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So, you know I bought the newest Guitar Hero, World Tour, pretty much the second I got home, right? Of course I did. However I shall place my many thoughts on this new game behind a cut because I actually like you all.
So, I splurged on the whole kit because I wanted to try the drums. Turns out I really, really, really suck at drums. No, really. Once the novelty of whacking at things with sticks wore off, the frustration level just made the whole thing not fun and I pretty much haven't touched them since. The fact that I actually managed to whack myself in the face with a stick while playing (um, twice) probably didn't help. Since the odds of me using the microphone to sing anything, ever, are nil I probably could have saved a bit of money and just gone with either the game by itself or the extra guitar version. It is not a total loss though, since I have friends (no, really! I do! sometimes I even leave the house and see them!), and one or more of them may enjoy the whacking of things with sticks way more than I do, which means more options in multi-player mode.
An update I am very grateful for is that any of the instruments (guitar, bass, drums, vocals) can now be played in single-player career mode, which sort of rocks because I have discovered that I KICK ASS on bass. A lot. I'm playing on Expert mode with it, oh yes I am*. I'd be curious how this translates to the actual instruments. Is bass actually easier to play than guitar in the real world, or is this simply a quirk of Guitar Hero, or is there some kind musical theory type explanation for why I just get it more? Whatever, EXPERT BITCHES. *strikes fierce rock pose*
I'm not overly fond of the new interface (change is BAD), but I do like what they've done with the difficulty levels. They are not broken up into separate 'games' anymore where you have to pass each song on that level to unlock the others at the same difficulty, you just have to unlock it on any difficulty. So it is possible to jump down a level if a song is particularly difficult, and then jump back up for the next song. Since I sometimes have an easier time with songs that are supposed to be harder, and a hard time with songs that are supposed to be easier, this is of great use to me, and reduces the frustration level of not being able to pass one song to get to the next one a lot. And, since there are more songs in the game as a whole, the transition between the easier and more difficult songs on all levels is more gradual, allowing for more warm up as things get faster and trickier. Also, each instrument actually has a different order in the playlists tailored to that instrument...so a song that is in the lower range on guitar might be higher on bass or drums and vice versa. I find that rather cool.
The game in career mode is also now ordered by 'gigs' instead of individual songs (although once you've played a gig through, you can access the songs individually in career mode, and always in quickplay). ETA: it occurs to me that this is actually sort of the same as it is in the other versions, but it feels different because each gig has it's own poster and menu, and you only have the option of 'play entire gig' in the listed order, instead of playing any of the individual songs in that set in whatever order you like, until you've passed as it is listed, it also does not return to the menu in between individual songs in the set, but takes you directly to the next song until you have completed that gig.
But, as noted, if a particular song is too hard you can jump down (and then back up) your difficulty level on each song individually without having to change 'games'. However, if you do that you only get the cool looking skull on the poster for that gig for the lowest level you played in it, so if you want the shiny hard skull, you can't bump down to medium on any song in that set. It also only records your highest score ever on any given song, not different scores for different difficulty levels. If you are me and obsessively try and get perfects where you can, this means that as soon as you jump a level you lose your SHINY GOLD PERFECT STARS on that song, because your score will be higher. I find this tragic. How will I find validation as a person without shiny gold stars?
The new slider bar on the updated guitar is lame. I'm sure someone finds it useful and or cool, but that someone is not me. After attempting to use it a few times I started ignoring it as soon as I figured out that you could play 'slider' notes pretty much as if they were hammer ons using the regular buttons.
As always, 'songs I like the most if I were just listening to iTunes or the radio' and 'songs that are the most fun, or that I play the best' are quite often not the same. Case in point, though I have a benign indifference to Linkin Park as a thing to listen to, I got my very first perfect EVER on hard playing a Linkin Park song which endeared it to me greatly in that context, while at the same time I find myself cursing the day Eddie Van Halen was ever BORN in terms of game play. Thank goodness Jimi Hendrix is fun to play (though not particularly easy), or the tantrums would be epic. On the whole the songs are easier than Legends of Rock, though I am starting to believe Legends of Rock was a unique case created by a sadist who hates me personally (even though I CANT STAY AWAY), but more difficult than Aerosmith if you factor in the longer playlists increasing in difficulty.
Guitar 'battles' are no longer battles, as such, but head to head play where if you just manage to keep up with your opponent you move on. I am torn on this. On the one hand the battles were a bitch, and I am lazy, so I appreciate the easier way out. On the other hand there is nothing quite so satisfying as managing to throw three attacks at once in a battle with Slash and finally win and then gloat to your cats "I totally kicked Slash's ASS'
Of particular amusement when one needs a break from the actual playing, you can now design your own rocker to play with, customized from face and body shape, down to the clothing, accessories, customized instruments, and even tattoos. If you guessed that my Guitar Hero namesake now sports pinstriped trousers, Chucks, a colorful mohawk, a heart shaped guitar, and a tattoo of a rocketship on her arm...you would have guessed correctly.
I think that's it? There are probably other quirks I am forgetting to mention, and I haven't yet had a chance to play in band mode with other people yet, so I have no verdict on that. So, rock on dudes. Did I mention the random Willie Nelson? There is random Willie Nelson. I kind of love that.
