Guitar Hero 5 (initially referred to as
Guitar Hero V) is a
music rhythm game and the fifth main entry in the
Guitar Hero series. The game was developed by
Neversoft and published by
Activision, and released internationally in September 2009 for the
Xbox 360,
PlayStation 2,
3 and
Wii consoles. Similar to the preceding title,
Guitar Hero World Tour,
Guitar Hero 5 is geared towards playing in a four-person band experience, including
lead and
bass guitar,
drums, and
vocals. The game is available as a standalone title, allowing players to use existing compatible instrument controllers, and as a bundle that provides these controllers.
Guitar Hero 5 adds several new features, such as drop-in/drop-out play, bands composed of any combination of available instruments, a Rockfest competitive mode consisting of several various scoring mechanisms, and both song-specific and general Challenges to unlock new avatars, clothing, and other extras in the game. Many of these changes were added to make the game a more social experience, allowing players across a range of skill levels to be able to play cooperatively and competitively against each other both locally and online.