Not just Guitar Hero 4.5

One change to the career mode is the added challenges. These challenges come in the form of band or specific instrument challenges, and encourage people to play the game differently and try out all the instruments. Rewards are given for performing the challenges on one of three levels: gold, platinum and diamond. The challenges range anywhere from getting a set amount of points as a band to up-strumming on bass a certain amount of times, to holding a 4X multiplier for a certain amount of time. I found it quite fun to attempt the challenges and will be going back to attempt to snag as many diamond trophies as possible.

The biggest changes to the game though come in the form of an all-new Party Play mode and the overhauled competitive multiplayer mode. Party Play is, as the name implies, a mode built for a casual gaming experience. Guitar Hero is a great social game but the main thing that held people back from fully enjoying it was that it had a strong competitive aspect to it. Party Play removes that competitive barrier and allows anyone, of any skill level to jump in (and out) at any time during a song on any instrument and difficulty level. You could end up having four players singing along to a certain song to having four players rocking out on four guitars to having absolutely no one playing and the game just playing itself in the background. It is a great addition and will surely be getting some use at my house during holiday gatherings.

Overhauled Competitive Mode

The other big change comes on the competitive multiplayer front. Where Party Play dumps the competitive aspects of the game, the overhauled competitive mode fully embraces it. Returning to the fold is the old stand by Pro-Face Off which pits two players against each other for an entire song. It is a fan favorite and is sure to get a lot of play. But Neversoft has added in a new mode on top of that called Rockfest that introduces five new modes of competitive play including Momentum, Streakers, Do or Die, Elimination and Perfectionist, all of which are playable in team modes as well.

Momentum has players competing for the highest score but having to deal with scaling difficulty levels depending upon how well they are playing. Streakers rewards players for generating the highest note streak. Do or Die requires players to attempt to keep themselves in the game by not missing notes, if you miss three notes you will lose a chance at a point and have to play catch up. Elimination has players compete for the highest score with the lowest scoring competitor getting eliminated from the song as it progresses until only one remains. And Perfectionist is pretty self explanatory, where players will compete for perfection over a series of notes. I personally found all of the new competitive games a blast to play solo (against other individual players) and even more fun as part of a team.