Video Gamer is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Prices subject to change. Learn more
Black Sabbath, Megadeath and Slayer. Metallica, Rammstein and Anthrax. These are the names that mark Neversoft’s new approach to the Guitar Hero series, an approach that represents a conscious departure from the all-encompassing, casual friendliness of World Tour and GH 5. Sting will not be making a guest appearance here, nor will the track listing bear a single trace of Coldplay, Gorrilaz or Willie Nelson. By and large, this is a game that deals in metal and hard rock – a game of beards, tattoos and guttural growling.
Here are two more names for you: Jack Black and Tim Schaefer. Neither man was directly involved in this game, and yet the shadow of their joint venture – 2009’s Brutal Legend – looms large over Warriors of Rock. Because aside from the tighter musical focus, the most notable thing about this latest strum-em-up is the fact that it’s got a story – one that involves a quest to gather musicians for a fantastical battle against the forces of evil. It’s a hodgepodge of legendary guitars, men dressed as pigs and rock-n-roll deities, and the whole thing is narrated by Kiss bassist Gene Simmons. In other words it’s deeply silly stuff – but then again, a Guitar Hero game based on the works of George Orwell would probably be a bit dry.
While the absence of a number in the title may imply a clean break from Guitar Hero 5, the fact remains that Warriors of Rock is at heart the same old rhythm-and-skill challenge that we’ve known for years. The core gameplay seems to be largely unchanged; instead it’s the attitude and linking structure that’s been revised. In the plot-driven career mode you’ll make your away across a vivid fantasy map, stopping at real-world and fictional locations to recruit Axel Steel, Johnny Napalm and six other familiar faces from the Guitar Hero back catalogue. To conscript each rocker you’ll simply need to work your way through a prescribed set of songs, but once a given character is aboard you’ll unlock their Rock Warrior alter-ego; at this point they physically transform, and you’ll gain access to their special ability – a unique bonus or perk that affects the way your score is calculated.
Johnny Napalm, for example, turns from a snot-nosed punk into something resembling a musical variant of Gollum from Lord of the Rings. While he’s in this guise his score multiplier won’t ever drop below 2x, and as long as he stays over 3x he’ll earn additional stars for his performance. In past Guitar Hero games you could only ever be awarded a maximum of five stars for your efforts on a given track, but in Warriors of Rock you can earn anything up to 40 of the twinkly buggers, depending on the skills of you and your fellow band-members. This is arguably the biggest single change to the established Hero formula, since a given score will now reflect in detail exactly how good or bad you really are, and how well you work as team.
To get a perfect score of 40 you’ll need a lot of skill, and presumably a lot of practice. Neversoft says that it’s ramping up the challenge level after the more gentle feel of the last two games; the high tempo and complex nature of metal music should ensure a naturally steep level of challenge, in keeping with the likes of Guitar Hero: Metallica, but there’ll be at least one specially-composed track, too: Sudden Death is a new ditty by Megadeath’s Dave Mustaine, written with the express purpose of testing established rhythm-game veterans. I’ve seen it in action, and it made me feel sick just watching – the screen looked like a set of malfunctioning conveyor belts at a Smarties factory.
Accompanying the new ideas will be all the features that were introduced with Guitar Hero 5 – notably the drop-in/drop-out party mode, and the tracking of 13 specific challenges (pick-up all the hammer-ons; hit a high score target while using star power) for each of the 90-odd songs. There will also be a new guitar peripheral featuring a fully-customisable body, and the game will offer support for any DLC you may have purchased for Guitar Hero 5 or Band Hero. Whether all of this be enough to win back the hearts and minds of the hardcore, it’s hard to say. I’ve no doubt that many long-term fans will be pleased by the series’ return to its metal and hard rock roots, and the new scoring quirks seem like welcome additions, but at the end of the day this looks like just another Guitar Hero game – for better, or worse.
Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock is due for release on Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii this autumn.
