Guitar Hero and Rock Band are perhaps the best Party Games/Dust Collecting Utensils of all time. Screwing about with a Plastic Controller whilst pretending you were a flawless God of Guitar/Drums/Bass/Whatever is hellafun... yes even if you play and instrument in real life, in response to all those buzzkills who ask why you don't just play a real instrument.
Sadly, the Band 'em Up genre seemed to die at the turn of the decade along with the more mainstream popularity of Rock, with Rock Band 3 being released in 2010 and the last Guitar Hero game, Warriors of Rock, released only a year later.
That is, however, until now.
Both Guitar Hero and Rock Band have new games in the works and we have our first taste right now, with the first set of bands from the "set list" for Guitar Hero
It's not hugely exciting, I'll be honest, but deep and obscure track listings were never the games strong point, Tool and Dream Theater on the World Tour soundtrack was a treat. A smattering of Guitar driven Pop songs like the guilty pleasure of many, Ed Sheeran, some popular Metal songs... I mean who didn't see Rage Against The Machine coming? Also a bunch of songs that have ALREADY been in Guitar Hero, like The Rolling Stones' Paint It Black and surprisingly enough, songs with barely any Guitar in at all, like a track from the latest Fall Out Boy album and Skrillex of all damn things. Maybe the goal of those songs is to stand there doing nothing while looking as awkward as possible, or maybe the new controller can transform into a Keytar... now Keytar Hero is something I'd invest in.
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| This could be you. |
Now, this only translates into 3 lanes on screen with two colours of notes, and not 6 as you might assume. Only time will tell if this will actually improve the gameplay in any way or if it's just change for the sake of it; it's one of those things that you can't tell just by looking at it. One thing that DOES look like a great new addition just from sight is that Guitar Hero Live is basically a first person FMV game (for those who remember the 90's PC gaming scene.) Gone are the customizable 3D characters and the overt Music Fan stereotypes and in are the first person simulations of playing to thousands of people:
As cliche and cheesy as it sounds, there is something really appealing about playing in front of these huge crowds, even if it's just on the screen. Maybe they'll even have a few songs where you play with the original bands? Playing with Judas Priest? Yes, please.
Maybe in future they'll support VR technology, so you can wield your plastic guitar whilst strapping a lump of plastic to you face and pretending you're a really cool Rock Star. Those who like to laugh at other people looking foolish can only hope.
Guitar Hero Live is due to be released on PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One, iOS, your pet Terrier, Images projected onto the Moon and a half empty can of Pepsi Max Cherry (but not the PC) in late 2015.
