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Feb

Guitar Hero Van Halen

Categories: Preview and Review
Tags: demo, guitar hero, Van Halen, xbox live

Mini demo review

I have been feeling a little ashamed of myself of late, and as it is game related shame I feel I must confess. As you all probably know I have been writing under the name ‘GuitarGirl24′ for some time now, and recently this has caused me a some conflict. You see though my name was in part chosen merely for my love of guitar solo’s (and I LOVE a good guitar solo) it was also a reference to my unconditional love of the plastic guitar. Yet recently I confess I have been neglecting my faithful fretted friend in favor of my much louder, more tiring plastic drum peripheral. I must explain. It is not that I no longer love my plastic guitar, it is simply that I have spent less time with the drums, and therefore find them more challenging. That combined with the fact that recent Gh and Rockband releases have been getting more and more family friendly with each new release (Or easier, lets not beat about the bush here) has swayed my attention away from the guitar and onto the much newer world of virtual drumming. This is the cause of my conflict, my shame. As time goes by I cannot help but wonder, will anything be able to re-ignite my passion for the plastic guitar? Or am I doomed to change my name to ‘DrumGirl’ and hot, sweaty and most of all tired for evermore.

By this point you may be thinking all hope is lost, and that I have given up hope, but fear not. 2010 is here, bringing with it hope for all of those who like their solo’s fast, furious and finger burning. For anyone who hasn’t read the title I am talking of course about Gh Van Halen, and for those of you without X-Box live here my take on a demo which I believe may just have the power to get us all strumming once more.

At this point you may be thinking that I am a huge Van Halen fan, I mean why else would I get so excited about this game otherwise right? WRONG. Beyond knowing the chorus to “Jump” my Van Halen knowledge is actually embarrassingly small, leading to the inevitable question: Why do I find this release so exciting? Its simple really, the demo beat me. At this point, primarily for the risk of sounding big-headed I will give some context to this statement. Though, I am in no way undefeated I rarely consider songs un-winnable. In the good old days of guitar hero I used to fail songs all the time, but as some of you who have read my previous articles will know recent releases have posed me almost no challenge. For example, I played Gh 5 from start to finish in expert repeating only two songs, suggesting either I have become a guitar goddess (unlikely), or the games have been getting easier. Therefore to be beaten 33% into “Eruption” and to be still hopelessly stuck at this point in time is VERY interesting. Could it be that Gh Van Halen has a set-list with difficulty to rival that of even Gh Metallica? It would certainly be a refreshing start to 2010 if it does, and after-all I do like a challenge.

As for the rest of the demo its pretty standard really. Same format of following a bands rise to stardom etc… Same slightly self indulgent feel that Gh Metallica had (oops, should I say that?) However it is worth mentioning at this point a few unexpected curiosities which caught my eye when playing. Firstly, On downloading this demo I couldn’t help but notice that it has a strange underlying retro feel. Though there are no major changes in graphics or gameplay (if anything the graphics have improved again) I did manage to spot a couple of little changes to the game which were more puzzling than revolutionary. For example it seems that the decision has been made to revert back to the more spaced out screen layout reminiscent of titles released pre- Guitar hero world tour. By this I mean that the score meter, star power bar and star meter have moved to their retro positions at the sides of the screens, instead of being down the sides of the fretboard. I find this change a little surprising as besides perhaps making it slightly harder to read your score and play simultaneously it accomplishes next to nothing. Slightly more pleasing to me is the appearance of the traditional Guitar Hero set characters. As you are all probably aware the Gh band members have evolved quite a long way since Gh 1, in my opinion reaching perfection Gh 3, only to change beyond recognition in world tour and beyond. I am pleased therefore to report that In Van Halen our favorites are more or less back to their old selves. Sure Judy nails has lost a few pounds, and Larz a little more trim, but at least Casey Lynch has her long hair back. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, that bob never suited her….

Anyway, onto more important things. Set-list. Now as you will expect this game comes with a fair dose of Van Halen tracks as well as a splattering of other “Rock hits’. During the demo You are able to play a selection from the full playlist including “Drop Nose” by Weezer, “The end of heartache” by Killswitch Engage, “Eruption” by Van Halen and “Panama” by Van Halen. Though Eruption was the only song to actually cause finger burn, all of the songs were intricate enough to be found enjoyable, and this leaves me hopeful for the rest of the set-list. On the subject of the rest of the Set-list please Enjoy.

Van Halen Selection

“Ain’t Talkin Bout Love”
“And The Cradle Will Rock”
“Atomic Punk”
“Beautiful Girls”
“Cathedral (Solo)”
“Dance The Night Away”
“Eruption (Solo)”
“Everybody Wants Some”
“Feel Your Love Tonight”
“Hang ‘Em High”
“Hear About It Later”
“Hot For Teacher”
“Ice Cream Man”
“I’m The One”
“Jamie’s Cryin’”
“Jump”
“Little Guitars”
“Loss Of Control”
“Mean Street”
“Panama”
“Pretty Woman”
“Romeo Delight”
“Running With The Devil”
“So This Is Love”
“Somebody Get Me A Doctor”
“Spanish Fly (Solo)”
“Unchained”
“You Really Got Me”

