2015 marks the return of the rhythm game genre. Not all that longer ago, Rock Band 4 launched to… an OK response, while Guitar Hero Live was released two weeks after. Will this real life rendition of performing life on stage in front of real people be able to bring out the rocker in you? Most probably not, but be prepared for other things instead.

The Plastic Axe…Reborn

GH Live begins with the reinvention of the plastic guitar controller. Gone are the five coloured button setup and in its place is a new 3 x 2 button configuration on the guitar neck. For veterans of both Rock Band and Guitar Hero, this requires some brain retuning as you need to figure out where your fingers will be placed when you see black or white notes (and combos of both buttons on the same fret as well). I find this a nice breath of fresh air that, as it requires me to relearn playing the game and really simulates that same feeling of musicians using real chords.

Rocking on Live Set

The game splits into two sections: The GH Live itself and GH TV. GH Live is a journey where you rock out in venues around the world in front of an actual ‘live audience’. If you do well with the song, the crowd loves you. If you suck, then the crowd boos you and starts showing placards saying “YOU SUCK”. The idea is to provide a real representation of how it feels to perform live in front of people. However, while I find this to be a novel idea, it doesn’t actually work in practice. That intended sense of ‘failure’ doesn’t affect me, even when I’m doing badly in GH Live. I can even enjoy a cheeseburger while letting people boo at me and the band itself wondering what’s going on with me. Well, I’m enjoying a cheeseburger. That’s what’s up.

Another downside to this mode is that while you get to perform modern day hits, it’s only limited to about 42 songs. Also, the Quickplay mode that consists of those 42 songs can only be unlocked after you have completed the GH Live module. Luckily, this part of the game can be finished fast and you probably should too, or GH TV will keep you playing forever, and ever, and ever. 

Rhythm Games like never before

GHTV is what I consider to be the way to go for rhythm games. DLCs can kiss my butt goodbye. The idea behind GHTV is to provide 24-hour song streaming channels (Online only, but does not require PlayStation Plus or Xbox Live), where you get sets of songs based on 30 to 60 minute blocks all day, every day. You can select blocks such as 90s Hits and play the songs available within that channel. Don’t like the 90s? Change to another channel, or wait for the next slot that has something for Metal for your taste. The downside is that you can’t actually choose what you want to play in the block, because the song given to you is randomised. Still, randomising can be good, as it not only gives me opportunities to discover songs that I have never heard of before, there are also moments where I would go “Hey I know about that song! I wonder how it plays…” It’s a great feeling, and definitely a fun feature to have.

Additionally, you can choose to play a song on demand by spending “Plays”. Plays can be obtained by spending GH Coins that are earned while you play the game. Another way to get Plays is to purchase using real currency. However, I would can say that once the addiction to GHTV sets in, you’ll realise that there’s hardly a need to spend real money for those Plays. In fact, you might as well save them for more premium shows or songs like live concerts by your favourite bands. Wanted to experience the Avenged Sevenfold’s Download and play songs from their Nightmare album? Just earn your Plays. GHTV is also set to bring in more and more songs into the game for players, and will be consistently recommending new songs.

Rhythm Games Live Again

Looking at the game as a whole, I can definitely do without the GH Live component. At the least, it needs a lot more improvements to be good. As for GHTV, I believe that this is what Rhythm Games need to do for the future. The fact that GHTV will get consistent updates that include new music is fantastic and it’ll be fun to spend time discovering them all. Take care not to get too addicted and pace yourself though, because regular new content will be sucking up a lot of your time.

Publisher: Activision
Developer: Freestyle Games
Platform Chosen: PlayStation 4
Release Date: October 20, 2015
Genre: Rhythm Game

Player(s): Single and Multiplayer
Verdict: This is how you Rock.
Score: 9/10

Byline: Review provided by Kyo’s Game Mart using a retail copy of the game.
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