Guitar Hero 5 Reviews

  • SashamorningSashamorning3,580,520
    05 Apr 2010 04 Sep 2018
    28 11 1
    For those of you who know me, I'm a music game junkie. I have pretty much all of the basic games, except for the track packs and Lego RB... so far. Up until now, Rock Band 2 has easily been my favorite, and it still is, but with the release of GH5, that margin has become very narrow.

    First of all, newcomers interested in the genre should pick this up immediately. The party mode, the ability to have multiple people play the same instruments, and the deep track list are all severe positives for this game. In addition (and this is my own personal opinion), I prefer the GH guitars over the RB ones. (It's a personal thing; the clicks let me know if I'm hitting the note on time.) But it's so much more.

    I didn't even realize Activision was putting out 5 until just before it released, and the reason for it was clear: RB2, with its polished interface and engine, were far superior than the GH: World Tour had been. In many ways, it seemed that Activision was caught off guard with RB2 (a vast upgrade to RB1 with the online band mode), so they hurried to push GH: World Tour to market. As a result, the game wasn't as polished as it could have been, also it boasted a decent soundtrack as well.

    GH5 corrects those errors. The streamlined gameplay, the ability to make less cartoonish personas (a massive plus in my eyes about RB/RB2), and the ability to transfer (most) of the GH:WT catalogue into GH5 gives the game much more depth than it had before. In addition, the tracklists from Band Hero and GH: Smash Hits are also exportable to GH5, creating an even deeper track list.

    The game is much more oriented toward the casual player more than previous iterations. First of all, the entire track list is unlocked for quickplay from the beginning of the game, without having to unlock them through the various venues. You can go through the career on any difficulty (like more recent iterations) which allows casual players to go through on an easier level, and then increase the difficulty without having to repeat the whole career. Also included in the new game are challenges: instrument-specific goals that give you up to 3 extra stars toward your career. These challenges give the more hardcore gamer to have a higher sense of accomplishment, although very few achievements are overly difficult to achieve for the average gamer, given time.

    The one disadvantage GH still has over the Rock Band franchise (which is currently working to improve itself with Rock Band 3 due later this year) is Rock Band's incredibly deep DLC content. GH still hasn't caught up to RB in that area, and it's doubtful they will. However, the game itself is very solid, as is the track list, and it's clear that the quality differential between the two franchises is getting much more fuzzy. The edge (for me) still goes to Rock Band due to the massive DLC, but I also feel that Guitar Hero 5 is a must-have for the genre.
    4.5
    Showing only comment.
    So is this a Guitar Hero review or a Rock Band review? Guitar Hero 5 was one of my least favourite titles in the series, second only to Band Hero and it definitely doesn't deserve a 5 star rating. Also, "most" of the Guitar Hero: World Tour setlist is not exportable to Guitar Hero 5, barely a quarter of the songs make it to GH5.

    The review doesn't really go into enough depth and focuses too much on comparing it to Rock Band, you could definitely improve this, it's a fair start though.
    Posted on 08 Apr 14 at 20:44
  • nickb2819nickb2819684
    03 Sep 2009 14 Sep 2009
    26 10 11
    "ANOTHER GUITAR HERO!?!?" You say?
    Well fear not, Guitar Hero's 5th installment (9th if you include spin-offs) has the series somewhat back on track after the Guitar Hero train started de-railing with GH: Aerosmith.

    Including a fresh new game engine, tons of new online competitive modes, a great soundtrack and new in-song challenges, Guitar Hero is finally starting to feel as fresh as it did when the franchise first began. Even though that is sad, since the franchise began not even 4 years ago. Nonetheless, Guitar Hero 5 is great fun.

