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Guitar Hero Live
PlayStation 4
Guitar Hero Lives Again
4/5 stars
Guitar Hero Live goes back to the roots of the series. It's about the guitar, not the band - no drums or keyboard or even bass here - it's you (microphone is optional) alone. Activation is probably not going to reinvent the genre, though at least they tried something new (cough "rock band" cough) rather than put a new shine on an old... boot. I liked it enough to recommend it to anyone who has enjoyed this type of game in the past.
Presentation: It's called "Live" for a reason. Sure, you still have the same kind of highway to follow and mash buttons to - but this time they put you in an actual band, in front of actual people, who will cheer or jeer based on how you play. Get a streak going, the crowd loves it - miss a few notes and they will turn on you, booing and throwing things at you while the rest of your bandmates give you the stick eye or tell you to get a grip. Hell, even the roadies join in. Yes, it can be a bit campy and cheesy at times, but it does lend a degree of "reality" to the whole plastic music simulator. And, it's fun - even when the songs go from cover to an obvious artist (Eminem, Jack White, Avril Lavigne and many others). The bands run the gamut from folk, to grrl power, heavy metal, techo, punk and more.
The other portion of the game is the TV mode. This is online, but (thankfully) does not require the Playstation Plus monthly fee to enjoy. You can spend money to unlock more content, but I found the free version to be good enough. There are two stations to choose from, every half-hour they change genres, and you can drop-in, drop-out and play along (Metal Hour, Top 40, Hair Metal, Power Ballads, Indie - etc.). In this mode you earn coins, these allow you to change your guitar highway, get your own player card (to show the world how rad you are) and, later, unlock new abilites and upgrade your guitar (higher multiplier, faster multiplier, more ability use, etc.) You are competing with other people as you play (I'm never sure if it's totally live at the same time or not) and the better your score, the more coins you get. You also get experience, which unlocks various abilities and the like, as well as bragging rights. You also earn "plays" which, much like quickplay, allows you to choose whatever song you want - these are limited, however, and you have to level up, spend coins or even actual, real money to accumulate. The live version has no story - it's essentially free play with some added benefits.
Story: The story mode essentially consists of you playing with various bands in two festivals - Rock the Block (think Lallapalooza - only in the city) and Soundial (in England!). Each mode features several bands - in order to unlock songs (and the next band) you have to complete the previous set. The song lineup is decent but not spectacular. The live action is probably more fun for people watching as I didn't connect at all while I was trying to keep up with the notes. It's better than previous iterations in my opinion, but nothing earth-shattering.
Gameplay: Guitar Hero Live changes things up in a good way. Instead of the five colored buttons, you now have two rows of six buttons (three white, three black) that (somewhat) is more akin to a true guitar. This means that you do have to learn all over again - and it was fun. I've only just begun to try the more harder difficulties, as this change truly does make you think in a different way. In the long run this minor change actually does have a big difference and while it may not save the series, I'm glad Activision took the risk to try something new. You still have can activate star power (now called hero power) though in the main game you're not even given a score - only in quickplay and TV does it keep track of a running tally. In the Live mode, you just play and must rely on the crowd to see how you're doing. Even small mistakes can dock off a star when you finish.
Replayability: Because of the multiple difficulty settings and the continued addition of new music, Guitar Hero Live is a game you could pick up anytime and play and still find something new.
Overall: While the rhythm genre may have hits its peak last generation, Guitar Hero Live keeps the spirit alive and well with plenty of content and just enough change to shake things up a bit.
Presentation: 4/5
Story: 3/5
Gameplay: 4/5
Replayability: 5/5
Overall (not an average): 4/5
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