October 1

Queens Of The Stone Age Track Pack

• “Mexicola”
• “Avon”
• “How to Handle a Rope”

October 8

Billy Squier Track Pack

• “The Stroke”
• “Everybody Wants You”
• “When She Comes To Me”

October 15

Wolfmother Track Pack

• “Pilgrim”
• “California Queen”
• “Cosmic Egg”

October 22

Classic Rock 2 Track Pack

• The J. Geils Band - “Freeze Frame”
• Peter Frampton - “Show Me The Way (Live)”
• Triumph - “Lay It On The Line”

October 29

All Hallows’ Eve Track Pack

• GWAR - “Gor Gor”
• Marilyn Manson - “Beautiful People”
• The Misfits - “Astro Zombies”

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You know when I’m down to just my socks it’s time for business, that’s why they call it business socks.

One of the best HBO comedies around, Flight of the Conchords, is coming to Rock Band. My Guitar Hero: World Tour owning soul yearns for this awesomeness. The humor in the show is a little offbeat and very musical. But if you’re into that, you’re golden.

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Guitar Hero 5 is more than just same old game, new packaging. There are enhancements that make it a worthy purchase for a true Guitar Hero fan. One of those improvements is a refurbished single player mode. In “career mode” players have more options available to them for switching instruments, say from the bass guitar to the lead vocals. A fancy new menu gives some educational insights on songs both past and present that are important in music history.

Party Play is a wonderful new improvement in Guitar Hero 5: more players. Sure to add some flair to any get-together, Party Play lets you interact with up to four players. The songs and games are flexible. Players can enter a song at any point or even leave when they need to without doing damage to the song or game. If you’re not satisfied with the difficulty level, you can actually change it mid-song. There’s no more fighting over who gets the drum set or the guitar—everyone can play the same instrument, or whatever instrument that they want to for that matter. Party Play makes Guitar Hero better at what it’s really good at—pleasing the crowds with spontaneous fun. As Brian Bright explained, “We made party play so that the game boots up into a full stage performance and then people can simply press one button and get into the game without ever stopping the music. It’s perfect for more social gaming.”

The music selection has grown by a satisfying eighty-five songs. With the diversity of genres, artists, and ages, the spread of the music gives Guitar Hero 5 a broader appeal. Twenty-five new bands join the Guitar Hero listing, along with popular new character selections like Johnny Cash, Carlos Santana, and Matt Bellamy. If you’re missing music from older Guitar Hero generations, Guitar Hero 5 makes it easy to add those to your playlist.

For Guitar Hero lovers, the game is a complete pleaser. As one reputable reviewer wrote, “Because of its astounding variety and its tried-and-true formula, finding fault with Guitar Hero 5 is pretty much an exercise in nitpicking.”

The new game is available for any platform you own: PlayStation, Xbox, and Wii. The price tag is a moderate $59.99, unless bundled with the guitar peripheral ($100).

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So I finally jumped on the $100 price slash and scored World Tour. As much as I complain about Gamestop I simply could not pass it up. Stan Bush, the 80’s rock legend from the original Transformers animated movie has offered up “The Touch” as a free downloadable track from the PS3 store. Stan even remastered the track for this free distribution. How cool is this guy? And if you argue that this song is not epic on cosmic level proportions, well then my heartfelt apologies go out for there is truly no hope for you. And if you’re a true 80’s kid that gets it then prepare for a religious experience.

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Attack! Attack! UK - “You And Me”
Bon Jovi - “You Give Love A Bad Name”
Darker My Love - “Blue Day”
The Duke Spirit - “Send A Little Love Token”
Elton John - “Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting)”
Face To Face - “Disconnected”
Garbage - “Only Happy When It Rains”
Kaiser Chiefs - “Never Miss A Beat”
Kiss - “Shout It Out Loud”
Love and Rockets - “Mirror People”
My Morning Jacket - “One Big Holiday”
Nirvana - “Lithium (Live)”
The Police - “So Lonely”
Rammstein – “Du Hast”
The Rolling Stones - “Sympathy For The Devil”
Sonic Youth - “Incinerate”
Screaming Trees - “Nearly Lost You”
Sublime - “What I Got”
The Sword - “Maiden, Mother & Crone”
Thin Lizzy - “Jailbreak”
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - “American Girl”
The White Stripes - “Blue Orchid”

Wish I didn’t dislike The White Stripes so much. Only thing worse than listening to a band you don’t like is actually playing one of their songs.

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Turns out patience paid off and the old adage “good things come to those who wait” proved true when Gamestop started their $100 off band bundle on all platforms. Leaving this happy guitar hero leaving the store with a kit priced at $89.99.

Check out the offer here while the good keeps going!

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For people that consume any and all tidbits of Guitar Hero news, well you’re in the right place. Here is the box art released by Activision. So now you know exactly what to look for once this glowing gem shimmers in a game aisle in your local store.

