Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock E3 2010 Preview

QUICKTAKE: It still comes down to rocking out on the instruments but the new Guitar Hero feels more like a videogame than ever before with challenges beyond just following along with the music and a rock opera quest mode.

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With the competition staking a firm claim to the serious musician side of the music games, Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock might be on to something going for a more videogame approach. Hearing it described the quest mode usually gets a response of a snicker or someone briefly throwing up the horns before sheepishly backing down. Narrated by Kiss front man Gene Simmons, the story tasks players with helping each character in the game evolve to a powerful hero version of themselves, seek out the legendary axe (yes, as in guitar), and take down the demonic beast destroyer of rock.

Yes, it's completely clichéd, but it gives the game progression a nice framework. Where in prior versions the sets were about playing in the venues and included a variety of songs, each stage of the game now relates to helping the character being played get to their hero form. So the songs will all come from the genre of music associated with the character being played, with the climactic encore song being the key to unlock their powered-up form.

And as the story setup indicates, expect to mostly see rockers on the roster. With names like Soundgarden, Black Sabbath, Kiss, Tesla, Nine Inch Nails, and the like dominating the list it's clear where they're headed. And if it weren't, the final boss battle features a brand new song titled "Sudden Death" by Megadeth guitarist Dave Mustaine; and he's already redone it a couple time to make it more challenging. For the game that's name still reflects its start as a guitar game, the lineup sounds like a return to form.

There's still ample room to play the songs with your friends outside of the quest mode. Most of the over 90 songs that will ship with the game will be unlocked from the beginning for party play. They've also made upgrades to the quick play mode to expand on the challenges introduced in the last game. Each song will have 13 specific challenges, based on the instruments prominently featured in the arrangement, drawn from around 30 or so overall challenge types. And pulling a cue from music services, the playlist will include a recommendation engine based on your play habits. It probably won't have the broad appeal of Rock Band, but for its fans, Warriors of Rock looks like a hard rock reunion tour for Guitar Hero.