    The career mode is a blast if you attempt the in-song challenges, which will throw you around the 4 specific instruments, trying to do different instrument specific things like hitting X amount of HOPOs, maintaining X amount of time with a 4x multiplier, hitting X amount of snares on the drums, etc. If you can successfully complete 50 challenges in platinum you'll grab 3 achievements worth 100 gamerscore, and possibly the motherload achievement, Star Cluster worth another 100 gamerscore for getting a whopping 808 stars. Fear not though achievement lovers, in GH5 you can get up to 9 stars per song in the career(6 stars for an FC, 3 extra if you nail the diamond challenge cutoff).

    The game's graphics are by far the best in any music game, putting tons of detail in everything possible. And the game's new engine is beautifully smooth. HOPOs feel Very similar to GH3's which is such a great thing to hear for most players. Still not Identical to GH3's but very close.

    Does Team Pro Face-off, Momentum, Team Momentum, Streakers, Team Streakers, Do or Die, Team Do or Die, Elimination, Team Elimination, Perfectionist or Team Perfectionist modes sound familiar? They shouldn't, since there all new modes in competitive play. Also players can drop in and out of a song whenever they please, which may be pointless for advanced players, but for new ones could be used.

    With special appearances by Garbage's Shirley Manson, Muse's Matt Bellamy, the great Carlos Santana, and the late greats Kurt Cobain and Johnny Cash the game is choc-full of stars.

    The 85-song soundtrack is possibly overshadowed only by the great Rock Band 2 soundtrack. Spanning 5 decades(even though half the songs are from This decade)and tons of genres the soundtrack is very integrated and fun. And the DLC announced so-far sounds like the Activision's planned DLC may be able to compete, not beat, but keep up with Harmonix in the DLC department, which seems like a HUGE challenge from that garbage called World Tour DLC.

    By the way, if you pick up a new copy of the game before October 1st you get the upcoming Guitar Hero: Van Halen free and possibly a month early, so hey you can't lose.
  • SpectreSubZeroSpectreSubZero420,915
    01 Jan 2010 01 Jan 2010
    13 6 12
    Career: 5 out of 10
    Career is much different than previous GH games and in my opinion a major step backwards. Your quest in career is to get 900+ stars. These stars can be a real headache, because you must use all the instruments and perform random tasks on the side while playing the song. There are no achievements for difficulty in this game which is dumb. You can unlock 90% the achievements on EASY or BEGINNER. So basically any average person could just pick up this game and nail the achievements. There is no award for Spankin career on Expert cry. The career interface is seriously lacking! There are 85 songs in the game and some 150+ downloadable songs.

    Multiplayer: 10 out of 10
    Whether your playing at home or online, Guitar Hero is still a lot of fun. This game has brought multiple new game types to battle opponents. Co-op is vastly improved and much more fluid. A very very cool new feature to this game is the fact that you don't have to play as a band with guitar, bass, drums, and mic. All four people can play whatever they wish. For example all four people can play lead guitar as a band. A lot of people currently play this game online. I recently went back to World Tour and it seems everyone has moved over to Guitar Hero 5.

    Graphics: 10 out of 10
    As compared to the other Guitar Hero games, which were graphically behind for their times, this game really kicks it up a notch. The graphics completely blow away the previous guitar hero games and give Rock Band a run for its money. The interface is much improved and easier to play. There are no distractive pop-ups like in previous GH games, for example getting 100 note streak. You can use your own avatar in the game as well. There are no graphical glitches with this game either. Previous games tended to have little stutters here and there when you play on Expert.

