Guitar Hero Live review

The millions of plastic musical instruments produced to support the original Guitar Hero series may be sitting forgotten at the back of cupboards all over the world, but that hasn't stopped Activision from resurrecting the franchise in emphatic fashion on all major consoles. Guitar Hero Live is so much more than a quick and easy sequel intent on taking advantage of rose-tinted nostalgia; it offers more complexity, an all-new live concert atmosphere and a constantly rolling TV streaming mode which gives you hundreds of real music tracks - along with videos - to play through each day.

While much has changed, a lot has stayed the same. You're still strumming a plastic guitar in time with on-screen icons, but there's an additional layer of realism thanks to the fact that the wireless instrument now has six buttons - a top row and a bottom row - which allows the game to better replicate the feel of "real" playing. Novice players will be pleased to know that the game eases you in gradually, keeping you to a single row of buttons before ramping things up and introducing finger changes and barre chords, which require you to press two buttons simultaneously.

Instead of the cartoon-style 3D characters seen in previous outings, Guitar Hero Live's career mode uses live-action concert footage filmed especially for the game. This footage reacts to how well you're playing - do well and the fans go wild as you pace around the stage, but produce too bum notes and you'll notice them becoming increasingly annoyed with your lack of talent. It's easy to spot where two pieces of footage are spliced together, but the effect is still impressive and certainly a lot more immersive that what has gone before.

However, the career mode serves as little more than an introduction to the real game, which is found in Guitar Hero TV. Billed as an interactive network of music, you can log on and play a wide range of different songs - picked from categories at random - and face off against other players. There's a constant challenge here; you're ranked alongside 10 other players (when there's no one else playing you'll compete against "ghost" data) and given a score at the end.

Earning points in this mode gives you currency which can be spent on credits that can be used to "buy" a song choice, as well as other items. It's possible to unlock access to the entire roster of songs with a daily pass that costs real money and there's the niggling feeling that you're being exploited a little by the fact that a paywall exists between you and the music you want to play, but it's perfectly possible to enjoy this mode without spending a single penny. The very fact that the song selection is out of your control encourages you to play songs you might not usually, and this means there's always a new surprise around the corner.

What Guitar Hero Live really nails is making it feel like you're playing a proper guitar more than ever. While it doesn't quite go as far as its rival Rock Band or Rocksmith (the latter being a truly hardcore guitar simulation), for casual music fans it hits the right balance between accessibility and challenge. The guitar controller is decent, too - it's a little on the small size (as were the originals) and is naturally made from plastic, but everything works and that's all that genuinely matters in this situation.

Guitar Hero Live is a great way to revive the series and is the perfect social video game, as onlookers can watch the music videos and enjoy the soundtrack while those taking part will relish the opportunity to show off their burgeoning axe skills. It does feel like Activision is holding some things back for the inevitable DLC packs, but we don't mind that too much - there's many months of entertainment to be had here.