Another Level of Guitar Hero Live

This is... some really awkward FMV.

I don't know man, the FMV looks super lame.

Maybe it was cheaper to do the FMV or something. I can't think of another reason someone thought that was OK.

Does your character have drug withdrawal shakes?

This looks lame and stupid in a way I can get behind. If it wasn't a 100$ investment I would be all over how stupid this is.

Would be better if they stuck a go pro on the actual guitarists

this looks as cheap and pandering and lame as that intel kinect game. like they think all the players are little children who are gonna lap this up and think "i'm really in a band!!!"

That was cringe-worthy. I approve.

It's actually pretty cool how they are adjusting the audio mix of the song as you move around the stage. Nice detail.

On paper, it's the dream that they always had: make you feel like you are the guitar hero.

In practice, oh my god that looks terrible.

But you're right, it is way cheaper, and given that the business model on these games basically collapsed last go-round, it probably makes sense that Activision isn't willing to invest a bunch of money again just yet. I'd assume they heard whispers that Harmonix was starting to develop Rock Band 4 and said "fine fuck it ugh."

I've been playing the real thing since 1994 and even i think rock music is dead.

People just don't want to hear guitars anymore

woof.

I still hate the presentation but I'm getting more and more intrigued by the actual gameplay. It lends itself farther towards actually playing the guitar and with more realistic charts with the top and bottom frets. If they had put it into a different game I'd be a lot more inclined to play it, but having to put up with that weird FMV stuff... I'm not so sure about.

@harrysound: there's a lot of great rock music still out there, just not on the radio

This looks absolutely awful. It's missing all of the flair of the old Guitar Hero games and now looks like a budget Kinect game..

I disagree. I think this looks rad as shit, and I'm way more interested in this than another of the old games. The massive audience when they come out on stage is way more impressive than anything they've done in the past to present scale. And the way the controller works seems slightly closer to a real guitar, slightly less like a Fisher Price toy, and just as intuitive.

I'm in. That looks dumb but I am ready to play another one of those games.

I had a blast with them before.

That band really doesn't need three guitars.

@hatking: The audience is really cool, but they just have that classic FMV "everybody has to convey acting visually" thing that looks really weird and awkward. Then the long videos before you get into the song proper. Then having people walk up to you as you play. It just seems distracting to me. Somebody else nailed it in another comment when they said it looks like a budget Kinect game.

Holding off for Rock Band methinks.

Wow three notes instead of five, FMV, this is interesting.

I think this looks pretty great

I can't help but wonder how long it must have taken to do the dynamic audience and band reactions. There has to be a "Hey you're doing great" video and a "Get your Shit together" video and they edit between the two between pans.

Seriously? British band FMV for The Black Keys (from Ohio). Also so funny to see such a large band for what is largely a duo (minus their touring members).

SO DUMB

Like... I get why people are all down on the FMV, but honestly, how much did you pay attention to the models in the background outside of maybe The Beatles game?

FMV owns more FMV

Agreed

When I play these games I'm usually too busy concentrating on the fret board and not so much on the background. So it doesn't really matter to me what they put back there. With that said I do kinda like it, especially how the sound adjusts as you are moved around, but the novelty of it might wear off quickly.

I think this is a really good idea, I'm surprised I haven't seen anyone suggest this before. Looks pretty cool.

I love how dumb it is.

My Sega CD is ready.

The whole presentation looks like hot garbage but the gameplay/guitar looks interesting. At least it changes it up. But none of this will matter at all if it does not support older guitars.

@dannyhibiki: I think you mean

SO GREAT.

First-person FMV Guitar Hero is really dumb in a way I can appreciate. I hope one "venue" is you playing on the street corner for change, just watching disgusted people walk by. I want a stage where you took way too many drugs and the crowd is turning into monsters and the stage looks alive like it's going to eat you.

If they run with it (they won't) it could be awesome.

They had me at The Black Keys. Day one purchase!

This just makes me want a new DJ Hero.

@chunkydude: I don't think they can support older guitars; this game requires six buttons, stacked within three frets, and none of the old guitars had that.

@recspec: I don't know about street corners, but Keza MacDonald's preview on Kotaku mentioned pubs, bars, smaller venues and such. I could see them going all in with a Beck-esque - the anime, not the band - story, with your band progressing from small-time stuff to big festival stages.

I can stand games that the characters stare at us. I'm not really here, its just a game. You are talking to a camera. It's like an inverse of breaking of the fourth wall, whatever that is.

I can't tell, but it would be neat to see the crowd change by how well you play, and give bonuses to completing high combos, like people moshing, or someone trying to jump on stage and getting pulled off and beaten up by security guards.

My issue with the FMV is that I can't help but feel awkward looking at these people who are acting (poorly) as concert goers. I imagine it's developers, friends, and family? But the cheesy way they're prompting the player to do better... it's that kind of awkward feeling that makes me want to look away.

I'm actually impressed if the game is really doing what these videos imply. When the player was sucking and missing notes the band mates and the crowd were clearly telling you, and when the player starting a streak again, it went back to excited crowd and band. If this is real, I'd say that's very good use of the FMV.

Rocksmith 2014 is better. This is so disappointing...

"Experience first-person what it's like to be part of the douchebaggiest cover band of all time."

@kirkyx: Seedy dive bars would be pretty awesome only to see how these actors portray it. "Hey dude, we need to get the fuck out of here. Forget the free wings"

At first, I was appalled at the idea of FMV; it sounds really dumb. But after a bit of thinking, I realized, as a Rock Band fan, I need Guitar Hero to do something vastly different for it to catch my interest at all, so maybe that's what they're going for. Remember, this is a really early build. Who's to say if anything like this current FMV will be part of the release-build FMV? It could get a lot more fun and interesting.

While I can appreciate the thought and effort into making a newer experience rather than regurgitating the same old formula, I personally can't find the appeal of performing in front of a FMV audience. It just feels awkwardly hokey.

Sure it looks a bit goofy, but HOLY SHIT there is some impressive tech behind it. It looks like the crowd and band adapts seamlessly to how good or bad you are doing. The big smileyface in the crowd even frowned and turned blue when he played badly. That is cool as fuck, because they make it seem like it is just one long take, my guess would be that no playthrough is the same as the one before.

Your band mates also seem to also change their facial expression towards you depending on how well you're doing. Or am i dreaming that?

I always disliked the presentation of Guitar Hero. You'd be playing these raw songs and there would be these cheesy looking caricatures up on the screen to represent the musicians. I personally think this is the better way to go about it.