A lone guy walks onto the stage at a recent Activision press conference. He picks up a shiny plastic guitar and suddenly the screen behind him springs to life while Tom Petty’s “Running Down a Dream” pours out of the speakers. A split-second later, a second guy strolls on stage and takes up drum duty. Then comes a bassist, and finally a singer. No, this isn’t some “two guys walk into a bar” joke in the making — this is Guitar Hero 5.
With four people joining the game at staggered times during one song, the entire on-screen performance never blinks, pauses, or hiccups. Then, with Tom Petty still blaring behind them, the ragtag onstage crew proceeds to swap instruments on the fly. The drummer suddenly becomes a bassist. The bassist tries his hand at guitar. Then, suddenly, the remaining two band members choose guitar as well. Three guitarists and one bassist? Midstream? Can do.
Yes, Guitar Hero 5 takes “pick up and play” a bit literally. The intriguing drop-in, drop-out feature will be available only in Party mode, but Career/co-op play will let you configure your band however you like. Have two friends who swear they’ll light the virtualrockin’ world on fire with their drumming? Now they can both give it a shot, provided you have enough living-room space. No one wants to brave the waters with their singing? Everyone can play guitar instead!
For the competitive Guitar Hero geeks feeling betrayed by this friendlier approach, Neversoft wants you to know: You are not forgotten. Competition is the lifeblood of GH5’s various multiplayer modes collected under the “Rock Fest” banner. One mode, Momentum, throws down the gauntlet in a four-way guitar competition, where four players battle it out to gain “momentum” by making as few mistakes as possible during a song. Flub and your score will slow; it’s almost like a racing game with guitars. Neversoft mentioned a few other multiplayer modes, too, including Streakers and Do or Die, although what they involve is TBA. As far as music, expect tracks from Kings of Leon, Arctic Monkeys, Vampire Weekend, Johnny Cash, and even Grand Funk Railroad.
It’s hard to say whether lowering the barrier and tweaking settings will attract those of you suffering from Guitar Hero fatigue, but Neversoft has been progressively kicking a little more ass with each new game. And GH5 isn’t slowing down the trend.
