"Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock," the sixth main series "Guitar Hero" game came at a time when plastic instrument games were running on fumes. 2009 saw the release of way too many games between the "Guitar Hero" and "Rock Band" franchises, to the point where sales were declining and interest was gone. By the time of this game's release, only "Green Day: Rock Band" had been released in 2010, and it basically made chump change for Harmonix. Being a mainline entry in "Guitar Hero," this game received a fair deal more hype, and surprisingly ended up being the final entry in the series before those plastic instrument games went on hiatus. And that's a shame, because "Warriors of Rock" was one of my personal favorite entries in the series.
In a lot of ways, "Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock" appeals best to longtime fans of the franchise: what with the metal-inspired setlist and the more challenging gameplay, it seems the game was geared more towards the hardcore fans that spent their days grinding out "Through the Fire and Flames" back in the days of "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock." For me, I'm into that: I think that the songs are insanely fun and the challenge they provide makes them rewarding to grind. And even though several of the songs are locked behind the Quest Mode, I don't mind that, as the story is wacky but still fun to explore. Plus, the addition of new powers that can be used to earn more stars on songs is pretty awesome, and it's fun to kind of break the game with these new elements. The fun multiplayer gameplay is still here and it's still great, and many of the additions to "Guitar Hero 5" are still on full display, making this a great journey.
Even though I love the game, though, I can see why some people wouldn't: in a lot of ways, this game basically caters directly to the hardcore fanbase, and as a result, casual fans might be put off by it. While it probably isn't the most difficult entry in the series, it's consistently challenging enough that casual fans might not dig it as much. Also, while it's nice having 93 songs in the game, the base setlist is kind of all over the place, and it might feel a bit unfocused to some.
Overall, though, "Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock" is among my personal favorite games in the "Guitar Hero" series, and it was a nice (if unplanned) send-off to the series. It's a shame it came out at a time when the series was basically staring death in the face, but at least they ended off on the highest note that they could. If you haven't given it a shot yet, and you aren't afraid of a bit of challenge, go ahead and give it a shot!
Final rating: 9 out of 10 "Awesome"