Other songs

“Come To Life” Alter Bridge
“White Wedding” Billy Idol
“First Date” Blink-182
“Space Truckin” Deep Purple
“Best Of You” Foo Fighters
- “Double Vision” Foreigner
“Stacy’s Mom” Fountains Of Wayne
- “Pain” Jimmy Eat World
“Painkiller” Judas Priest
“The End Of Heartache” Killswitch Engage
“Rock And Roll Is Dead” Lenny Kravitz
“I Want It All” Queen
“Sick, Sick, Sick” Queens Of The Stone Age
“Master Exploder” Tenacious D
“Safe European Home” The Clash
“Pretty Fly For A White Guy” The Offspring
“Semi-Charmed Life” Third Eye Blind
“Dope Nose” Weezer
“The Takedown” Yellowcard

True there is nothing particularly unexpected here, and some of the songs are of course Rockband repeats as usual. However Van Halen are know for their solo’s, and that leaves me hopeful that the gameplay will be more enjoyable than the set-list may let on. That is, as long as the solo’s we are offered are not to heavily reliant on the slider/tap feature of the newer guitars. Call me old fashioned, but I do love a good finger breaking solo…You know what I mean…

Just a couple more things. Though this game is like Gh Metallica in theme, I am pleased to say that some of the problems which once tormented me have now been fixed. The biggest improvement to me comes in the smallest of features. Unlike Metallica this game allows you to chart your progress through the different difficulty levels using tiny Guitar picks with roman numerals on. Each Pick represents a different difficulty (kind of like the skulls in world tour) and beside each pick there is space where your score for the song in each difficulty is written. I know, I know. this seems like such a small thing, but anyone who tried to play Metallica in two difficulties will know why this is so important. I also couldn’t complete this demo review without mentioning the great attention to detail that has been paid to animating the band. Every member is expressive and dexterous, to the point of being almost quite scary. Though their energy can be a little overwhelming at times its is nice that although once again it seems we must abandon our custom creations to “BE” Van Halen, at least our virtual selves look as if they are actually having a good time.

And thats it. The demo is still on line so if you have a spare 5 minutes I suggest you download away and see what you think. Oh and if anyone gets past 33% on Eruption in expert (Not using the tap and slide bar!) please let me know. I will make you a paper crown.

Oh, and before I go I will make you all a promise. I “GuitarGirl” hereby promise to resist the lure of the drums and play this title from start to finish on my plastic guitar. I Vow to be faithful to the frets once more, and resist my evil urges in order to once again justify my name. No longer will I be found banging from noon until night, else the gods of rock strike me down for…misrepresentation of goods………?

Until next time,
GuitarGirl24
x

Nov

Band Hero Demo Review

By GuitarGirl24 Leave a Comment

Categories: Preview and Review
Tags: Activition, band hero, guitar hero, LIVE, Xbox 360

The good, the bad and the ugly

Anyone who read my initial post concerning Band Hero will know that my personal expectations of this game were, well shall we say, just ever so slightly, just a little weenie bit low. Being a complete worshipper of the original Guitar Hero series, when Band Hero was announced I had to shed a tear at the thought of my beloved rockathons being corrupted by mainstream pop. The mere fact that It was called ‘Band Hero’ quite frankly gave me shivers, and when asked to play the online demo I will admit I took on the task limited enthusiasm. However it is my duty to report on such matters, and as many people seem to believe that where there is darkness there is inevitably light, I feel I must give this game a fair hearing. Therefore to keep it simple I present to you Band Hero, The good, the bad and the ugly.

The Good

Firstly some good points about this game. As a descendant of the Guitar Hero series this game is very well animated, easy to pick up, has enjoyable gameplay and is very pretty. Though it was not rock themed (shame) It had good venus and atmosphere, with a much more colorful pop orientated feeling than the GH series. The party play feature was also excellent allowing players to swap modes and instruments at any point, which proves very useful when the drinks need refilling. The graphics were similar to that of DJ Hero in the sense that everything was very neon and slightly trippy, which I felt was quite fitting for a pop based game. I also noticed that a lot of effort had been put into the animation of the characters, especially the movements of the lead singer which I must say brought a small smile to my face. On that note my main good point of this game is that the set-list is much more accommodating to female singers, and about time too. Often I have found that my more girly friends would prefer to sing than play guitar, and so I am guessing this will be right up their street. I have often struggled through various singing careers either pushing the notes to extreme highs to survive or imitating a male voice, both of which sound quite frankly stupid. I suppose in an odd way Band Hero solves this problem for girls everywhere, but I am no raging feminist and so the review continues…

The Bad

Now for the bad stuff. Its too easy! I may be being a GH snob here, but I was able to play through this demo whilst taking happily about dinner at the same time. I had it on expert mode for all 3 songs, but it simply didn’t require that much concentration. I suppose this game is aimed at the younger, less experienced market (Aww bless their cotton socks) however this makes it a step down rather than a step up for experienced GH ‘musicians’. I suppose it’s to be expected, but its a bit of a shame. Also, since when could a guitar make a sound like a saxophone? Look I know with the right effects pedals it can be done, but there are points in this game where you are constantly switching from being a keyboard, to a trumpet to a guitar. I know GH5 did this a little too, but this game does it to the extent where it becomes completely ridiculous. At this point I find myself asking the question, Why make a game which is an offshoot of Guitar Hero and then include songs where there is simply not enough guitar to make the game playable? Its simple really. Its called ‘Guitar Hero’ because It includes songs with strong guitar riffs. Pop songs do not often have such strong guitar riffs, therefore why include them in a game where the whole concept is based around a guitar shaped controller. Think through your concept more thoroughly next time people!

