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Neversoft and Vicarious Visions have summoned up the gods of rock in their sixth Guitar Hero entry, Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock. Featuring the entrepreneurial Demon of KISS, a new tour mode, and some redesigned plastic instruments, we're axed up a ready to rock.

For those about to rock, we salute you, and so does 'Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock' with their most rocking Guitar Hero to date. 'Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock' returns to the glamour and lore of the rock star, the warrior, the rock god. Narrated by a true rock legend, the one they call the Demon, or 'Gene Simmons' in other circles, 'Warriors of Rock' temps you to turn your stereo up to 11 and feel the power of the plastic flowing through your hands.

Unlike previous Guitar Hero game, Warriors focus the player on the story in its 'Quest Mode' that actually feels like a videogame! I know, crazy! In the past Guitar Hero has always had its fun little artistic story that led into the music. It's wasn't a bad approach for the first five editions, but it was never that interactive, feeling more like a side-dish to the real content, the music. Well, the music is still the star of 'Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock.' However, now we have a little tale of rock-dom that brings in feeling of playing a videogame mixed in with the excitement of rocking out on your plastic instruments. You can now collect power-ups, have character exclusive bonuses and travel through the world like you're playing an adventure game. It's kind like 'Brutal Legend' without all 3rd person action.

Battle the Beast
When you kick in the 'Quest Mode' you will be tasked with releasing the 'Demigod of Rock' and his magical guitar that has been imprisoned by “The Beast.” This is done by powering up each of the classic Guitar Hero character from the series, and heading into a “boss battle” type section. Each character has a set list where you attain star points to transfigure them into their “true” form, a true warrior of rock. 'Johnny Napalm' and 'Echo' start us off with their collective set lists focusing on punk rock and newer heavy alternative tracks. When Johnny transforms he unleashes the speed freak allowing him 2x minimum multiplier that quick rises to earn extra power ups. Unlocking the Speed Freak will take you down a list of tracks like the classic Buzzcocks track “What Do I get?” all the way up to The Runaways and Soundgarden in 2010 with “Cherry Bomb” and “Black Rain.” Echo transformation allows her to get 10% SP every 10-Note Streak. Echo tracks include artists like The Hives, Linkin Park, Muse and Nine Inch Nails.

Your progress in the game is tracked in the navigation screen with a percentage being showed. Unlocking two characters only grants you 10%, so as you can see, we have a lot of game here. Progressing further you will unlock Austin Tejas who turns into a ghastly traditional character of horror, and his classic rock styled tracks along with the Guitar Hero glamourous seductress, Judy Nails and her radio-friendly rock including Canadian rockers Nickelback, The Cure, and even Queen with their opus “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

Eh hoser, It's Rush!
After you accumulate these four rockers you will be introduced to a new section of 'Warriors' where you have to "Obtain the Legendary Guitar.” This is done by playing through the entire classic Rush song "2112," complete with embellished liner notes that are narrated by Rush themselves! Very cool, if you are a fan of the band. Admittedly, this is when 'Warriors of Rock' starts to get really ridiculous, as if it wasn't corny enough already. Even with its being over-the-top and silly, 'Warriors' still accomplishes its goal of making you feel like a rock god. Demons playing RUSH, why not!? PS: Good luck Guitar Hero drummers, you'll need it on this one.

'Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock' continues this after the first, dare i say “epic” battle with more classic characters to rock out with an transform. The set-list goes even deeper, expanding to more challenging music pieces. I found it refreshing to have a goal besides unlocking other venue. Even though the content might be uber-silly and the story nothing short then anticlimactic, it is still an improvement that will give you a good run.