POSTED 6/1/11


GUITAR HERO: WARRIORS OF ROCK

Activision
PS3 (also on Xbox 360, Wii)

This is not the latest review in the world, no. This is just a tribute.

Flashback to 2009 and the numerous Hero releases saw the imaginary needle we’re imagining plink past ‘11’ to ‘overkill’. Change had to come... remember the Jack Black-infused rock adventure Brütal Legend, which Activision abandoned and EA yoinked? Imagine if somebody spilled some of that in GH. Hello brand spankin’ new ‘Quest’ mode!

You still play songs on geetaw, bass, drums or voice. However, as explained by the dulcet, erm, tongue of Gene Simmons, you’re playing to unleash your character’s inner rock warrior (and gain rockin’ new abilities). It gets ugly, with punk lizards, headless we-don’t-knows with pumpkins stuck to their butts and Lars Ümlaüt literally turning into a rock pig. It’s all to free the Demigod of Rock and defeat the Beast, or summat. A warning though, you will have to play an entire suite of Rush’s futuristic prog rock opera twaddle (which feels like their entire back catalogue). Surely those guys were taking the piss, eh?!

Otherwise, it’s business as usual – including social networking connections and the wonderfully highly evolved ‘Party’ mode - with the addition of numerous challenges for each and every song, including DLC. Stuff like nailing downward strums, longest streaks and maintaining star power. Adding such life really does rock.

On the downside – and it’s bigger than the bottom Spinal Tap sang of - the song list’s myopically squinted towards fucktonnes of metal. Things start OK with the likes of Muse, Buzzcocks and The Cure, but it soon degenerates into an abject thrashfest. If that’s your bag, baby, then hello heaven. Otherwise you may wish to find a different drum to travel to the beat of...

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