The ugly

Now for the ugly part of this game. And my is it ugly… For me this game seems to be completely lacking in theme and identity. Though it boasts a diverse set-list I found the mixing of the genres in the demo made the game feel disjointed and very strange to play . For example the demo moved from happy clappy pop, to modern country style pop, to soft rock, with the same band members and gig set up. Now I know previous titles also did this, but not to this extent. To be honest I found it a little unnerving to see a massive heavy metal rocker happily singing along to ‘Walking on Sunshine’ By Catrina and the waves, especially seeing as this was a standard part of the demo not someone’s personal joke. In fact the completely random mix of band members chosen for the demo put me off a little too. When I played, my band consisted of 2 mature characters, (a sexy punk lead singer and a heavy metal lead guitarist) and two very young looking young teens (an Avril Lavigne style drummer and an alternative base player). This random combination of band members to me looked very odd. More worryingly still, with the differences in age and genre leading me to question weather if this band truly existed, it would actually be legal for them to go to the bar after gigs for drinks, let alone ever want to play together. Though the characters were probably meant to be diverse to show the diversity of the character creation feature, the lack of consistency in characters was to me direct proof of this games lack of direction. After reviewing the set-list more carefully I have come to the conclusion that it would have given the game more of an identity if older, more famous pop acts had been used. If the set-list had been more cheesy with more famous pop acts they may just have got away with the pop theme, however the mismatch of pop and rock chosen lead me to think that it might have been more appropriate to just bring out another true guitar hero with some pop songs on it, call it ‘Guitar Hero Pop hits’ and do away with the ambiguity. I imagine that if this would done it would feel a little like Guitar Hero Rocks the 80’s, which in my opinion worked a lot better than this confused little title. I hate to say it but in comparison DJ Hero has much better theming. I don’t want to be a DJ but at least the Characters, sets and music all fit together and create a real atmosphere.

Though I did to some extent enjoy playing this demo, I feel that it is very obviously aimed at the younger teen market, and not the true GH worshippers. The combination of younger band members,colorful settings, easier gameplay and tame pop set-list make an experience associated much more with the young teen scene than the heavy metal and grunge fantasy lands we are used to. Though this is not for me, I suppose not all games can be everyones cup of tea. Therefore if you are a 13 year old girl with a Taylour Swift poster on your wall you will love this game, and more power to you for buying it. As for everyone else, try it yourselves and see what you think. Oh but be sure to get the drinks in first, your really going to need them…

Until next time

GuitarGirl24

P.S. On an Un-related note, I have finally completed Gh5 (Work has been keeping me VERY busy!!) Its not as difficult as I expected, though I did have to re-play 3 of the songs in the end set-list through twice. The highlights for me were definitely “Sultans of Swing” Dire straits, “No one to depend on” Santana, “Do you feel like we do” Peter Frampton and “American Girl” Tom Petty & The heartbreakers. Not the hardest songs but definitely the ones I enjoyed plying the most. Shame its not as difficult as expected, but still as good play and definitely one to add to your christmas list if your not into DJ/Band hero and haven’t splashed out already.

Nov

DJ Hero

By GuitarGirl24 Leave a Comment

Categories: Article and Review
Tags: Activistion, dj hero, guitar hero, Music & Rythem, Review

Up to scratch?

I love Oxford street. I must say that when in London it has to be one of my all time favorite places to spend a lazy saturday. The shops, the people watching and of course who could forget the massive HMV, which is always kind enough to provide some little gem of new entertainment. This week my personal treasure chest has once again bestowed its bounty upon me, giving me my first taste of DJ Hero.

First off I feel that I must explain where I stand on DJ Hero. Being a true Guitar hero girl I have awaited DJ hero with both curiosity and a little distain. Personally I have never dreamed of becoming a hit DJ, and have not liked the idea of the guitar based games being interfered with. Therefore the idea of this game has generally been causing me a little distress. This aside I have decided to review this game as If i DID dream of becoming a hit DJ. For the sake of this article the next few paragraphs will be as without bias as I can manage, with all of the fading, scratching, techno, dance, hip hop and drum and bass action you can handle. Which could be difficult seeing as I sit here in my leather and lace. Please bear with me.

To state the obvious, DJ hero is basically guitar hero for wannabe DJ’s. The game uses settings and graphics similar to those of the GH series to transport you, the world famous DJ into increasingly cool, clubs, parties gig’s and raves. DJ hero is just as vibrant and creative as the GH series, with a very similar layout and feel. When the game loaded I instantly recognized the graphics from GH world tour/5 and from what I could see the character creation looks similar too (except with a fair bit more bling). Though the look of the game is the same as GH, the feel when played is actually quite a bit different.The objective of the game is to use the three fingers of your right hand to keep the beat using three colored buttons, whilst keeping your left hand on the slider, fading one of the three colored ‘beat lines’ in and out in time with the music. The game also replicates the classic DJ motion by getting you to scratch the mock record along with the beat, which has to be the most fun part of the DJ hero experience. In addition to this you can use the euphoria button to instantly whip up the crowd, increasing your score potential or saving you from an angry crowd should your DJ-ing not quite be up to scratch.

