Licks and Clicks

Rumours: Guitar Hero to Gain Instruments, Lose Identity

In an interview in the May issue of Conde Nast Portfolio magazine (why does news always come from the smallest, most obscure sources?), Activision CEO Bobby Kotick mentioned a new direction for the Guitar Hero franchise: rip off Rock Band.

The as-of-yet-unannounced-but-no-doubt-coming Guitar Hero IV should sport additional instruments, like say drums, and a microphone.  Whee.

So let's break this down to exactly what it'll mean for us, the gamers.  There will be two almost identical games on the market, and aside from minor graphical differences the only noteworthy difference between them will be which artist they've signed an exclusive contract with.

That's right folks... that's where we're headed.  Which game will have the exclusive agreement with your favorite band?  Activison is merging with Vivendi, which owns Universal Music Group, and you can bet that there will be deals made to keep certain bands exclusive to whatever this new version of Guitar Hero ends up being.

I don't think this is what Guitar Hero fans want.  How many Guitar Hero songs either don't feature vocals or have vocals that are damn near impossible to sing?

Leave Guitar Hero alone.  Leave it as it is, a guitar simulator.

Tournament Round-Up - Issue #003

Local teens win honors in local Guitar Hero Challenge - Jefferson County Journal - St. Peters, MO
Tyler Salinski, left, of High Ridge was runner-up in the Expert division of the recent Guitar Hero Challenge at Six Flags St. Louis.  Read the full story.

Guitar Hero fuels competition - Naperville Sun - Chicago, IL
John Roskopf's guitar playing draws a response from Damien Kulash, lead singer for the band OK Go, during a "Guitar Hero" contest at the House of Blues. Roskopf advanced to the finals after winning a contest at the ampm store at 901 N. Washington St., Naperville.  Read the full story.

Look Like a Formal Dork With a Guitar Hero Tie

Okay so maybe the title is a bit harsh, but yeah... Guitar Hero tie.  Okay.

Well maybe you think they're cool and want to wear one to your upcoming GH tournament?  Go here to order.

Win a Custom Guitar Hero Guitar for Xbox 360

Xbox.com, along with Toyota and Peavey, are holding a contest as a part of Xbox's upcoming All-Nighter gaming marathon April 26th-27th.  24 winners will receive one of these custom, life-size Peavey guitars that have been modified to play "guitar-based music video games".

To enter, all you have to do is download the "Toyota Matrix Xbox All-Nighter Registration Gamer Picture" from the Xbox LIVE Marketplace before 5:59AM Pacific Time April 27, 2008.

Xbox then wants to hear about your all night Guitar Hero session, and encourages you to send in your photos for the chance to have your crew featured on Xbox.com.  You can get all the details after the break.

Continue reading "Toyota Matrix Xbox Guitar Hero III All-Nighter"...

Cure Cancer? Nah, Study Guitar Hero Instead

Assistant Professor of Music at Brown University Kiri Miller is curious about Guitar Hero and Rock Band.

Specifically Miller, who is an ethnomusicologist, is studying the emotions that music game players feel when they play their favorite rhythm games.  She's been conducting a survey of players to determine if they feel creative or not when they play the game.  Surprisingly, 30% of those who've responded to the survey say yes, they do feel creative.  It's the 30% that fascinates Miller.

She plans to ask students to play the games in her office so she can study their reactions.  Good thing this is a college survey because if it was being done in high school there would be red flags going up all over the place.

Continue reading "Prof. listening up for Guitar Hero's meaning"...

Guitar Hero Aerosmith Bundles Ready for Pre-Order

The time that we can walk Aerosmith's way on our video game consoles rapidly approaches, and Activision has announced that Guitar Hero: Aerosmith bundles are now available for pre-order.  These are your options:

• $99 for Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii
• $89 for PS2 (wireless)
• $109 for a wired PS2 two-guitar bundle that comes with a black and silver guitar

Some of the bundle details are still a little sketchy.  For example, one site lists that the Xbox 360 version comes with a wireless guitar.  Other sites say differently.  I'll keep checking on that.

In addition to the game and guitars, each bundle comes with an Aerosmith faceplate and an Aerosmith tour book.  You can find a list of retailers who have the bundles ready to pre-order here.

First In-Game Guitar Hero Aerosmith Footage

The folks over at Gearlog got the chance to spend some hands-on time with Guitar Hero: Aerosmith and for whatever reason they sent the worst Guitar Hero player ever to cover it.  This two minute video featuring actual gameplay would only be half as long if Sweet Emotion didn't have such a long portion at the beginning where you're not playing any notes.

Again, my invitation to the event must have been swiped by my mail carrier.

Guitar Hero Aerosmith - Wii Boxart

Here's the box art for the upcoming Guitar Hero: Aerosmith game.  This artwork is for the Wii, obviously, but expect other versions to look the same.

Guitar Hero DS Impressions

Activision gave select journalists an "eyes-on" look at their new Nintendo DS title Guitar Hero: On Tour last week.  My invitation must have been lost in the mail.

Anyway, Australian site Vooks has an incredibly detailed write up about what they saw and heard at the event.  Included in the info are the first five tracks in the game:

• Ok Go – Do What You Want
• No Doubt – Spiderwebs
• Jet – Are You Gonna Be my Girl
• Blink 182 – All the Small Things
• Twisted Sister – We’re Not Gonna Take it

Vooks has a ton more information about this release after the break.

Continue reading "Guitar Hero: On Tour 'Eyes-on' Preview + New Screens"...

New Third Party Guitar Hero and Rock Band Instruments

Playstation Beyond has the news about the upcoming release of new 3rd party peripherals from The Ant Commandos for Guitar Hero and Rock Band.  Yes I wasn't sure if The Ant Commandos was an actual company or not either, but they do seem to exist.

The "Double Range Guitar" will retail for $49.99 and will be available in flame red, electric blue and jet black.  Like the Rock Band pack-in, it features the five extra solo buttons and a five-way effects switch.  There's also the "Widow Maker Bass Guitar", which sells for $59.99.

But the big news is the PS2 to PS3 Adaptor.  This should allow you to finally use your PS2 guitars on the PS3.  We can only hope this thing works.

Despite their existence, The Ant Commandos have yet to be bothered to actually update their own website with this news, so for the time being, trust in Playstation Beyond for the scoop.

Continue reading "Third-party Rock Band and Guitar Hero instruments revealed"...