Guitar Hero 5 is the fifth main title in the Guitar Hero series of rhythm games. In the game, players use special instrument controls to simulate the playing of lead and bass guitar, drums, and vocals for numerous rock and other songs. Players are awarded points by performing specific actions on the controllers to match notes that scroll on screen that correspond with the appropriate instrument. Successfully hitting notes increases the player's scoring and performance meter, while missing too many notes will lower the performance meter and may cause the song to end prematurely. Songs can be played either by oneself, competitively with other players in several game modes, or cooperative with up to 3 other players in their own virtual band. While traditionally a four-player band can have one player on each instrument Guitar Hero 5 allows any 4-player combination of these instruments to be used, such as a band composed of four drummers. Guitar Hero 5 is also considered by its developers as an expansion of the series into more "social play", featuring modes such as Party Play that allow players to drop-in and out and change difficulty on the fly without worrying about failing out of a song or scoring points.[1]
In addition to on-disc content, Guitar Hero 5 is the first game in the series to reuse content from previous games in the series. Most of the existing downloadable content for Guitar Hero World Tour can be reused in Guitar Hero 5. For a small fee, players can import a selection of songs from Guitar Hero World Tour and Guitar Hero Smash Hits into Guitar Hero 5. Such content is incorporated into the main game modes.
Main setlist
Guitar Hero 5 features 85 songs, all based on master recordings or live performances, from 83 musicians contained on the game disc. Tracks from 30 artists represent their "music-rhythm video game debut".[2] Brian Bright, project director for the game, has called the track list "fresh", with 25% of the songs released in the last 18 months, and more than 50% from the current decade.[3] Unlike previous versions of the Guitar Hero series, where players must work through a career mode to unlock all the songs in the game, all songs in Guitar Hero 5 are unlocked and available to play in any mode from the start.[4] However, a Career mode is presented in the game, similar to Guitar Hero: Metallica, in which players attempt to acquire a number of stars from their performances in earlier venues to unlock new venues. The song order within the venues remains the same regardless if playing alone or with others and the selection of instruments. Venues are generally ordered by overall song difficulty, with songs becoming more difficult in later venues.[5]
While many of Guitar Hero 5s features was well-received by critics, they found the soundtrack to be the weakest feature of the game. The track list was cited as being "extremely diverse",[6] and shows that "careful consideration for the most part" were made on the song selections to avoid songs with short-lived appeal.[5] However, this diverseness was found to work against the game as well. Reviewers noted there would be a good chance players would find songs they liked, but at the same time, would also find songs they loathed.[7] Erik Brudvig of IGN noted that while "the goal was to include a bit of everything", the diverseness of the track list is to "ensure that nobody will like everything on the disc".[8] The soundtrack's diverseness also had an impact on the Career progression; while the guitar difficulty progression in the Career mode was considered strong and better than in previous games, it left the vocals and drummer progression "all over the place".[5]
The songs in Guitar Hero 5's track list are listed below, including the year of the song's recording, song title, artist, and venue where the song appears in the Career progression.[9] ! style="background:#ddddee;" width=70 | Year || style="background:#ddddee;" width=300 | Song !! style="background:#ddddee;" width = 300 | Artist !! style="background:#ddddee;" width = 300 | Band Gig |- | 1984 || "2 Minutes to Midnight" || Iron Maiden || 12. The Golden Gate |- | 1973 || "20th Century Boy" || T.Rex || 08. Neon Oasis |- | 1969 || "21st Century Schizoid Man" || King Crimson || 14. Hypersphere |- | 2008 || "A-Punk" || Vampire Weekend || 08. Neon Oasis |- | 1967 || "All Along the Watchtower" || Bob Dylan || 01. The 13th Rail |- | 2006 || "All the Pretty Faces" || The Killers || 07. Guitarhenge |- | 1976 || "American Girl" || Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers || 12. The Golden Gate |- | 2009 || "Back Round" || Wolfmother || 11. Cairo Bazaar |- | 2001 || "Bleed American" || Jimmy Eat World || 06. The Aqueduct |- | 2008 || "Blue Day" || Darker My Love || 02. Club Boson |- | 2005 || "Blue Orchid" || The White Stripes || 02. Club Boson |- | 2007 || "Brianstorm" || Arctic Monkeys || 12. The Golden Gate |- | 2009 || "Bring the Noise 20XX" || Public Enemy featuring Zakk Wylde || 08. Neon Oasis |- | 