Activision

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WIRED.co.uk is investigating the latest video games and most interesting developments at E3 2015. For more E3 coverage visit our E3 2015 hub.


One of the more curious aspects of Guitar Hero Live, Activision's reboot of its music performance franchise, is Guitar Hero TV. Announced alongside the core game but with very little revealed, we now have a much clearer idea of what the feature entails thanks to a reveal at E3 2015.

Here's the hook -- it's basically a way to test drive DLC tracks for free. The service is presented as an online broadcast channel accessed through the main game. Instead of just watching music videos though, players can join in any song currently on air and play right along. If you like the track, then you can buy it to have access to in your offline song catalogue.

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Enter the GHTV lobby and you'll be presented with a choice of themed channels, each player seeing a selection based on the types of songs you play most in the standard game. The "New Music" option will always show a selection of the latest tracks added to the game but there will also be a 24-hour schedule, filled with curated "programs" presenting a particular subgenre of rock. Tracks play to official music videos or live concert footage of the actual bands, giving fans of the artists something extra to enjoy.

However, if you miss a song you really wanted to play but don't already own, you can use virtual credits to play it immediately, rather than wait for it to show up on GHTV again. These credits have another purpose though, factoring into GHTV Premium. This adds a competitive edge to the TV side, tempting players with challenges and rewarding them with unlockable prizes.

Here's how it works: you've just set a particularly impressive new high score on your new favourite track. Unknown to you while you were playing it, that met the criteria for one of the reward tiers, which the game will then notify you of, offering to show you the remaining songs and challenges to complete. You can then choose whether to play the song there and then, using up a couple of credits, or take a look at the show listings and hazard it showing up in a genre-appropriate program.


Clear all tasks, and place highest amongst rival players, and you'll receive prizes including customised note highways, trading the monochrome black and white of Guitar Hero Live's default for more colourful or mindbending ones. The deranged cuteness of the "Pandas Love Rainbows" board and the almost Lovecraftian "Kraken" are personal favourites. Player cards, used to identify yourself in online play, and in-game upgrades can also be won.

Credits can be earned offline by playing the core game or bought using real money through microtransactions, though senior producer Tim Dunn was keen to emphasise that all of the challenges in GHTV Premium can be completed without having to spend any extra money. There are also plans for a "Party Pass", an access-all-areas bundle that can be purchased to give access to all tracks and features for a set period of time, similar to Spotify's one-off premium passes and designed for having a bunch of friends over to rock out with plastic instruments.

Even ignoring the competitive element of GHTV Premium, the chance to play purchasable songs in their entirety is a great addition to the game, and a huge improvement on buying a track only to find it's no fun for you to play. GHTV is undeniably a complex offering, not helped by the fact its benefits aren't immediately apparent. But once you've spent some time with it and gotten used to the way it presents songs and offers rewards for engagement, it reveals itself as a service of incredible potential.