Ever since I played Guitar Hero 2 (which I loved) the music genre has grown stale because almost all music games are the same game with updated graphics and new songs. It is safe to say Guitar Hero Warriors of Rock broke the chain slightly by changing up the story.
In previous music-based games you try to make your way up from being an unknown musician and eventually become a legend or there just is no story whatsoever. In Warriors of Rock the Demi-God of Rock battles an ancient, evil beast, ”The Beast” and loses. It is up to multiple rockers, who each have their own special power, to save the Demi-God and Rock n’ Roll by transforming themselves into Warriors of Rock. Although the story isn’t amazing, it was more creative than previous music titles.
In addition to an updated story Warriors of Rock has a plethora of songs and includes a few new online games types. The game has 90 songs and an additional 300 downloadable songs at the release and if that isn’t enough you can import select songs from a few previous guitar hero games. There are also five new online game types that can also be played locally, a party play mode (a constant quick play in which anyone can join in or drop out) and as always a quick play and story mode. The first of the new game types is Pro-Faceoff. In this games mode the goal is simple, you battle up to 8 other players for the highest score on any given song. The next is Rockfest, this is very similar to Pro-Faceoff but each song you play has a specific rule. For example one rule may be momentum, in which the song gets harder and faster as you play more correct notes and gets slower and easier as you play fewer correct notes. Another rule you may play is perfectionist, a game rule where you receive more points for making fewer mistakes. The last three, Team Pro-Faceoff, Rockfest and Band vs. Band, are very similar. Team Pro-Faceoff is Pro-Faceoff with any combination of 2 or more instruments. Team Rockfest is Rockfest against another band. Band vs. Band is where two complete bands compete for the high score. None of the new game types are great, I would rather just play the story, but it puts a new spin on things. Along with the new game modes, you can look at a friend’s accomplishments and failures. For me, it wasn’t something that had any value of interest. Warriors of Rock may have put in some new features, but what’s the point of new features when they aren’t enjoyable?
Along with the story being repetitive in music games, so are the graphics. Unfortunately Warriors of Rock continued with the same old graphics. Although the graphics are nothing new it’s definitely quite some fun to see how creepy or awesome you can make your custom player look. I also have to say even with average graphics the cut scenes where you transform into a warrior of rock look sweet.
The music in the game is definitely not rock music at its best, as the game states it is. Granted there are some great songs there are many more songs I wouldn’t even care to listen to let alone play in a game. The main key for being successful with music in a music title is including songs people love and to me it seems like they are running out of options for great songs, so they are throwing in any rock song out there that they can get their hands on. In addition to the music is the narration of Gene Simmons. Although many people love Kiss (including myself), I don’t think Gene Simmons is a great choice because he doesn’t have a very enjoyable speaking voice.
Along with the Warriors of Rock’s false claim about being rock music at its best, it also falsely states there are literally hundreds of hours of replayablilty. The truth is you play a song a couple times and are never going to want to play it again unless it is one of your favorite songs. The story is also kind of a once and done kind of thing. After you beat the story you just put the game away until you have desire to play a little quick play with your friends, but really once you beat it you won’t be playing it nearly as much as other games.
Guitar Hero Warriors of Rock puts its own spin on music games, but it’s not enough to revolutionize music titles. It also lacks a change in graphics or replayablilty. Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock is nothing amazing, but you can definitely have some fun with it if you’re a person who loves music games.
Value: $30
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