By Cody Webb

By now, everyone knows that Guitar Hero tends to release games on a monthly basis versus the yearly basis we see from other series. With each “new” game, it seems like Activision and Neversoft only made small improvements, mostly just adding in new character models, stages and songs. Finally they’ve released the next main game in the series: Guitar Hero 5, and they improved enough things to make this the definite buy of this year’s GH haul.

Let’s get the basic stuff out of the way. GH5 is available on the Xbox 360, PS3, Wii and PS2. New Guitar Hero means new instruments which have some improvements over the old models, but don’t necessarily need to be bought. If your current kit works, you’re set, no upgrade needed. This game is rated T for Teen; and any of your old downloaded tracks will work with this one.

The biggest and most obvious upgrade from previous Guitar Hero’s would be GH5’s completely revamped style. The character models have ditched the over-exaggerated look that was in the other games and have adopted a more realistic and toned-down look. It’s definitely an improvement and the upgraded animations really help to bring your rockers to life.

Speaking of your rockers, creating your very own rocker persona is now more customizable than ever. You can change just about everything about your avatar, leading to some interesting and unique musicians. I’ve even seen a ninja rock out a guitar solo, which goes to show just how much GH5 offers in terms of appearances and outfits. Best of all, your character shares the realistic look that the prefab characters have!

Gameplay has undergone a few changes when it comes to bandplay and game modes. When playing with friends, each player gets their own “Star Power” meter instead of sharing it as in the previous entries. There are now “Band Moments,” which task the players to perform a section of the song perfectly in order to win rewards like a score multiplier or amusing visual effects. Reviving fallen band members has changed as well, getting rid of the “three strikes you’re out” mechanic and instead using one where the still-alive bandmates must perform well to revive their friend. Failing this, the song will end and everyone will lose, so try to keep on your toes, rockers!

This leads us to the second biggest improvement in GH5: Party Play. Once players start this mode, it will randomly play any available songs until you turn the mode off. Anyone can play any instrument, as in: you can have four people on guitars, two drummers, a bassist and guitarist, and so on. You can even have no one playing at all! The songs will continue to play even if no one is playing, or even if you’re paused.

Players can drop in and out of this mode at will, change difficulty and instruments on the fly, and even just leave it be to have a jukebox of sorts. It’s a virtual concert that plays even if you don’t. Activision may have invented the perfect game mode for parties, so expect this mode to be adopted into future music games and to possibly become a mainstay of the rhythm game genre.

Also available in GH5 are the expected modes, like Career and Quickplay, along with their competitive modes. Quickplay, as in World Tour, has all of the songs unlocked from the start, which allows gamers to jump right into the diverse songlist that is in this game. Career has changed a little bit, keeping the Career structure of Metallica (where you unlock more venues by doing good in the ones before), but has added in Challenges in each song. These can be anything from holding a “Star Power” streak for a set amount of time or from hitting a certain streak of notes.

It’s impressive to see how Activision and Neversoft improved the fifth entry, and I hope they put this much work into their next game. I’ll give this game an A, and two devil horns straight up. If you’re unsure which GH game to buy this year, make it this one, it’s certainly the best of the crop.

Cody Webb, a 2008 graduate of Suwannee High School, lives in Live Oak.