With Warriors of Rock focusing more on story, power-ups, and the like — in other words, the “game” side of “music game” — there’s not as much to talk about in terms of hands-on play. The fundamentals are, well, Guitar Hero: guitar-heavy songs with complex, challenging charts. But I did get hands-on time with the new guitar, and I’d like to share my experience there.

But first, a note about the song selection. Our demo began with Neversoft’s Brian Bright talking about the approach to the set list for Warriors of Rock: “The impetus of this game was to get back to what we thought made Guitar Hero III fucking rad,” he said. “The last couple games, I feel like we focused a little too much on variety.”

That should give you some idea of where they’re going with the set list: big, fast, guitar-heavy rock.

All that rock is focused around a story mode that, to my surprise, actually seems like it’ll be pretty entertaining. Each character gets a chapter, with a song list chosen specifically for that character; e.g., Johnny Napalm gets punk songs, Lars Umlaut gets metal, etc. Songs in quest mode aren’t scored — you just get stars based on your performance, potentially as many as 40 (!) per song once you unlock the Demi-God, who has access to all other characters’ special powers. Up to that point, each character’s individual powers will need to be used strategically, leading up to a final, three-song showdown. At that point, you’ll put a band together, choosing characters based on their special powers, ideally to shore up any deficiencies in your own playing.

It’s not a revolution for the genre or anything, but the whole thing seems entertaining, it’s well put-together, and it clearly doesn’t take itself too seriously. Plus, Gene Simmons gets really into his role as narrator — his grandiosity is amusing.

So, how does that new guitar play? I think you’ll be pleased. For my taste, Activision has struck just the right balance here between the clicky Guitar Hero standard and the mushier Rock Band style. Buttons have a firm, distinct travel, but are tight enough that the motion feels clear and unmistakable. I’m particularly pleased with the strum bar, which features the trademark Guitar Hero click, but on a slightly more subtle level. It’s more firm than either the World Tour guitar or the Rock Band guitars, but the feeling doesn’t feel so much like stronger resistance as it does greater heft and solidity.

Basically, in spite of the somewhat goofy look and the removable “wings,” this is a very solid-feeling plastic guitar; it’s clear that Activision did not skimp on the design, and that as much thought was put into playability as was put into style.

As for the game itself? Well, look: It’s Guitar Hero. There are additional multipliers and power-ups going on in the background, and the game now includes open-note sustains for bass (basically, hold the strum bar up or down EDIT: toymachine says you don’t actually need to hold the strum bar, and he would know. I guess the open sustains are just “don’t hit any other buttons” then?), but the fundamental gameplay is essentially unchanged. I don’t suspect this will disappoint many fans of the series.

But as I said on Twitter, I think the new style and re-focusing on straight-up rock and gamey elements is a very smart move. My thinking is that the increasing differentiation between the Guitar Hero and Rock Band franchises will let them coexist better; Rock Band will continue to be the game for musicians and all-around music fans, while Guitar Hero will continue to be the game for, well, gamers. Warriors of Rock looks like it might feature the most hardcore challenge for traditional five-button play in any game so far. And I suspect that’s primarily what fans of the series are looking for.