1995 || "Bullet with Butterfly Wings" || The Smashing Pumpkins || 09. Electric Honky Tonk |- | 2007 || "Cigarettes, Wedding Bands" || Band of Horses || 03. Sideshow |- | 1994 || "Comedown" || Bush || 04. Angel's Crypt |- | 1982 || "Dancing with Myself" || Billy Idol || 04. Angel's Crypt |- | 2002 || "Deadbolt" || Thrice || 12. The Golden Gate |- | 2007 || "Demon(s)" || Darkest Hour || 13. Fjord The Swords |- | 1995 || "Disconnected" || Face to Face || 09. Electric Honky Tonk |- | 2008 || "Done with Everything, Die for Nothing" || Children of Bodom || 13. Fjord The Swords |- | 1976 || "Do You Feel Like We Do?" (Live) || Peter Frampton || 13. Fjord The Swords |- | 1997 || "Du Hast" || Rammstein || 08. Neon Oasis |- | 2000 || "Ex-Girlfriend" || No Doubt || 03. Sideshow |- | 1975 || "Fame" || David Bowie || 03. Sideshow |- | 2005 || "Feel Good Inc." || Gorillaz || 01. The 13th Rail |- | 2008 || "Gamma Ray" || Beck || 01. The 13th Rail |- | 1992 || "Gratitude" || Beastie Boys || 02. Club Boson |- | 1982 || "Hungry Like the Wolf" || Duran Duran || 06. The Aqueduct |- | 1982 || "Hurts So Good" || John Mellencamp || 02. Club Boson
Importable content
At the game's release, 35 of the songs from World Tour and 21 from Smash Hits were importable into Guitar Hero 5 for a small fee (approximately $0.10 per song), and are treated as downloadable content for the game; the World Tour export was available on release, while the Smash Hits export was available a few days afterwards.[10][11][12][13] All transferred songs will also work in the upcoming Band Hero.[10] However, Guitar Hero 5 is not backwards-compatible with World Tour.[14] The transfer process requires the player to enter a unique code from the World Tour or Smash Hits manual to access the ability to redownload all available songs as a pack (on the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3) or individual songs (on the Wii) that have been updated to include the new features. Players on the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 can delete individual songs after downloading the pack.[15][16] The songs that are not transferable are due to licensing issues, and are not due to technical issues, according to Director Brian Bright.[17] Tim Riley, head of music licensing at Activision, stated that they will continue to seek licenses for more songs from previous games and downloadable content to be exported into Guitar Hero 5, but cannot guarantee that these songs will be licensed for future Guitar Hero games.[10] While reviews appreciated Activision's efforts to allow the importing of songs from previous games,[8] the small amount of tracks that were available at launch felt at odds with the impression that Activision had made of the process prior to the game's release.[5][18]
Downloadable content
Guitar Hero 5 supports additional downloadable content, with the first songs made available shortly after the game's release. In addition, 152 of the current 158 downloadable songs for Guitar Hero World Tour are forward-compatible with Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero; the existing content is automatically upgraded to include all features new to these games.[19][2][10]
| Song title | Artist | Pack name | Release date |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Prodigal Son" (Live 1969) | The Rolling Stones | The Rolling Stones Live Track Pack[20] | Sept. 3, 2009 |
| "You Gotta Move" (Live 1969) | The Rolling Stones | The Rolling Stones Live Track Pack | Sept. 3, 2009 |
| "Under My Thumb" (Live 1969) | The Rolling Stones | The Rolling Stones Live Track Pack | Sept. 3, 2009 |
| "I'm Free" (Live 1969) | The Rolling Stones | The Rolling Stones Live Track Pack | Sept. 3, 2009 |
| "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" (Live 1969) | The Rolling Stones | The Rolling Stones Live Track Pack | Sept. 3, 2009 |
| "100 Little Curses" | Street Sweeper Social Club | Street Sweeper Social Club Track Pack[21] | Sept. 10, 2009 |
| "Fight! Smash! Win!" | Street Sweeper Social Club | Street Sweeper Social Club Track Pack | Sept. 10, 2009 |
| "Somewhere in the World It's Midnight" | Street Sweeper Social Club | Street Sweeper Social Club Track Pack | Sept. 10, 2009 |
| "Beautiful Thieves" | AFI | AFI Track Pack[21] | Sept. 17, 2009 |
| "Girl's Not Grey" | AFI | AFI Track Pack | Sept. 17, 2009 |
| "The Missing Frame" | AFI | AFI Track Pack | Sept. 17, 2009 |
| "Munich" | Editors | Single | Sept. 24, 2009 |
| "The Geeks Were Right" | The Faint | Single | Sept. 24, 2009 |
| "Dull Life" | Yeah Yeah Yeahs | Single | Sept. 24, 2009 |
References
- ↑ Guttridge, Luke (2009-06-02). "Guitar Hero 5 Preview". Play.tm. http://play.tm/preview/24927/guitar-hero-5/. Retrieved on 2009-09-05.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Faylor, Chris (2009-05-15). "First Guitar Hero 5 Songs Include Johnny Cash; Compatibility with GH World Tour DLC Confirmed". Shacknews. http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/58645. Retrieved on 2009-05-15.
