Compared to World Tour, Guitar Hero 5 blows the doors off Guitar Hero's short history of full band outings. The onscreen band models look excellent and the animations, especially the singers, are unique to the point, it made me wonder if Neversoft programmed each singer individually for each song. They point toward the audience during Megadeth's "Sweating Bullets" at just the right time, in sync with the lyrics, lead and bass guitarists step up to the mic and sing harmonies on Queens of the Stone Age's "Make it Wit Chu," and the drummers never miss a beat, even when you do.
While much of it sounds like last year's model, the graphics really make this game pop, especially on a big HDTV. Gone are the dark, low-res textured band members who looked like little more than marionettes with someone in the light riggings pulling their strings. Movement is smooth, fluid and extremely convincing.
Sadly, the same can't be said of the game's guest stars Shirley Manson, Kurt Cobain, and Johnny Cash (WTF?). GH5's stock band has a cartoony, stylized look and the guest musicians just don't jive with that. They'd have been better off on the cutting room floor, as well as the option to play as your Xbox Avatar.
And what of the setlist? It's huge, and arguably one of the best in the Guitar Hero series. Being a child of the '90s, the inclusions of "Du Hast," "In the Meantime," "Ex-Girlfriend," "I Nearly Lost You," "Bullet With Butterfly Wings," "Judith," and so many others brought a huge smile to my face and are the main reasons why I'll be playing this one for a long time.
The problems with GH5 are the lack of focus in both the Career mode and setlist. Each set feels like little more than a random mash-up of songs punctuated by a sponsor challenge and guest band. Thankfully, the instrument specific challenges for each song add some spice to the otherwise dull recipe.
Guitar Hero 5 is a lot of things, but a bad game isn't one of them. Yes, you've played this before. Yes, it's not nearly as inventive The Beatles: Rock Band is supposed to be. While it may be the video game equivalent of comfort food, it's still good comfort food.