    Track List: 7 out of 10
    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"
    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)"
    Dire Straits - "Sultans of Swing"
    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"
    Iron Maiden - "2 Minutes to Midnight"
    Jeff Beck - "Scatterbrain"
    Jimmy Eat World - "Bleed American"
    John Mellencamp - "Hurts So Good"
    Johnny Cash - "Ring of Fire"
    Kaiser Chiefs - "Never Miss a Beat"
    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"
    Mötley Crüe - "Looks That Kill"
    Muse - "Plug in Baby"
    My Morning Jacket - "One Big Holiday"
    Nirvana - "Lithium"
    Nirvana - "Smells Like Teen Spirit"
    No Doubt - "Ex-Girlfriend"
    Peter Frampton - "Do You Feel Like We Do (Live)"
    Public Enemy Featuring Zakk Wylde - "Bring the Noise 20xx"
    Queen & David Bowie - "Under Pressure"
    Queens Of The Stone Age - "Make it With Chu"
    Rammstein - "Du Hast"
    Rose Hill Drive - "Sneak Out"
    Rush - "The Spirit of Radio (Live, 2008)"
    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 Bronx - "Six Days a Week"
    The Derek Trucks Band - "Younk Funk"
    The Duke Spirit - "Send a Little Love Token"
    The Killers - "All the Pretty Faces"
    The Police - "So Lonely"
    The Raconteurs - "Steady As She Goes"
    The Rolling Stones - "Sympathy for the Devil"
    The Sword - "Maiden, Mother & Crone"
    The White Stripes - "Blue Orchid"
    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?"
    Wild Cherry - "Play That Funky Music"
    Wolfmother - "Back Round"

    Although this game has the largest tracklist yet, it is still like all the other GH games. Half the songs you have heard of and the other half you have never heard of.

    This game with the Guitar is $89.99 US dollars. But if you want to just by the game, it is currently $59.99.
    http://www.gamestop.com/Catalog/ProductDetails.aspx?product_...

    If you are like me and a Guitar junkie than I suggest picking this game up and it is worth the $59.99. If you are a casual GH player I would suggest waiting till the game drops in price. My suggested retail value is $39.99.

    If you are new to Guitar Hero, I highly suggest you purchase GH World Tour before this game. All downloadable songs for World Tour can transfer to Guitar Hero 5. World Tour's Campaign is considerably more fun and what I feel to be the best GH song selection. If your looking to play online then I suggest GH 5, because it is the only one people are currently still playing.
    4.0
  • xBrushedRedxxBrushedRedx93,357
    06 Jun 2010 06 Jun 2010
    7 2 0
    This is my first review, so I'm just trying to figure out how to write it. So bear with me... Many people have fallen off the bandwagon of Guitar Hero after they released the infamous Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, but IMO Guitar Hero 5 is turning the wagon around to pick up those who fell off. This game is a huge improvement from World Tour. IMO, it's not quite as good as Guitar Hero 2 or Guitar Hero 3, but it's much better than GH: A, GH: WT, and GH: SH.

    On to the evaluation:

    The Setlist
    The 80-something odd songs that this game contains are pretty good. There is a little something from each decade. I honestly bought the game because it had Brand New on it (my 2nd favorite band EVER!), but I was actually surprised when I played through the setlist... It actually wasn't bad at all.music (Much better than World Tour's)

    Single-Player (Career)
    You're trying to get the highest amount of stars possible. It's definitely not hard at all to get all the career achievements, just VERY time-consuming. I think that the new idea of the "challenges" went over pretty well, at least I think. They are definitely a good way of getting stars though. The only complaint I have is that there are no difficulty achievements. That would raise the TA score for this game dramatically. It's a little disappointing to know that people playing on Beginner can get all the achievements or at least a good majority of them. The DLC out for this game is definitely not disappointing though. Lots of good ones out there. Not as many as Rockband, but definitely quite a few.

    Multiplayer
    Guitar Hero 5 has a way better online experience than the previous Guitar Hero games. There are quite a few online game modes:

    Band vs Band
    Pro Face-off
    Team Pro Face-off
    Momentum
    Team Momentum
    Streakers
    Team Streakers
    Do or Die
    Team Do or Die
    Elimination
    Team Elimination
    Perfectionist
    Team Perfectionist

    There's an achievment for testing all of those out, however, it's said to be quite buggy, but I didn't really have a problem with it at all...