Though all of this may seem very similar to the actin of using a traditional guitar controller, I found that the feeling of the turntable controller gave a very different feeling to the gameplay. Whereas the guitar controller gives a sense of free spirited, reckless power, the Turntable feels much more fiddley and somehow quieter. To me the feel of this game was much more like playing an old style arcade machine, all buttons and switches and compulsion to make it to the last level. The sliding motion of the turntable was a lot of fun, but to me It didn’t really feel as much like playing an instrument as using a controller. I think that though this is perhaps a bit of a shame, it is a little unavoidable as the action of DJ-ing is very different to any of the other plastic instruments. One thing I think could have improved this though is if the decks were a little bigger. Everything feels a little too close together, which to me, when combined with a low table makes it seem as if you are fiddling about your waist doing something secretive and perhaps even quite naughty. If the decks were made larger (as the guitar controllers were) then the experience would become more proud and powerful which I think would certainly improve the gaming experience. Now it may seem like I am being a little harsh on Dj Hero, but honestly, I’m not just saying this because I like the guitar controller. I actually think that this game is very addictive, it is just a lot different and perhaps aimed at a different kind of person. The turntable action is fluid and smooth, and the setup works very well. In fact I would definitely recommend this title to anyone who has ever fancied having a go at being a DJ, so please don’t be put off. It is also worth noting at this point that it is also possible to incorporate a Guitar controller into the game, and though I did not get a chance to try this I am still interested to see how this will bear up to the beloved full rock-band experience.

Though I had mixed feelings about the decks, the music choices were much more pleasing. The game has over 102 songs, presented as 93 mixes, which to anyones standards is quite a generous amount of content. With genres boated including Hip-hop, pop dance and rock, the music you can scratch along to is a little random but surprisingly varied. Though when selecting my set-list I barely recognized any of the song titles, when I started to play it soon became apparent that the selection of songs actually consists of some really good songs. I ended up playing re-mixes of the gorillaz, the jackson five and Rhianna, all of which were (and I am slightly shocked to hear myself saying this) quite good. With more hits from artists such as Queen, The killers, N.E.R.D., Dizzy rascal, Daft punk, 50 cent and Eminem I am sure that the selection of songs will be enough to keep even the fussiest of potential DJ’s happy. Though personally I was a little disappointed there was no prodigy, I suppose you can’t always have everything.

Overall I would say that DJ Hero is a must for anyone who has dreamed of ruling the decks but never had the time, money, energy or commitment to buy the right gear. The controller felt small to me, but other than that the gameplay is very addictive and promises to be a lot of fun when mastered. Though I was playing through the easier levels, this game obviously has the potential to become extremely in depth and complicated, something which can only work to its advantage. Oh and for the true fans also be sure to look out for the renegade edition. This premium edition not only features a useful case which folds out into a portable table, but also promises to include Jay-z and Eminem. I don’t know how they plan to fit them both in the box, but its always nice to get added extras.

On a final note to me the plastic instruments seem to be growing ever closer to the real ones. First the Gh drum kit which basically teaches you how to drum, and now plastic decks which take up almost as much time and energy as real ones. I love my plastic instruments more than so many things, but to me they will always be in addition to learning the real thing, not as a substitute. To me the main value of my plastic friends will always be in party play, and I think it is a shame that the decks were not introduced alongside more of the existing instruments to make what I would consider to be a FULL band. I have a lot of friends who would like to use the decks to do the DJ-ing, effects, mixing, beat or Synth and though it would obviously be very complicated to work into the existing game structure it seems a shame that it has not yet been attempted. Perhaps this is one for the future, who knows. Until then I will silently await the day when a DJ can join my band, perhaps even like an equil. Perhaps.

Until next time

GuitarGirl24

Oct

Reminiscing … My perfect setlist

By GuitarGirl24 1 Comment

Categories: Article
Tags: Activison, Guitar, guitar hero, Music, music game, Neversoft

With the hype for christmas building I find myself in the mood for reminiscing. Guitar Hero 3, my first ever Gh title was in fact a christmas present. Therefore this seems like a perfect time to look back over all of those songs which brightened many a long and tedious winter day. I refused to buy the greatest hits disk because I disagree with the choice of songs it offered (quite frankly I thought I could have chosen better with the game cases, a blindfold and a set of darts but thats neither here nor there) so without point or purpose here is how I would have done it, from Gh1 through to World Tour. My perfect set-list.

NB: These are not the songs I am best at, or indeed the most challenging (as you will see). They are merely those which I find most amusing, that I would pick up my plastic guitar and decide to play first. Though if you get the chance to play me and want to win, perhaps best avoid these songs. OR if you want to make me happy, choose them all!

Infected- Bad religion GH1(Dark, in a sexy way)

More than a feeling- Boston GH1(You just have to sing along!)

Spanish Castle Magic- Jimi Hendrix GH1(One big upbeat solo, always fun)

Carry on my wayward son- Kansas GH2 (I love the quiet section in the middle, beautiful and hypnotic)

Cherry Pie- Warrant GH2 (love the solo, also so tacky its good)

Who was in my room last night- Butthole surfers GH2 (I can’t help but thinking during the solo ‘Oh yes….he went there’)

Sweet child o’ mine- Guns n’ Roses GH2 (its just a classic)

Jessica- Allman brothers GH2 (whats this…I don’t know it…OMG TOPGEAR!)

Free Bird- Lynyrd Skynyrd GH2 (its just so pretty)

Talk dirty to me- Poison GH3 (nice easy end solo)

When you were young- The killers GH3 (miss the euphoric notes and you have to leave the room)

Paint it black- The rolling stones Gh3 (Black, Black like the Sky…)

My name is Jonas- Weezer GH3 (easy but so pretty)

Even flow- Pearl jam GH3 (they rock, great live too)

Black Magic Woman- Santana GH3 (Full of Twiddle and Widdle)

Rock you like a Hurricane- The scorpions GH3 (Cheesy!)

