Guitar Hero Live

Pure Xbox

Ken Barnes·Nov 2, 2015

Critic70/100

Agreement—

Guitar Hero Live's microtransactions aren't necessarily as bad as certain sections of the gaming community would have you believe and the new controller presents a fresh new challenge that Guitar Hero veterans will be hungry to take on. The offline GH Live mode is very cool, albeit short-lived, even if the on-disc track selection is lacklustre, but the real meat in the pie is GHTV. It isn't as fully-featured as we'd have expected it to be off the bat, but being able to jump in and spin through a selection from the 200+ tracks (with lots more to come, we're told) for an hour while earning rewards and upgrades is pure addiction.

Push Square

Sam Brooke·Oct 26, 2015

Critic70/100

Agreement—

Guitar Hero Live surpasses Rock Band 4 in terms of track list and replayability, but sadly lacks the party appeal that Harmonix's latest provides. Though Guitar Hero TV is an excellent addition to the series that really makes the game, the microtransactions ruin it for us. There's no kidding that Guitar Hero Live is a very fun game, it just feels like it cares more about the money than it does about the fans.

IGN

Tristan Ogilvie·Oct 25, 2015

Critic79/100

Agreement—

A redesigned controller and song streaming service headline a largely enjoyable series return.

Eurogamer

Graeme Virtue·Oct 23, 2015

Critic75/100

Agreement—

After a solid week of back-to-back shows, I've just about got to grips with Guitar Hero Live's new visual vocabulary. I…

Nintendo Life

Ben Bertoli·Oct 23, 2015

Critic80/100

Agreement—

If you own a Wii U and like to rock, Guitar Hero Live is your best bet. Not because it's the only game in town, but because it's actually a wonderfully addictive rhythm title with plenty to offer. With GH TV and a snazzy new controller players will find themselves happily diving head first into the best solo guitar experience since the series' inception. Break out the leather vest and fingerless gloves, Guitar Hero is back.

GamesRadar+

Ben Griffin·Oct 21, 2015

Critic70/100

Agreement—

Guitar Hero returns after years away from our screens. There's a new guitar peripheral, a new online TV mode and live-action crowd scenes. But with Rock Band 4 already on the scene, which one is the warm-up act and which is the headliner?

Game Informer

Matt Miller·Oct 20, 2015

Critic75/100

Agreement—

Guitar Hero Live is innovative and surprising, with a huge library of potential songs, but the game is constrained by a confusing system of in-game microtransactions.

Polygon

Griffin McElroy·Oct 20, 2015

Critic—

Agreement—

It's hard for me to mask my excitement about Guitar Hero Live, because in my opinion, there's nothing more exciting than a developer who's capable of outsmarting an entire genre's fanbase. Guitar Hero Live isn't just well-executed; it's clever and innovative in ways that no one other than FreeStyleGames ever imagined. My fears that Guitar Hero Live would be wringing blood out of the franchise's stone were unfounded; at some point, FreeStyleGames found itself a newer, better stone altogether.

Kotaku

Mike Fahey·Oct 20, 2015

Critic—

Agreement—

Guitar Hero Live is two separate games united by a single plastic guitar. One is the first game in the series to truly live up to its name. The other is

GameSpot

Scott Butterworth·Oct 20, 2015

Critic60/100

Agreement—

Embarrassing acting, questionable songs choices, and unwelcome microtransactions spoil the biggest mechanical improvement to music gaming in years.