When Guitar Hero first burst onto the scene in 2005, the music landscape was vastly different. Before streaming giants like Spotify and the ubiquitous iPhone, owning music meant physical albums or digital downloads. Guitar Hero tapped into a desire to interact with music in a new, exciting way. Guitar Hero Live, released a decade later, reflected the seismic shift in music consumption, embracing the streaming era with its innovative GHTV mode. This iteration moved away from simply owning songs, instead offering an experience akin to curated music channels, providing endless streams of diverse music. While initial versions had some technical bumps, Guitar Hero Live presented a compelling evolution for rhythm games, highlighted by a redesigned guitar controller and a sprawling, eclectic song library.
The Revolutionized Guitar Controller
One of the most striking changes in Guitar Hero Live is the completely redesigned guitar controller. Departing from the familiar linear five-button layout, the new controller features two rows of three buttons. This may initially challenge Guitar Hero veterans, requiring an adjustment to a new fingering style. However, this innovative design ultimately enhances the experience, creating a sensation closer to playing a real guitar, demanding chord-like finger placements. While the concept is brilliant, the initial build quality of these controllers faced scrutiny. Reports of buttons sticking or even controllers arriving broken were widespread. Fortunately, Activision addressed these issues with replacements, but potential buyers should be aware of the early production concerns.
GHTV: Your Ever-Expanding Music Library
The heart of Guitar Hero Live lies within GHTV (Guitar Hero TV), which is the central mode and the core of the entire game experience. GHTV functions as a streaming music service within the game, offering themed channels that play continuously. At launch, two channels provided a rotating selection of music videos and playable songs. As players engage with GHTV, completing songs and progressing through levels, they earn “Plays.” These “Plays” act as in-game currency, allowing players to access and play any song from the extensive on-demand library. Notably, Guitar Hero Live doesn’t operate on the traditional model of song ownership. Instead, players utilize “Plays” (earned in-game or purchasable with real currency) to engage with the vast music catalog. For players seeking unlimited access, time-based passes are also available for purchase. However, through regular gameplay, earning “Plays” is readily achievable, negating the need for real-world spending, especially for players open to musical exploration.
The song library within GHTV is deliberately diverse, aiming for broad appeal. It incorporates classic Guitar Hero anthems from iconic bands like Queen and Boston, appealing to long-time fans. Simultaneously, it ventures into mainstream pop with tracks from artists like Katy Perry and Hilary Duff, and even dips into country with tunes from Luke Bryan. This eclectic mix ensures a constant stream of discovery. The focus isn’t necessarily on curating a niche playlist, but providing a wide spectrum of playable music. Crucially, the vast majority of songs are genuinely enjoyable to play, which remains the paramount aspect of any rhythm game, making GHTV a compelling platform for musical discovery and replayability.
Beyond the standard channel rotations and on-demand library, GHTV features Premium Content. This exclusive content, accessible through completing specific in-game challenges or via premium currency purchases, adds another layer to the GHTV experience. At launch, Premium Content included live performances from bands like Avenged Sevenfold and featured upcoming tracks from major artists like Queen. This dynamic approach, however, hinges on consistent future support and content updates from Activision to maintain its value and appeal over time.
Social Competition and Player Progression
A unique and engaging feature of GHTV is its integrated competitive element. Every song played, whether on a channel or on-demand, places the player in a live competition against nine other players. A real-time leaderboard on the screen’s edge dynamically displays player rankings from first to tenth, based on performance. This subtle yet effective feature injects a layer of friendly competition, encouraging players to refine their skills and strive for higher scores. Beyond experiential improvement, Guitar Hero Live incorporates a progression system. Players level up through gameplay, unlocking in-game upgrades for their guitar. These upgrades provide tangible benefits, such as increased points per note or a higher maximum score multiplier. While some purists might find these upgrades detract from pure rhythm gameplay, they provide an additional incentive to play through the song library and earn in-game currency for enhancements. Leveling up also unlocks features like a versus mode and customization options, including new note highways, further enriching the gameplay experience.
Technical Performance and “Live” Mode Shortcomings
The online streaming and connectivity inherent in GHTV, however, came with some initial technical drawbacks. During gameplay, instances of slowdown were frequent, and occasional glitches, such as disappearing music video backgrounds, occurred. These issues were more pronounced on specific console versions, with the Wii U version particularly affected. While these technical problems detracted from the otherwise smooth experience of GHTV, they were reportedly not universal across all platforms.
In contrast to the innovative GHTV, the “Live” mode, which forms the other half of Guitar Hero Live, proved to be less compelling. This mode places the player in a first-person perspective as a guitarist on stage, performing with a live-action band and crowd. The novelty lies in the reactive bandmates and crowd, whose visual responses dynamically shift based on the player’s performance – cheering for success and showing disappointment for mistakes. However, this novelty wears thin quickly. The “Live” mode primarily served as a means to unlock additional songs for GHTV. During gameplay in “Live” mode, the focus shifted away from the music itself. The emphasis on the visual spectacle of the stage environment and crowd reactions sometimes made it difficult to clearly hear the song, undermining the core rhythm game experience.
A Promising New Era for Guitar Hero
Despite the underwhelming “Live” mode and initial technical issues, Guitar Hero Live successfully delivers a refreshing and forward-thinking approach to controller-based rhythm games. The streaming model of GHTV functions exceptionally well, providing a vast and diverse music library for endless play, provided Activision maintains a consistent flow of new content. The innovative guitar controller adds a fresh challenge and a more guitar-like feel to the gameplay. Guitar Hero Live, with its GHTV focus, marks a strong and promising start to a new chapter for the Guitar Hero franchise, positioning itself as a rhythm game for the streaming generation.
