It's official: the Expert Bass Drum glitch in Guitar Hero 5 will not be patched or fixed. Drummers will have to either play Hard skill or move up to the brutal Expert+ skill level if they want to avoid the game's bug.
An official post by Guitar Hero developers Neversoft on the GuitarHero.com support forum states:
by Neversoft » Fri Jan 15, 2010 11:12 pm
I have an official statement I can now post about the Expert+ drum glitch:
"Thanks for all the information on the expert+ issue. Unfortunately, it's not something that we will be patching for currently released products. However, we are currently working on solution for future Guitar Hero games."
Thanks,
Neversoft
In reality, Neversoft has actually fixed this problem several months ago, since Band Hero came out in late 2009 containing a fixed Expert skill level. Thanks to Band Hero's song importing feature, players were able to test the same songs on both GH5 and Band Hero for a back-to-back Expert drum comparison, and in every case, players agreed that songs glitched in GH5 were fixed when imported into Band Hero.
Unsurprisingly, the company's recent decision not to correct the game's malfunction has caused a furor to erupt among Expert Guitar Hero drummers.
This is not the first major Guitar Hero malfunction that Activision/Neversoft have refused to correct
Read more…
Expert drummers discover a flaw in GH5 songs with Expert+ drum charts that causes players to completely fail songs they would normally ace. 5Frets.com investigates the details and talks with Expert players offering workarounds.
Shortly after Guitar Hero 5 was released, expert drummers found themselves failing songs during passages with heavy bass pedal action for no good reason. Even in DLC songs imported from Guitar Hero World Tour, players found themselves suddenly failing songs they were able to pass with no trouble in GHWT.
The Facts: something is broken in certain Guitar Hero 5 Expert Drum Charts, and the company fixed it in Band Hero
Here are the facts that nobody disputes:
- The glitch happens only in Guitar Hero 5
- The glitch happens only on songs that have the Expert+ drum skill level
- The glitch happens only when the player is playing the Expert skill of a song that also features Expert+
- The glitch happens to both GH5 on-disc songs (see link for list of the 9 Expert+ tracks), as well as DLC and disc imports like World Tour and Smash Hits (particularly the free Metal Track Pack DLC)
- The glitch affects all platforms: Xbox 360, PS2 & PS3, and Nintendo Wii,
- The company fixed this problem in Band Hero
UPDATE: January 16th, 2010: Official statement says the GH5 expert drum glitch will not be patched or corrected
See article: Guitar Hero 5 Expert Drum Glitch Will Never Be Fixed.
The Cause of the GH5 Expert Drum Glitch
There is debate among players over what causes the glitch. Two theories are popular:
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Nintendo has evidently put an end to free DLC songs for Guitar Hero and Band Hero Wii players. 5Frets.com investigates why, by contacting Nintendo, Neversoft, and Steve Ouimette.
Over the last 5 months, 3 packs totaling 10 free DLC songs have been released. But one thing remains constant: None of them have been available free for Nintendo Wii players. Why is that?
Free Guitar Hero DLC songs have been a nice bonus for Guitar Hero players since DLC first came to Guitar Hero 3 on Xbox 360 and PS3 in 2007. I talked about most of them a few months ago in 15 Free Guitar Hero 5 & World Tour DLC Songs: Why Haven't You Downloaded These?
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Players who own both Band Hero and Guitar Hero 5 can import 69 of the 85 songs in Guitar Hero 5 into Band Hero. 5Frets.com has both song lists: which Guitar Hero 5 songs export to Band Hero, and which songs do not export.
The cost to export GH5 for PS3/360/Wii players is $6 / 480 MSP / 600 Wii Points.
For those who prefer to stick with the Guitar Hero 5 interface (and online players), you can export 61 of Band Hero's 65 songs into GH5 for $5 / 400 MSP / 500 Wii Points.
(Or if you're really a die-hard Guitar Hero fan, you can export both ways, giving you GH5's songs in Band Hero, and Band Hero's songs in GH5…)
Guitar Hero 5 Export to Band Hero Song List: 69 Tracks
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Band Hero song importing into Guitar Hero 5 for Nintendo Wii owners finally is available, and 5Frets.com has the first photos once again.
