Playing Guitar Hero Live In The Strangest Of Places

And so it has ended, the great summer-long festival season. With hundreds of thousands in attendance each year, they provide the perfect getaway for revellers looking to escape everyday life. This euphoric, albeit momentary, break in reality often comes with a price, though it’s one the majority of festival goers are more than willing to pay. For several nights we put ourselves up in hastily-pitched tents while depriving ourselves of sleep, nutrition, and levels of human hygiene unattainable with baby wipes alone.

For me, this was hardly a bad thing. One of the bizarre joys of going to Bestival was being able to sever the tangle of leads keeping me tied to my desk chair, poring over several flashing screens at once. However, despite putting a good distance between myself and the mainland, I couldn’t escape the omnipresent influence of video games.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnhVYQI4Q_o

Rocking up to the main stage for a quick mosie around in the sun, my attention was immediately drawn to one of Bestival’s quirkiest attractions. Next to the world’s largest disco ball and a robot the size of a house was an equally imposing guitar amp. It wasn’t until closer inspection that I saw the words ‘Guitar Hero Live’ emblazoned on the front, a steady queue beginning to form in its wake.

With time to kill between acts, my friends and I decided to join the back. It goes without saying that no one particularly enjoys queueing, but here it was even worse. As we stood there, eagerly waiting to enter the giant amp, Guitar Hero reps began to fast-track some of our fellow festival-goers. Clipboard in-hand, the reps would excitedly point into the crowd, shouting for groups to come through. Apologising profusely, they then led these queue-jumpers to a cordoned off area around the back.

It soon occurred to me that there weren’t actually any names on that clipboard. It was instead an act, and one that embodies what Guitar Hero Live is all about. Although previous instalments have allowed us to rock out to our favourite tracks, this time around the experience has been tailored for a much more personal touch.

After clocking on to this ploy, it was soon my turn to enter the play area. Inside, it was your typical demo stand, the likes of which you usually see at expos and conventions. Running on PlayStation 4, the set-up comprised of a screen, headphones, and the all-new guitar controller. Although instantly familiar, there was no ignoring the rearranged button layout. Where usually there would be five coloured buttons lined up horizontally, here there were three columns of two.

Not wanting to delay things any further, I jumped straight into The Black Keys’ Gold On The Ceiling for my first jam. Again, it all felt very familiar, yet the need to move my fingers vertically up and down added a fresh layer of complexity. On top of that, the use of first person camera footage gave Live a sense of edge and atmosphere I hadn’t felt before. Still, as the black and white notes began to cascade, I butchered the song’s intro – struggling to press the correct buttons in time.

Soon, however, I started to get the hang of things. After attempting another track on Live’s setlist, I walked away with a solid 80 percent, placing the controller back into its snug little holster. It wasn’t until I met up with my friends outside that we were regaled by one of the reps for our in-game performances. Quickly, we were ushered into the VIP area upstairs for an encore session. Plastered with makeshift band posters, it definitely gave off an authentic backstage feel, compounded by the fact we were quickly offered drinks and access to an extended demo with two bonus tracks.

Here, the reps talked us through several of the games advanced features such as singing and Guitar Hero TV. It was the latter that definitely caught my attention, providing fans with a evolving catalogue of music videos to play over when the game launches. Of course, much of this was advertising talk and already we’d heard the word “pre-order” mentioned more than a few times. Even so, after walking away, it was hard not appreciate how clever the overall experience was. On top of that, Guitar Hero Live actually feels like the proper, much-needed revision fans have been pining for since the series was put on hiatus.