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Guitar Hero: Warriors Of Rock Hands-On
We all now know about the Gene Simmons narration, Johnny Napalm’s transformation into Nightcrawler, and dozens of stars per song. This preview is all about the new stuff Neversoft is showing for their latest Guitar Hero entry.
The developer started things off by introducing new character Echo Tesla, a lady who hangs out on an electrified stage. Her default power is a 5 percent star power boost for every 10-note streak. For demo purposes, she transformed into Warrior Echo after playing the Hives’ “Tick, Tick Boom.” She lays down on some kind of Frankenstein table and the demi-god of rock zaps her with lightning. After powering up, she now earns twice the star power and transforms into a leather- and chain-clad crazy person. Each of the eight total warriors of rock has their own custom band that will also transform every time the main character does. Each character has a custom genre setlist so Echo is the place to go for pop, Johnny does punk, and Lars rolls with metal. Once you’ve leveled up all the characters to the max, you free the demi-god and his legendary axe to battle the beast in a five-song setlist. Of course, the demi-god is all powerful so he can use everyone’s bonuses all at once. This is the only way you’re going to earn the new loadout of 30 to 40 stars per song. Scores are now out of the picture in quest mod;, now these stars are the one and only key to progression.
The coolest UI change we saw was subtle, but I’ve wanted this ever since the first Guitar Hero. A song progression meter has finally been implemented so you can always check how much music is left. No more thinking the song is over at a soft part only to play another five minutes!
Quick Play + is mostly similar to the advancements made in GH 5, but now there are over 30 challenges to accomplish for every song (stuff like nailing a certain amount of chords or notes in a solo). If you want to track a specific challenge, you simply highlight it and a new meter will show up in the bottom left corner to show you how close you are to accomplishing your goal.
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