My Trials Begin

So last week was mostly spent finishing off classic adventure game Beneath a Steel Sky (free on gog.com). Overall I had to dip into the hints from UHS about half a dozen times - there are some very frustrating bits. A general hint for those who want to give it a try: if the way to proceed isn't obvious, examine everything and talk to everyone again as the game's state can change pretty subtly after solving unrelated puzzles. Oh, and show everything you can to Joey, your little robot friend. Even if it doesn't help you, he's got the best dialogue in the game.

Overall it wasn't as amazing a game as I expected, with my thoughts on what they could do in the setting outreaching the tech capabilities and genre conventions of the time ... but did I mention it was free?

Friday had me progressing in Guitar Hero's Quest mode and trying out the character's special powers in the Quickplay+. The highlight was getting the 22nd highest score for Queen's Fat Bottomed Girls :)

Fat Bottomed Girls - 22nd

Now with my disappointment in Titan Quest behind me, a friend of mine who knows I enjoyed World of Warcraft, suggested I give Aion and Guild Wars a go. Both have free demos (though Aion's is invite only for some reason) and so I signed up for both so I could do...

Report back due when the trials have expired for both games.

Review: Guitar Hero - Warriors of Rock (Xbox 360)

So my weekend was taken up with an unsuccessful attempt to beat Civ 5's emperor difficulty level; nearly finishing the first act of Titan Quest; and the highlight of the weekend - attending the final of South Africa's inter-provincial rugby tournament where my team, the Natal Sharks, kicked some serious butt.

Sharks 30 - 10 WP

Amid all that I started playing the latest incarnation of the Guitar Hero franchise, Warriors of Rock. I haven't finished it yet, but I think I've seen enough to give my thoughts on the game.

I already said in an earlier post that I'm a Guitar Hero fan, and for a fan the new stuff in Warriors of Rock almost certainly make it a worthwhile buy...

The main new feature is the Quest mode in which you play songs to power up the game's heroes to eventually save the god of rock. The hero abilities are just ways of making the song easier or higher scoring, so ultimately it's just a thin veneer over a somewhat non-linear progression through the game's songs, but the effort is appreciated compared to the poor efforts at story in previous titles.

The mode in which I spend most of my time is Quickplay mode, which has been upgraded to Quickplay+ with the addition of special challenges for all songs. Unfortunately not all songs start unlocked in Quickplay+ which is a bit of a step backwards compared to the freedom enjoyed in World Tour and GH5. The challenges themselves are the same kind as in Guitar Hero 5's career mode - get a high enough score, a long enough streak, a certain amount of alt strumming, etc. Completing songs and challenges in Quickplay+ unlocks various bits of eye candy such as new instruments or concept art.

All downloadable content and most songs from World Tour, Smash Hits/Greatest Hits and Guitar Hero 5 can be imported into Warriors of Rock. Unfortunately there's a small relicensing fee for the songs from previous games and some of the biggest songs from these games aren't relicensed and so aren't included. Some songs that I miss are Plug In Baby, Hotel California and legendary Guitar Hero song, Through the Fire and Flames.

As for the setlist included in Warriors of Rock, now that the Guitar Hero series has a pop counterpart in Band Hero, the songs are all from various rock genres. That makes me happy as that means a greater proportion of songs that I'll play to enjoy the music.

And finally, the new guitar controller looks a lot cooler than the one I have from Guitar Hero World Tour. The whammy bar's a little closer to the strum bar which may not be to everyone's liking, but makes it easier for me to whammy during shorter sustains.

New Guitar Hero controller

So it looks like mostly positive steps taken by the franchise. So why can't I wholeheartedly recommend it? Well, despite all the fluff, the basic gameplay is completely unchanged. If you don't like the rock band genre, Warriors of Rock will do nothing to change your mind; and if you only ever play casually with friends, you're basically just buying a lot more song options, so you'd better like the songs. For reference, see wikipedia for the full list of songs.

Final Score: 8 / 10 - I'll be playing it a lot because it's the latest Guitar Hero game; nothing revolutionary but solid gameplay and good songs.

Notes on my personal rating scale: They are entirely based on my personal feelings about the game - I don't rate a game on its own merits but rather how much I've enjoyed and how much time it's sucking out of my life. Strategy games will do well and shooters poorly because those are my gaming preferences.

0-4 = Poor game that I won't be bothering to play any more
5-7 = Decent game - fun enough that I'll try play it some more if I have the time
8-10 = Good game that I'll be playing a lot more or have already finished and greatly enjoyed

Rock out

Despite my previous posts, this isn't just a Civ 5 blog - I actually do play other games; it's just the new shiny one at the moment. And while I'm busy with a game now to beat King level with the Egptians, I've also found some time to enjoy some Guitar Hero with friends.

Strategy and role-playing games are my favourite game genres, but there's something about Guitar Hero that captivates me. Despite no real game modes beyond just playing though all the songs included with the game, I'll happily play the same song over and over to try and push for a high score on the Xbox leaderboards. With friends we'll just pick the songs we enjoy (and that the singer feels he can sing) and not worry about score.

My claim to Guitar Hero fame is that I have the 45th highest score in the world for REM's 'Horse to Water' :)

Anyway, the party's over - back to conquering the world...