The Guitar Hero series was once pumping out two or three games a year, but not anymore. This year’s sole release, “”Warriors of Rock,”” debuted this fall, but is it any good? It’s a tricky question, but the answer is still yes.

What makes the question tricky is the fact that Activision is holding fast to its tried and true formula, as there are few new gameplay mechanics or instruments. Their innovations come in the form of its new campaign, and while it was good, it could have been far better.

Called “”Quest Mode,”” it is the substitute for a Career Mode and a welcome change. Not that making your way as an up-and-coming band to playing the big stage isn’t fun, but we’ve done it so many times already. This quest’s story is entirely different.

The story is that there is a monster called “”The Beast”” who was locked in combat with the demigod of Rock. Things are looking bad for the demigod though, and so it falls on the shoulders of all the playable characters to help.

Gameplay-wise, you pick a character and play through a set list, which was made based on the character’s personality and musical preference. Once you beat enough songs, a transformation occurs and you’re ready to head off to the battlefield to help the demigod. Each character also has its own unique power-ups to help you in certain ways.

The story could have been much more involved and the gameplay could have been changed so that, even though all you’re doing is playing songs, every track feels unique. It was still an enjoyable experience and a good change of pace, but it had so much untapped potential.

Besides, it’s just a different path than what was expected. As opposed to trying to teach you to play a real instrument, Guitar Hero is trying to remind you that it’s still a video game. Frankly, that makes it more accessible than its competitors, and it’ll show.

Now all Activision needs to do is spend more time polishing what it has. If Activision really commits to it, it could have something unique and exciting on its hands.

For the rest, Party Play makes a welcome return. Playing is infinitely more fun for the casual player when they can play without every failing, and being able to drop in and out of gameplay makes it easier for everyone involved.

Quickplay+ is similar to the same mode in other games, but the powers you obtain in the Quest Mode can be used here. That makes getting all of the various achievements for each song easier, which is nice.

The actual music in the game is a bit of a sticking point though. There are certainly a fair amount of good songs by accomplished bands, but this genre has really exhausted its options. With so many of these games out, how can anyone not be running out of quality music to put in?

All in all, progress is certainly being shown in the new direction of Guitar Hero’s latest game, but there’s plenty of fine-tuning to be done.