    MOST OF ALL, I loved how they allowed more than one person to play a certain instrument. I hated how in previous games if someone got to play guitar then I would be forced to play bass. I'm not a fan of playing bass (simply because it's too easy & I would like a challenge), but on this game if someone's already playing guitar, then you can as well. I though that was very neat.

    Graphics
    Ahh, one of the best parts of the game. I'm not a person that plays games just for graphics, but I was especially impressed with the quality graphics that Guitar Hero 5 has to offer. They are definitely the best on any music game that I have played thus far. & thankfully there are no annoying notifications of getting x-number note streak. The gems and note highway are beautiful! Graphics definitely do not dissapoint at all!

    Achievement Whore Score (4/5)
    Out of all the previous Guitar Heroes out there, this one has some of the easiest achievements. These are WAAAAYYY easier than Guitar Hero 3, and Guitar Hero World Tour's, even though Guitar Hero 3 is my favorite Guitar Hero out there, some of them don't stack, and it just has some annoying co-op achievements that are not obtainable in any online co-op way.cry

    Now Guitar Hero 5's achievements aren't too bad. It doesn't ask you to five star every song on the Expert difficulty (I kinda wish it did just for a little added challenge.) It never said to WIN 500 ranked online matches, or to earn $1,000,000 in Career. A majority of the achievements are quick and easy. The band achievements can be a little frustrating, but they're not too difficult. The Career/Quickplay achievements should be extremely easy, some such as "Star Cluster" worth a whopping 100 G are VERY VERY VERY time consuming, but certainly not difficult at all. Some may requite a little boosting, but nothing major, such as playing a song with 4 drummers, singers, etc.

    I FC'd my first song with my avatar and I unlocked 6 achievements on my first song. Definitely makes you feel good. I still haven't figured out why the TA ratio for this game is as high as it is, but I'm not complaining. headspin

    Replayability (5/5)
    Just like every music game out there, there is TONS of replayability. I still play every music game I have. It's fun to play good songs over and over, plus tons of DLC make the game much more innovative. Definitely a game that you can play for a long time!smile

    Overall (4.5/5)
    4.5 rounds to 5, so it's all good. I just wish it had a little more challenge, but it's not a terrible game at all.

    musicdance
    4.0
  • Gar0000Gar000011,951
    27 Sep 2009
    2 6 1
    Honestly, GH 5 is the greatest GH game in the franchise. The hammer-ons and pull-offs are so much smoother if I can say that. They can easily be compared to GH 3. The career has a new challenge system, 1* gold, 2* platinum, 3* diamond. The challenges are for all instruments, some guitar, some bass, some drums, some vocals, and of course some band. No longer will FC's go un-rewarded! You now get 6-stars for an FC. You can get up to a total 909 stars in career. There are 85 killer tracks.. I really like Demon(s)- Darkest Hour, Judith- A Perfect Circle, Done With Everything, Die For Nothing- Children of Bodom, Du Hast- Rammstein, Sweating Bullets- Megadeth, 2 Minutes to Midnight- Iron Maiden and of course Smells Like Teen Spirit- Nirvana. We got guest appearances from the late Kurt Cobain of the greatest grunge band ever, Nirvana. Matt Bellamy from Muse, Shirley Manson from Garbage, Johnny Cash, and Carlos Santana. There are a dozen new gametypes for online and even local play.. and a new Party Play, that you can leave at anytime if ya wish. You can play up to 8 of the same instrument in a song now if ya wish also. There's GH Jam, songs can be up to 9 1/2 minutes.. and have up to maybe 5000 notes total?? The make a setlist option is still in the game thank gosh. You can also import songs from World Tour or Smash Hits but it requires the passcode from either game manuel. The world tour downloadables can be transferred to GH 5 also. Lastly, Avatars are now playable characters and character customization is just as good if not a little better then World Tour and Metallica. Plus, if ya bought this yet you should get GH Van Halen free!! What's not to love about this game??
    5.0