*message to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
jarrow: this means that when we finally actually get to play GH together we can totally play on Expert as long as I get to play bass. WIN \o/
So, I splurged on the whole kit because I wanted to try the drums. Turns out I really, really, really suck at drums. No, really. Once the novelty of whacking at things with sticks wore off, the frustration level just made the whole thing not fun and I pretty much haven't touched them since. The fact that I actually managed to whack myself in the face with a stick while playing (um, twice) probably didn't help. Since the odds of me using the microphone to sing anything, ever, are nil I probably could have saved a bit of money and just gone with either the game by itself or the extra guitar version. It is not a total loss though, since I have friends (no, really! I do! sometimes I even leave the house and see them!), and one or more of them may enjoy the whacking of things with sticks way more than I do, which means more options in multi-player mode.
An update I am very grateful for is that any of the instruments (guitar, bass, drums, vocals) can now be played in single-player career mode, which sort of rocks because I have discovered that I KICK ASS on bass. A lot. I'm playing on Expert mode with it, oh yes I am*. I'd be curious how this translates to the actual instruments. Is bass actually easier to play than guitar in the real world, or is this simply a quirk of Guitar Hero, or is there some kind musical theory type explanation for why I just get it more? Whatever, EXPERT BITCHES. *strikes fierce rock pose*
I'm not overly fond of the new interface (change is BAD), but I do like what they've done with the difficulty levels. They are not broken up into separate 'games' anymore where you have to pass each song on that level to unlock the others at the same difficulty, you just have to unlock it on any difficulty. So it is possible to jump down a level if a song is particularly difficult, and then jump back up for the next song. Since I sometimes have an easier time with songs that are supposed to be harder, and a hard time with songs that are supposed to be easier, this is of great use to me, and reduces the frustration level of not being able to pass one song to get to the next one a lot. And, since there are more songs in the game as a whole, the transition between the easier and more difficult songs on all levels is more gradual, allowing for more warm up as things get faster and trickier. Also, each instrument actually has a different order in the playlists tailored to that instrument...so a song that is in the lower range on guitar might be higher on bass or drums and vice versa. I find that rather cool.
The game in career mode is also now ordered by 'gigs' instead of individual songs (although once you've played a gig through, you can access the songs individually in career mode, and always in quickplay). ETA: it occurs to me that this is actually sort of the same as it is in the other versions, but it feels different because each gig has it's own poster and menu, and you only have the option of 'play entire gig' in the listed order, instead of playing any of the individual songs in that set in whatever order you like, until you've passed as it is listed, it also does not return to the menu in between individual songs in the set, but takes you directly to the next song until you have completed that gig.
But, as noted, if a particular song is too hard you can jump down (and then back up) your difficulty level on each song individually without having to change 'games'. However, if you do that you only get the cool looking skull on the poster for that gig for the lowest level you played in it, so if you want the shiny hard skull, you can't bump down to medium on any song in that set. It also only records your highest score ever on any given song, not different scores for different difficulty levels. If you are me and obsessively try and get perfects where you can, this means that as soon as you jump a level you lose your SHINY GOLD PERFECT STARS on that song, because your score will be higher. I find this tragic. How will I find validation as a person without shiny gold stars?
The new slider bar on the updated guitar is lame. I'm sure someone finds it useful and or cool, but that someone is not me. After attempting to use it a few times I started ignoring it as soon as I figured out that you could play 'slider' notes pretty much as if they were hammer ons using the regular buttons.
As always, 'songs I like the most if I were just listening to iTunes or the radio' and 'songs that are the most fun, or that I play the best' are quite often not the same. Case in point, though I have a benign indifference to Linkin Park as a thing to listen to, I got my very first perfect EVER on hard playing a Linkin Park song which endeared it to me greatly in that context, while at the same time I find myself cursing the day Eddie Van Halen was ever BORN in terms of game play. Thank goodness Jimi Hendrix is fun to play (though not particularly easy), or the tantrums would be epic. On the whole the songs are easier than Legends of Rock, though I am starting to believe Legends of Rock was a unique case created by a sadist who hates me personally (even though I CANT STAY AWAY), but more difficult than Aerosmith if you factor in the longer playlists increasing in difficulty.
Guitar 'battles' are no longer battles, as such, but head to head play where if you just manage to keep up with your opponent you move on. I am torn on this. On the one hand the battles were a bitch, and I am lazy, so I appreciate the easier way out. On the other hand there is nothing quite so satisfying as managing to throw three attacks at once in a battle with Slash and finally win and then gloat to your cats "I totally kicked Slash's ASS'
Of particular amusement when one needs a break from the actual playing, you can now design your own rocker to play with, customized from face and body shape, down to the clothing, accessories, customized instruments, and even tattoos. If you guessed that my Guitar Hero namesake now sports pinstriped trousers, Chucks, a colorful mohawk, a heart shaped guitar, and a tattoo of a rocketship on her arm...you would have guessed correctly.
I think that's it? There are probably other quirks I am forgetting to mention, and I haven't yet had a chance to play in band mode with other people yet, so I have no verdict on that. So, rock on dudes. Did I mention the random Willie Nelson? There is random Willie Nelson. I kind of love that.
*message to
jarrow: this means that when we finally actually get to play GH together we can totally play on Expert as long as I get to play bass. WIN \o/