It's the Small Stuff that Shows you Care

That about does it for the big changes, but there are a number of little changes that were designed to enhance the overall experience, although how much those changes actually do is completely debatable. The Guitar Hero Studio has been completely overhauled and those that like to tinker with creating music in the game will probably really enjoy the upgrades. However, it is also now considerably more complicated and harder to use. Is it more powerful? I'm sure it is. Neversoft is claiming it is a full music generator comparable to professional studio software but now the barrier to entry has been increased exponentially and I am not entirely sure how many people are going to take the time to create music using it. Regardless, it is a nice bonus feature, even if most gamers will never even look at it.

The other little changes will probably pack a little more functional punch than the Guitar Hero Studio upgrade. XBOX 360 Avatars and Nintendo Mii's can be used as playable characters on their respective consoles and they fit in surprisingly well. Setlists can be created in quickplay that hold up to 128 songs, meaning that you can create your very own day long set list, providing that was something you were actually in need of. And finally, Guitar Hero 5 is the first title in the series to allow you to import songs from previous disc based games into the overall song list, something fans have been clamoring for for quite a while now. At this time Guitar Hero 5 supports the import of 35 Guitar Hero: World Tour songs and 21 Guitar Hero: Smash Hits songs for a small fee (roughly ten cents a song) as well as supporting most of the downloadable content from Guitar Hero: World Tour for free. The import for a fee is sure to spark controversy, especially considering the low amount of songs from World Tour, but at least it is a move in the right direction. Kind of.

Yeah, but what about the Music?

Guitar Hero 5 offers a strong variety of music, mixing various styles and eras of rock music. Overall there are 85 songs by 83 different artists. The artists range from classic icons like Johnny Cash, Santana, and The Rolling Stones to newer artists like Arctic Monkeys and Vampire Weekend. Its an eclectic playlist and most people will find material that they are very fond of, but the set does feel scatterbrained with no central theme to hold it in place.

Just like in Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock and Guitar Hero: World Tour, Guitar Hero 5 offers gamers the opportunity to rock out as some of music most notable superstars. Guitar Hero 5 features the digital likenesses of Johnny Cash, Carlos Santana, and Kurt Cobain (amongst others) and allows players to "step" into the shoes of these artists. Some debate has come up in regards to the likenesses of Cobain and Cash, both of whom are deceased, in regards to how Activision has handled them. In regards to how the artists are used while performing their own songs in the career mode, I would say that Guitar Hero 5 does a great job of handling the deceased and it feels tastefully done.

Unfortunately for Neversoft, the Guitar Hero franchise is always going to be critically linked to the Rock Band series and Rock Band 2 is still the crown jewel of the music genre. Nevertheless, Neversoft has forged a strong game that belongs in the upper echelon of music and rhythm games. It does enough differently from Rock Band to reestablish its own identity in the genre and when all is said and done Guitar Hero 5 is a very, very good game and should be a welcome addition on any gamer's shelf.