‘Guitar Hero Live’ Preview Event and First Impressions

Last week, I got to check out a special invite-only event put on by Activision at the YouTube Space LA to preview Guitar Hero Live. While I had seen it in action at E3, this was the first time I really got to spend time with the game, as you’ll see from my less than stellar performance in the video after the jump.

When it comes to the presentation, Guitar Hero Live has absolutely stepped it up. In GH TV, you’re able to play over some of your favorite music videos for songs you already love and there is a massive library of music to select from. At the event, I was the only one to play Green Day ‘Oh Love’ but was thrilled to have the chance to. On the other side is the concert experience with GH Live where the player sees the perspective from being on stage as a member of the band and looking out at a real crowd, not just some polygonal fans.

What was also great was to get a first hands on with the new guitar controller. The original Guitar Hero changed the game, literally and figuratively, when it introduced the five fret guitar controller. Now, they have switched it up with a dual tier fret bar, with three buttons top and bottom. Incidentally, this leads to nine possible “buttons” as some chords require you to hit the top and bottom simultaneously. This leads to increasingly complex combinations but it feels way more natural for a gamer to not have their hand going up and down the neck of the guitar as the old five button layout required.

The game launches for all major consoles on October 20th.