La Grange- ZZTop GH3 (an all time gh fave of mine)

Hellicopter- Bloc Party GH3 (I sing the word ‘Helicopter’ through all the ending notes to make it more fun, it doesn’t go with the tune at all but hey)

Stricken- Disturbed GH3 (good for the rage days)

Devil went down to georgia- Charlie Daniels band GH3 (Best moment ever, and I mean ever)

Monsters- Matchbook Romance GH3 (Great end to Co-op mode, fiddley and fast, like many a drunken fumble)

Avalancia- Heroes del Silencio GH3 (Euphoric, love the slide)

Don’t hold back- The sleeping GH3 (Good for a lift)

Prayer for the Refugee- Rise against GH3 (So beautiful, and sad)

Through the fire and the flames- Dragonforce (A Fetish, So hard but soooooo good)

18 and life- Skid row 80’s (One for those ‘Well, it could be worse’ moments)

Holy Diver- Dio 80’s(Makes me laugh, I finally understand Jack Black Alllllright)

The Warrior- Scandal 80’s (Stewie Griffin’s I-pod commercial)

What I like about you- The Romantics 80’s (It just doesn’t stop with the double notes)

Play with me- Extreme 80’s (I struggled with this in expert until my fingers ached, just because I loved it so much)

Dream On- Aerosmith (Easy to play but truely perfect song)

Train Kept a Rollin- Aerosmith (I like the increase in pace, fun on drums when playing rockband)

Mama Kin- Aerosmith (Exciting from start to finish)

Beat it- Michael Jackson WT (fun in band play, who doesn’t know it)

Everlong- Foo fighters WT (I LOVE to drum this song! I mean LOVE)

Hot for teacher- Van Halen WT(Fast, Furious, Sexy…How could it not be there)

La Bamba- Los Lobos WT (No NOT LaMamba! A chidhood fave of mine)

Lazy Eye- Silversun Pickups (simple but beautiful)

Love Removal Machine- The Cult (Sexy when played on drums)

Purple Haze- Jimi Hendrix WT (The day I kept my x4 through the entire end solo was one of the happiest days of my GH life…)

Enter Sandman- Metallica (So powerful on drums, its soooo satisfying)

One- Metallica (Passing the end solo in this was a major milestone for me)

Nothing else matters- Metallica (All love songs should in my opinion have at least one guitar solo…)

And there you have it. Now all I need is for someone to put it on a disk for me so I don’t have to keep swapping them over…Someone…Anyone…Neversoft? Now that I have opened up my most private, and personal music preferences I would very much like to hear from you guys. So tell me, Staff, contributors and gamers of the world, what have I missed? Do you have an absolute favorite that you re outraged I have not included? If I have forgotten your true favorites (And no picking the hardest songs just to try and show off, I’m onto you) Drop me an e-mail/comment and I will be happy to make a full apology in writing at some point during my future posts and add your song to the list, just because I’m nice like that.

Thats it from me this week. I’ll be at Eurogamer with the rest of the team in London next Saturday, and hopefully, If your all good, I’ll be able to give you something a bit more juicy then, and I don’t mean a peach.

Until we meet again,

- GuitarGirl24

Oct

Band Hero!

By GuitarGirl24 Leave a Comment

Categories: Preview
Tags: band hero, guitar hero, Neversoft

ARE YOU READY TO pop….

As your music correspondent it is my duty to bring you all of the news from this genre, so it is my solemn duty to inform you that yes, ‘Band hero’ is officially on the way.

Now being a rock goddess through and through, I am obviously programmed to despise the idea of band hero. However before I weigh everyone down in my own personal opinions here are some facts.

bandhero_2

Band hero will work similarly to guitar hero 5 with a similar theme of band gameplay, however instead of focusing around the guitar as the key instrument Neversoft claim that this title will be designed with all four instruments in mind. They are also aiming to incorporate more mainstream acts such as Taylor swift, Lily Allen and the Jackson 5 to make the game more enjoyable for the whole family. For some time now the Gh series has chosen to incorporate guest stars to add to the atmosphere of the games and this game follows suit. So far confirmed guest stars include Taylor Swift and Adam Levine (Maroon 5) with several others still awaiting conormation. The game will have the same multiplayer options as GH5, with the added bonus of being able to change difficulties drop out and even swap instruments at any time during a song. From what I can make out with its mainstream hits and ease of use this game is geared entirely towards party play, which is not for me, but not necessarily a bad thing for everyone. Now, just for you, because I love you all, here is a sneaky look at the confirmed songs so far…..Cries into beloved plastic guitar…

The All-American Rejects -Dirty Little Secret
Jackson 5 – ABC
Don McLean – American Pie
KT Tunstall – Black Horse and the Cherry Tree
Poison – Every Rose Has Its Thorn
No Doubt – Just a Girl
David Bowie – Let’s Dance
Taylor Swift – Love Story
Taylor Swift – Picture to Burn
Taylor Swift – You Belong With Me
Fall Out Boy – Sugar, We’re Going Down
Fall Out Boy – Thanks for the Memories
Lily Allen – Take What You Take
Nelly Furtado – Turn Off the Light

And now for my real opinion, my own personal rant if you will. Is it just me or does the above set-list seem more like something out of sing-star than a true GH title? I mean in my opinion the pervious GH games are very accommodating to all instruments, especially the more recent titles, and so why they had to release something like this under the same name truly baffles me. I know they are trying to cater for more mainstream tastes, but in doing so they have lost a great deal of what guitar hero was really about, the tacky, heavy metal, rock god simulating experience. If they were going to release something like this I don’t know why they didn’t distance it from the Gh series all together, even the name ‘Band hero’ doesn’t sound right, so why force it. I would say that this game seems more accommodating to female singers (any girl who has tries in vain to battle through the GH World tour vocalists career will know what I mean) However personally if I want to sing I play sing-star so to me this is not a great selling point. Also, personally I wouldn’t call Taylor swift a ‘Band Hero’. I accept that she is in vogue at the moment, but she hasn’t been around long enough to truly be considered a pop legend therefore to have three tracks and a guest star appearance in this game is quite frankly overkill.

