm, punk rocker to the core. You play through his selected punk inspired set list with the goal to earn the stars needed to unlock his true warrior self and play a song with him in this evolved state, with his new powers to complete the section. Then you will continue on the spiral progression of unlocking all the eight characters and their warrior self to help the Demi-God defeat "The Beast" and save rock.
The game plays like the previous edition but the one thing I noticed that improved was the vocals. In other games I have to keep my mic level low so I do not hear delayed feedback that basically throws me off. There is no feedback now and I can crank my mic level all the way to 10 and actually sing along to the song. I only do that with certain tracks, my fav being "Cherry Bomb" from The Runaways.
The replay element is clear in the Quickplay+ mode where 13 challenges await for each on disk track and most DLC. The option is there to import selected tracks from previous Guitar Hero titles such as World Tour, Smash Hits, GH5, and Band Hero for a cost. I chose not to do this cause I found the songs on Warriors was all I needed. Speaking of the songs, wow this is one heck of a set list!
A Perfect Circle "The Outside," Pantara "I’m Broken," and Rush’s all 7 parts of 2112 really made this game! Having the seven parts of 2112 with the narration was this Rush fan’s dream. There are also a few live tracks from Lynard Skynrd, Def Leppard, and ZZ Top to name a few. I find that live tracks from certain artists bring a richer rock experience. There are guitar riffs that you will hear at a live show that never really make it into the studio atmosphere because the cheering fans are not there pumping up the band to bring them to that next level.
The new guitar with the removable sides (wings) to customize your playing experience is nicely shaped and easier for me to play with its more compact shape. It also feels lighter. And well, it just plain looks cooler.
This edition to the Guitar Hero library is by far the best! The challenges add so much replay value to the game and at its launch there were more than 300 downloadable songs on the store.
Speaking of DLC…
I held off on writing this review after hearing about the DLC that arrived this last week of October. The Rocky Horror Picture Show track pack was released for 440 Microsoft Points, $5.49 on PS3, and 550 Wii points on Nintendo’s system.
The 1975 cult classic is a blast to play and sing. It brings back so many good memories of spraying water guns, launching toilet paper, and rice throwing. Thank goodness this was the original master from the soundtrack and the butchering that happened to these songs when Glee got a hold of them. Included in the three pack is "Time Warp," "Sweet Transvestite," and "Hot Patootie."
The amazing amount of music available on disk and in DLC format combined with an RPG-like questing interface makes Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock a title that can’t be missed. It earns 5 GiN Gems for being the crowing achievement (so far) for this series.
Developers: Neversoft, Vicarious Visions
Platforms: PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360