- ↑ Snider, Mike (2009-05-15). "New party modes arriving for 'Guitar Hero' encore". USA Today. http://content.usatoday.com/communities/gamehunters/post/2009/05/66795165/1?csp=34. Retrieved on 2009-05-15.
- ↑ Quillen, Dustin (2009-05-15). "First Guitar Hero 5 Details Revealed". Joystiq. http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3174244. Retrieved on 2009-05-15.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Gies, Arthur (2009-09-01). "The Consensus: Guitar Hero 5 Review". GameSpy. http://xbox360.gamespy.com/xbox-360/guitar-hero-5/1020505p1.html. Retrieved on 2009-09-02.
- ↑ Helgeson, Matt (2009-09-01). "Guitar Hero 5". Game Informer. http://gameinformer.com/NR/exeres/F967452F-7E20-402E-B9CF-DD70624AC24F.htm. Retrieved on 2009-09-02.
- ↑ Haywald, Justin (2009-09-01). "Guitar Hero 5 (Xbox 360)". 1UP.com. http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3175867&p=4. Retrieved on 2009-09-02.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Brudvig, Erik (2009-09-01). "Guitar Hero 5 Review". IGN. http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/102/1020394p1.html. Retrieved on 2009-09-02.
- ↑ Brudvig, Erik (2009-07-08). "Guitar Hero 5 Official Track List". IGN. http://au.xbox360.ign.com/articles/100/1002273p1.html. Retrieved on 2009-07-09.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Brudvig, Erik (2009-08-07). "Guitar Hero 5 Hands-on". IGN. http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/101/1011988p1.html. Retrieved on 2009-08-07.
- ↑ Snider, Mike (2009-09-01). "'Guitar Hero' rocks on". USA Today. http://content.usatoday.com/communities/gamehunters/post/2009/08/guitar-hero-rocks-on/1. Retrieved on 2009-09-01.
- ↑ "Which songs are available for import into Guitar Hero 5?". Activision. http://guitarhero.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/guitarhero.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=24672&p_created=1251305800&p_sid=sg1eGSGj&p_accessibility=0&p_redirect=&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPTEmcF9zb3J0X2J5PSZwX2dyaWRzb3J0PSZwX3Jvd19jbnQ9MTMsMTMmcF9wcm9kcz0wJnBfY2F0cz0mcF9wdj0mcF9jdj0mcF9zZWFyY2hfdHlwZT1hbnN3ZXJzLnNlYXJjaF9ubCZwX3BhZ2U9MSZwX3NlYXJjaF90ZXh0PWltcG9ydA!!&p_li=&p_topview=1. Retrieved on 2009-09-02.
- ↑ "Smash Hits Songs Now Available to Import onto your console!". Neversoft. 2009-09-03. http://hub.guitarhero.com/community/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=1395. Retrieved on 2009-09-5.
- ↑ Chester, Nick (2009-08-22). "Guitar Hero 5 DLC won't be compatible with Guitar Hero World". Destructoid. http://www.destructoid.com/guitar-hero-5-dlc-won-t-be-compatible-with-guitar-hero-world-145383.phtml. Retrieved on 2009-08-22.
- ↑ Nelson, Randy (2009-08-10). "More on Guitar Hero 5 song import, DLC support (Band Hero will do it, too)". Joystiq. http://www.joystiq.com/2009/08/10/more-on-guitar-hero-5-song-import-dlc-support-band-hero-will-d/. Retrieved on 2009-08-10.
- ↑ Nelson, Randy (2009-08-11). "Activision clarifies Guitar Hero 5 song importing process". Joystiq. http://www.joystiq.com/2009/08/11/activision-clarifies-guitar-hero-5-song-importing-process/. Retrieved on 2009-08-11.
- ↑ Faylor, Chris (2009-06-11). "More Guitar Hero 5 Songs Revealed 'Under Pressure'". Shacknews. http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/59111. Retrieved on 2009-06-11.
- ↑ Waters, Chris (2009-09-02). "Guitar Hero 5 Review". Gamespot. http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/puzzle/guitarhero5/review.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=gssummary&tag=summary;read-review. Retrieved on 2009-09-03.
- ↑ "Guitar Hero 5 Official Press Release!". Neversoft. 2009-05-18. http://community.guitarhero.com/news_posts/214. Retrieved on 2009-05-18.
- ↑ Faylor, Chris (2009-08-19). "First Guitar Hero 5 DLC Brings More Rolling Stones". Shacknews. http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/60073. Retrieved on 2009-08-19.
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 Faylor, Chris (2009-09-02). "Guitar Hero 5 DLC Palooza: September Schedule, Smash Hits Imports Listed". Shacknews. http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/60298. Retrieved on 2009-09-02.