bandhero_1

All in all I don’t think I would dislike his game so much if it wasn’t so strongly affiliated with the Gh series, perhaps if it wasn’t called ‘Band Hero’ I would have a better personal opinion of it. Still, as much as other may love this game I will say that I don’t think I will be becoming a Band Hero myself anytime soon. After all, Gh5 has a set list with some mainstream hits and a big dose of rock as well, and after a thorough play through I can truly say this is my favorite release of 2009. I will try and update you all when I have a chance to play this game, but until then my suggestion is to buy Gh5….and enjoy it.

GuitarGirl24

Sep

Guitar Hero 5 It’s Better In The Dark…And You Won’t Be Disappointed (X360)

By GuitarGirl24 Leave a Comment

Categories: Review
Tags: 5, Activition, guitar hero, Neversoft, Review

Well the moment I have been waiting for all year has finally come, drum roll please (all be it a virtual one) GUITAR HERO 5 IS HERE.

Now I know for most people this probably wont be as big a deal, but for me guitar hero releases are the highlight of my year and I’m pleased to say this new addition is no disappointment. With a set-list of over 80 songs and stunning graphics this is a must buy for any fan of the Guitar Hero series. After Guitar Hero Metallica (mainly for Metallica fans) and Guitar hero greatest hits (lets face it a cop out really) this is a real breath of fresh air. The set-list is diverse with a good mix of modern hits such as ‘Sex on fire’ by Kings Of Leon and classics like Nirvana’s ‘Smells like teen spirit’ making this a game exciting and fresh throughout. I must admit I also got very excited when I found out they had included ‘Plug in Baby’ by Muse. One of my all time favorite bands so I had to mention it somewhere.

Now a bit about the gameplay. I have a theory about Guitar Hero. In my opinion with every GH release the note streams get more complicated but the reaction time of the game speeds up allowing you to keep up. In effect the games are slowly getting as fast as the people who play them, and to me this is no exception. The notes come thick and fast from the onset, but due to the slick programming this is not a problem, in fact it’s a joy to play. The difficulty level is in keeping with that of GH Metallica, with tricky solo’s and the promise of some really challenging levels nearer the end. A nice addition to the game is the opportunity to complete additional challenges within each song. These challenges are instrument specific and set you a range of different tasks to gain additional stars. The tasks range from whammying the most notes to getting the longest note streak or hitting the most notes of one color. I find these challenges really bring out my extremely competitive nature and so add great replay value to the game.

And now for a quick moan, skip this paragraph if you want a happy read.

Only one thing is annoying me about this game, and it’s a big problem. When you create a band and start your solo career it only displays the overall best star rating you have achieved for all instruments you have played. For example, when I started my guitar career and went through the songs it was easy to keep track of my place within the game, I just looked at my star ratings. However when I repeated my career with the drums the fact that I was a drummer this time and not a guitarist was not obvious from the song selection screen. This made it extremely hard to track how I was progressing within my drum career. GH Metallica had the same problem and I would have hoped they would have spotted it before this game was released, sadly no luck.

That’s it, Moan over!

Onto the Visual stuff. The character movements have been improved and you can now play in a band comprised entirely of Traditional GH characters which is a novelty. All of our favorite characters are still there, even if Judy nails is looking a bit skinny for my liking (I wonder if she is eating enough) alongside the opportunity to create your own characters much the same as in GH World tour. I feel that Guitar hero has the edge when it comes to character customization and this game is no different. I have always been able to create a good likeness using the GH rock-star creator, something I have never managed to fully achieve with RockBand. In this game you can create the real you as well as many other random creations which in itself leads to hours of fun. Alternatively if real life doesn’t float your boat, why not take a step back and let your XBox 360 Avatar play for you? A quirky feature more than anything but fun nonetheless. One way this game differs greatly from its predecessors is that the screen layout has been cleaned up, with all of the information such as the star power bar and score bar consolidated around the fret board area. At first I found this a little odd, but once I had become used to it I began to appreciate how much of the screen this frees up for the graphics.

As for the graphics themselves, they are stunning. In fact I am now lusting over a larger TV as I feel it would be really worth having to fully appreciate this game (at least that’s what I keep telling myself). The menu screens have the usual doodled rock theme which I have always loved and the layout of the set lists in career mode is clearer and more exciting than in world tour giving the game a clearer, more structured feel. The game graphics themselves are still cartoonish and exaggerated in style, but with a more electric, dramatic feel which I love. The fret board is less fussy but has a new texture, and I love the way that blue lights sweep across the board when star power is activated instead of the usual electricity. It is for this reason I would urge everyone to play this game in the dark. The bold colors and use of blue light within the game really lend themselves to the real gig experience when set against a dark background, it is darkness makes this game truly great and I promise…you won’t be disappointed.

I’m off now to dim the lights, close all the doors, slip into something a little more comfortable, pick up my beloved plastic guitar and rock out.

Until next time.

GuitarGirl24

Jul

Full track list and more for Guitar Hero 5

By Garvaos Leave a Comment

Categories: Game News
Tags: guitar hero, Guitar hero 5

Hey guys! I have just stumbled across the full track list for GH5. Hope you are all ready for this, there’s some real gems in this one!