(This article is about exporting Band Hero into Guitar Hero 5. If instead, you want to import GH5 into Band Hero, check out Guitar Hero 5 Song Import to Band Hero: 69 Exportable Tracks for $6.)
Delayed 24 hours later than promised by company press releases, the song pack became available in the Guitar Hero 5 Wii Music Store's "Special Offers" section slightly after 11:00 PM CST Friday night, November 6th 2009. For Europe Wii rockers, Band Hero import won't appear in the Music Store until November 13th 2009.
61 out of the 65 Band Hero songs are available for export. (See link for the song list and the 4 songs that didn't export.)
Xbox 360 song importing has been available since Thursday as promised, while PS3 owners will be last to get it; official Guitar Hero / Neversoft statement claims PS3 Band Hero imports (USA) will be available on 11/12/09.
Read more…
Disappointed that Guitar Hero World Tour only exported 35 out of 86 tracks? If additional songs are licensed and become available for disc importing in the future, you'll have to pay another re-licensing fee for those new songs, according to official Guitar Hero Support information.
The same goes for exporting Guitar Hero Smash Hits, which only offered 21 out of 48 on-disc tracks.
The official GuitarHero.com FAQ states:
Will the Disc Import offers available now be updated in the future? Will new songs be added?
No. If new songs become available an additional import will appear in the Import Offers list. There will be a nominal re-licensing fee for any additional offers.
The $3.50 or $2.00 Disc Import Fee for GHWT/GHSH Only Covers the First 35/21 Songs, You'll Pay Again for Future Song Exports
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The DLC That Never Comes
Over a year after Metallica's thrash metal album "Death Magnetic" was released, Guitar Hero Wii players are still left with only 4 of the tracks to play. Meanwhile, Xbox 360 and PS3 players have had all 11 Death Magnetic album songs available as Guitar Hero DLC since the album's debut in September, 2008.
Why Didn't the Wii Get All 11 Death Magnetic Songs for Guitar Hero World Tour in 2008?
As usual, Guitar Hero company representatives were extremely tight-lipped when the ugly truth became apparent to angry Wii gamers that in fact, only 4 of the 11 songs would be available. Everyone wanted to know the reason why, but the company wouldn't talk. A few months later, Neversoft posted an official statement on the GuitarHero.com Community Forums:
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A 3 song demo of Band Hero for Xbox Live is now available. The demo features Party Play mode and the new Sing-Along karaoke mode. You can play:
- Finger Eleven "Paralyzer"
- Katrina & The Waves "Walking on Sunshine"
- Taylor Swift "Picture to Burn"
3 songs not enough? Check out the full 65 track Band Hero song list.
Wondering What is the Difference Between Band Hero and Guitar Hero?
Band Hero DS Setlist Not the Same as Band Hero For Consoles
While the Band Hero console setlist is pop and family oriented, the 30 track Band Hero DS setlist has a wider appeal along the lines of Guitar Hero World Tour and Guitar Hero 5's setlists:
Read more…
Activision could have been more specific by calling it Family Hero or Pop Hero but instead named it "Band Hero", resulting in confused gamers wondering why Guitar Hero World Tour wasn't called Band Hero, since it was the first GH game to feature full band support.
There Are Two Distinct Versions of Band Hero – Console (Xbox/PS2/3/Wii), and Nintendo DS
Band Hero for the console systems has virtually identical features and functionality as we examined at length in the 5Frets.com Guitar Hero 5 review. Basically, it is Guitar Hero 5 but Rated "E" instead of Teen/14, and focusing on pop songs targeted at the casual gamer and families. You won't find any screaming death metal songs in this game whatsoever, instead you'll see pop icons like Fall Out Boy, Spice Girls, Hilary Duff, OK Go, and The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. (Check out the Band Hero Song List: 65 Tracks for Xbox 360, PS2, PS3, Wii.)
The graphics have been re-themed to feature a lot of bright, colorful venues like a shopping mall or a concert stage loaded with neon colors.
Band Hero DS is More Like Guitar Hero World Tour For Nintendo DS
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