Guitar Hero 5 Mobile: Free on Amazon Appstore

Written by Craig Will Monday, 01 August 2011 08:30

Guitar Hero has always been a franchise with a lot of buzz surrounding it. It was the first rhythm based game series to really draw mainstream attention with its super solid first two entries, though it eventually became a magnet for more negative attention and the prototype for the Activision "milk games dry and toss them" business model. 

There are several options from the title screen, but being the RPG geek I am the first thing I jumped into was the Appearance options to customize my rocker. There are two different avatars to choose from: Eddie Knox or Pandora. After selecting a character you select the instrument loadout for guitar and drums: Manta and Bonez are the only unlocked guitar and drumkit, respectively, available at the start.

After that I jumped straight into career mode where the standard setlist presented itself and begged me to play a song. After selecting 3 Doors Down's Kryptonite (I know, cliche, but I have a soft spot for that album) guitar, and Medium difficulty I was presented with a surprise screen: an option to download a higher quality mp3 file of the song popped up. I selected yes and after a 10 second wait or so for the file to download I was ready to start thrashing. [Ed Note: I also downloaded this game app today and played it on the train while heading to work. I have to enourage everyone to download the higher quality version to hear the actual song, otherwise, you get some kind of elevator muzak version.]

The gameplay is the tried and true (and bored) highway of notes and you have to touch each note as it crosses the line, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. Nothing new is added. Nothing special accomplished. This is Guitar Hero through and through. The neatest thing is the ability to switch between vertical and horizontal orientations to play in the most comfortable position (horizontal please).

After playing a song the standard ratings come up for how well it was performed as well as any ahcievements unlocked.

Love them or hate them, there is no denying that at one point in your gaming life you have picked up a plastic instrument and enjoyed playing in a fake band. That's why Guitar Hero 5 Mobile being free on the Amazon Appstore today is kind of a big deal. It's also a big deal because following the other Activision business model this game is normally outrageously priced at $7.99, so get it today for free if for no other reason than you can.