3 Doors Down – “Kryptonite”
A Perfect Circle – “Judith”
AFI – “Medicate”
Arctic Monkeys – “Brianstorm”
Attack! Attack! UK – “You And Me”
Band Of Horses – “Cigarettes, Wedding Bands”
Beastie Boys – “Gratitude”
Beck – “Gamma Ray”
Billy Idol – “Dancing With Myself”
Billy Squier – “Lonely Is The Night”
Blink-182 – “The Rock Show”
Blur – “Song 2″
Bob Dylan – “All Along The Watchtower”
Bon Jovi – “You Give Love A Bad Name”
Brand New – “Sowing Season (Yeah)”
The Bronx – “Six Days A Week”
Bush – “Comedown”
Children Of Bodom – “Done With Everything, Die For Nothing”
Coldplay – “In My Place”
Darker My Love – “Blue Day”
Darkest Hour – “Demon(s)”
David Bowie – “Fame”
Deep Purple – “Woman From Tokyo (‘99 Remix)”
The Derek Trucks Band – “Younk Funk”
Dire Straits – “Sultans Of Swing”
The Duke Spirit – “Send A Little Love Token”
Duran Duran – “Hungry Like The Wolf”
Eagles Of Death Metal – “Wannabe In L.A.”
Elliott Smith – “L.A.”
Elton John – “Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting)”
Face To Face – “Disconnected”
Garbage – “Only Happy When It Rains”
Gorillaz – “Feel Good Inc.”
Gov’t Mule – “Streamline Woman”
Grand Funk Railroad – “We’re An American Band”
Iggy Pop – “Lust For Life (Live)”
Iron Maiden – “2 Minutes To Midnight”
Jeff Beck – “Scatterbrain (Live)”
Jimmy Eat World – “Bleed American”
John Mellencamp – “Hurts So Good”
Johnny Cash – “Ring Of Fire”
Kaiser Chiefs – “Never Miss A Beat”
The Killers – “All The Pretty Faces”
King Crimson – “21st Century Schizoid Man”
Kings Of Leon – “Sex On Fire”
Kiss – “Shout It Out Loud”
Love and Rockets – “Mirror People”
Megadeth – “Sweating Bullets”
My Morning Jacket – “One Big Holiday”
Motley Crue – “Looks That Kill”
Muse – “Plug In Baby”
Nirvana – “Lithium (Live)”
Nirvana – “Smells Like Teen Spirit”
No Doubt – “Ex-Girlfriend”
Peter Frampton – “Do You Feel Like We Do? (Live)”
The Police – “So Lonely”
Public Enemy Featuring Zakk Wylde – “Bring the Noise 20XX”
Queen & David Bowie – “Under Pressure”
Queens Of The Stone Age – “Make It Wit Chu”
The Raconteurs – “Steady As She Goes”
Rammstein – “Du Hast”
The Rolling Stones – “Sympathy For The Devil”
Rose Hill Drive – “Sneak Out”
Rush – “The Spirit Of Radio (Live)”
Santana – “No One To Depend On (Live)”
Scars On Broadway – “They Say”
Screaming Trees – “Nearly Lost You”
Smashing Pumpkins – “Bullet With Butterfly Wings”
Sonic Youth – “Incinerate”
Spacehog – “In The Meantime”
Stevie Wonder – “Superstition”
Sublime – “What I Got”
Sunny Day Real Estate – “Seven”
T. Rex – “20th Century Boy”
The Sword – “Maiden, Mother & Crone”
Thin Lizzy – “Jailbreak”
Thrice – “Deadbolt”
Tom Petty – “Runnin’ Down A Dream”
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – “American Girl”
TV On The Radio – “Wolf Like Me”
Vampire Weekend – “A-Punk”
Weezer – “Why Bother?”
The White Stripes – “Blue Orchid”
Wild Cherry – “Play That Funky Music”
Wolfmother – “Back Round”

But that’s not all! It has also been confirmed that ‘Shirly Manson’ the lead singer of the group ‘Garbage’ has been dded to the list of guest stars for GH5. Even though I’m not a huge ‘Garbage’ fan, I can safely say this will appeal to a lot of people.

shirlymansongh5

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ixtUByyqxw]

Guitar Hero 5 is due for release this September on Xbox 360 PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii Consoles.

Garv!

Jul

Yet More Info on GH 5

By Garvaos Leave a Comment

Categories: Game News
Tags: guitar hero, Guitar hero 5

As you are all fully aware Guitar Hero 5 is set to hit shops in Q4 of this yea. Which is not far away at all.

With the release of GH 5 already on the horizon I ad other people who I have spoke to can’t help but feel that GH may be hitting its prime. What else can they physically bring to the table that is new? World Tour had all the instruments for the band, a music studio and character creation. To me that’s ticked all the boxes.

gh51

So with all the updates on GH I am getting I can safely say the franchise is running out of ideas. But this is not a bad thing, this way they can then focus on getting the tweaks just right, and its the tweaks I am going to reveal to you today.

Party Play:

Something I should of really covered before. This was covered at the E3 expo this year. Party play is pretty much multi player but with a difference. The idea being players can drop in and out of the song at will and the song will keep playing. You can have any instrument you desire regardless if someone else is playing it. So technically you can have 4 drummer rocking out no problem. But if no one plays then it just acts as a jukebox, till someone shouts “I LOVE THIS SONG” and comically lunges for a plastic guitar.

gh52

To me this feature is solely for well parties (surprisingly) Very casual way of looking at GH. But as for scoring or whatever I think this won’t be used in big gaming environment. More of a lets get drunk and see if I can do expert mode.

Career Mode

Remember in world tour where you had to select gigs individually, select your instrument individually, and die in a repetitive heap on the floor individually? The gods have shined down and have done away with lots of menu’s this time round. Sounds pretty good having one database where you can change instrument whenever you want. But again it seems tat GH is now focusing on its casual audience more which is a shame. All the songs are again unlocked from the word go r you to use in quick play. With that said in career there is still song sets you have to progress through to unlock goodies.

One of the most interesting his I have heard about GH5 is the star system. Same as what happened with GH metallica but this time round you get 6 stars instead of 5! the standard 5 starts for playing the song and a sixth, awarded to you when you complete certain challenges within the song. Sounds really interesting and GH has redeemed it self slightly with that.

Multi Player Over hall

From the big career menu I discussed earlier you can select band career from there, which is all well and good. But they have revamped the multi player! Finally the have gotten rid of the ‘if one fails you all fail’ element o the game and have given each plyer their own rock meter. Once a player fails the song a revival meter appears and the band have t rack that up with playing awesomely to revive the fallen. But the more times it appears the hard it will be to fill up.

Also star power has been tweaked. Everyone will get their own start power meter! Also a nice little addition is that if you have a full meter and you are still earning star power, it will overflow to your band mates. Genius!

gh53

But that’s not all one big feature that has been added to GH5 is band moments. In a section of a song, instead of stars the notes will be on fire. Every band member must hot these fiery notes to activate a band moment. This will give you additional point and a band multiplier. If you manage to hit star power during a band moment your band multiplier will go up to 11.

So GH 5 seems like its got some nice new tweaks for us plastic guitar nuts. Stay tuned for more info as I get it.

I will leave you with a trailer for one of the guests who is going to feature in guitar hero 5. Enjoy!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBgH1gsx1gs]

Garv!

May

Plus XP News Round Up

By Garvaos Leave a Comment

Categories: Game News
Tags: band hero, dj hero, duke nukem forever, guitar hero

Thought it would be a good idea for the blog to have a news round up every week for the news that we neglected to mension and to keep people nice and up to date about the blog itself as well as games

Plus XP on Twitter!

Yep thats right folks plus xp now has a twitter page to keep you upto date with posts from the blog as well as dropping in new info as we hear it. Follow us at http://twitter.com/PlusXp

Duke Nukem Forever – Probably now gone forever.

Mega sad face for Me as i am a huge Duke Nukem fan. Still play the good old duke 3d on my xbox. god bless xbox live. But the next installment may not even happen. 3D realms have gone bust possibly taking the franchise with it!

Duke Forever 1

but according to some 3rd party developers. the hand held duke nukem games are still in the making.

Whats That? More Guitar Hero???

yep thats right lads and lasses. Keep your eyes peeled Q3 and Q4 this year. As guitar hero: Van Halen has been confirmed for a Q3/Q4 2009 release. Will be featuring other bands such as Queen, Offspring, Wheezer, Blink 182 and Queens of the stone age.

Yet even more guitar hero goodness!

Guitar Hero 5 has been confirmed!! The 5th installment (excluding the game GH rocks the 80’s, areosmith, metallica and the upvcoming van halen) sounds like its going to be………..interesting. Here is a quote from the publisher:

“there will be an unprecedented level of control over the way they play the game with the ability to drop in and out of songs and change band members, instruments, and difficulty levels on the fly,”

My opinion: if it aint broke don’t fix it! Are activition probably over stepping the mark on this one? i mean dropping out mid song? whats the point?!

Doesn’t stop there for the now (what i will call) ‘Hero’ franchise.Taking a leaf from Wii Music’s book Band Hero has been confirmed. Boast it will be a fun game for all ages. Not much else has been confirmed but quoted from the publisher “the game will feature top-40 hits designed to expand the appeal to a broad family audience who can play together on the guitar, drums, bass, and microphone.”

You really didnt think Activision would stop there with their ‘Hero’ franchise would you?

DJ hero has been confirmed! *does double take* Yes thats right DJ hero. Featuring R&B, hip hop, motown, electro and dance tracks DJ Hero will let players produce “original mixes of popular songs and music from the world’s most exciting artists and DJs.” as quoted from the publisher.

The paripherals feature a microphone and, yes you guessed it, a turn table:

djheo turntable

to be honest i wont touch it. but i can see the appeal for other gamers.

well thats all the big news i can muster up for this weeks round up. Plus xp will keep you up to date with whats happening with the site and the gaming world as it happens, through the blog here and on twitter

Garv

May

Guitar Hero thursday!

By Garvaos Leave a Comment

Categories: Game News
Tags: guitar hero

And its going to be the last Guitar hero thursday as all the Tracks for GH smash hits have been announced. The last 6 tracks Were announced on the site today! From Guitare hero Encore: rocks the 80’s. And Here they are!!

Caught In A Mosh – Anthrax
Play With Me – Extreme
Electric Eye – Judas Preist
Nothin’ But The Good Timed – Poison
Round and Round – Ratt
I wanna Rock – Twisted sister

Some good tracks. would of expected more from this game but hey it was pretty much an expansion pack more than anything.

Well now we have all the smash hit songs announced. It would be rude not to put the full Track list here. so Going in order of GH1, GH2, GH3 and GH rocks the 80’s i present to you the full track list of Guitar Hero Smash Hits!