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Kiss
Blink-182
Iron Maiden
Wild Cherry
Muse
The White Stripes
Jimmy Eat World
Bob Dylan
Gorillaz
Beastie Boys
The Raconteurs
Coldplay
Duran Duran
Tom Petty
Nirvana
Public Enemy Featuring Zakk Wylde
Queens Of The Stone Age
The Sword
AFI
Rush
Doors Down
Smashing Pumpkins
David Bowie
Mötley Crüe
Attack! Attack!
Dire Straits
Johnny Cash
The Derek Trucks Band
Sublime
Wolfmother
Rammstein
Beck
Garbage
Billy Squier
My Morning Jacket
Kaiser Chiefs
Brand New
Santana
Bon Jovi
Weezer
Billy Idol
Elliott Smith
A Perfect Circle
Sonic Youth
Kings Of Leon
The Bronx
Queen & David Bowie
Screaming Trees
The Killers
Vampire Weekend
TV On The Radio
John Mellencamp
Scars On Broadway
The Rolling Stones
Stevie Wonder
Face to Face
Peter Frampton
No Doubt
Iggy Pop
Spacehog
Thin Lizzy
The Police
Children of Bodom
Elton John
Arctic Monkeys
Thrice
Rose Hill Drive
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
Deep Purple
Darker My Love
Jeff Beck
Love and Rockets
The Duke Spirit
Sunny Day Real Estate
King Crimson
T. Rex
Gov’t Mule
Eagles Of Death Metal
Grand Funk Railroad
Megadeth
Band Of Horses
Bush
Darkest Hour
Blur

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Found on the official Guitar Hero site, is upcoming news for the 5th installment of the Guitar Hero franchise. Assuming that World Tour was it’s 4th outing, 5 announces the premiere and return of some favorites:

Beasties Boys
Bob Dylan
Duran Duran
Gorillaz
Muse
Coldplay
Jimmy Eat World
The Raconteurs
The White Stripes

Expect this franchise to keep pumping out the sequels and milking our wallets dry with Guitar Hero 5, September 1, 2009.

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Guitar Hero, one of the biggest-hit video games of all time, is about to get bigger. Activision, the distributor of the virally popular Guitar Hero Series, plans to roll out three more Guitar Hero spin-offs this fall. They are as follows: 1) Guitar Hero 5, 2) DJ Hero, and 3) Band Hero.

Guitar Hero
All three music games are tied together with the “hero” motif, but each will be based on different genres of music. Guitar Hero 5 keeps the general theme of the Guitar Hero series, with a strong lineup of classic rock, hard rock, and indie rock. Because the game already appeals to customers who prefer that style of music, Guitar Hero 5 will help maintain that clientele, while attracting perhaps more of the indie-style music lovers. As expected, Guitar Hero 5 should boast an increased level of game control and other new perks.

Band Hero
Band Hero is a game that is on the other end of the music spectrum. This game overtly targets a family audience, beginning with its E10+ rating and continuing to its “top-40 hits” listing. The style of music is not only tamer, but the array of multi-player instrumentation lends itself well to family play. Band Hero will be a new flavored venture for Activision, and it will be interesting to see how the game is received.

DJ Hero
DJ Hero, the third game to be released, features an eclectic blend of music styles-dance, hip-hop, electronic, Motown, R&B, etc. On DJ Hero, you get to sit in the seat of a DJ. Your game controller is a turntable. Sneak peaks reveal a relatively simple controller, with a layout similar to Guitar Hero’s controller. Most exciting is the selection of music that DJs will be able to mix themselves.

News of the releases helped Activision’s share increase, adding more to a steadily-growing value.

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Zivix is cooking up a guitar controller that simulates the guitar experience even closer with their “Headliner” model wireless guitar. It’s got finger sensor technology that will allow the player to go up and down the frets and will even be compatible with Guitar Hero.

Even more interesting is their own software, JamParty, that is its own music generator. You’ll be able to create arrangements with a library of audio loops, samples and music genres. Looks like these guys are taking the Guitar Hero concept a little further easing the general public into actual musicianship and composition.

Source: BeatCrave

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The release of Pearl Jam’s Ten as downloadable for Rock Band content is a bittersweet one. Ten is one of the best albums produced in musical history. It’s also been 15 years since Pearl Jam’s released a decent album. The rhythm game war wages on as Guitar Hero gets Metallica and Rock Band gets Pearl Jam. Both of which are bands that made some of the best music at their prime but have somehow forgotten to make good material this century thus far.

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Looks like Guitar Hero lost out on this one. Rock Band and GH:WT have been in battle over musician line ups ever since the announcement of both games. In September 9th, 2009 Harmonix will release the Beatles limited edition bundle for 250 bucks. The controllers are modeled after the band members instruments. I suppose it’s suiting that Rock Band get the original Rock Band.
Hey maybe Guitar Hero should go after Elvis Presley.

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That’s a joke. At least it’s not an iphone, amiright? Just kidding again. Kinda.

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Now, rather than using a plastic guitar, the handheld version comes with a four-button “guitar grip.” You slide your left hand through the adjustable wrist strap and cradle the DS in your palm, such as you would an open book. Notes scroll downward on the left screen and you push down on the corresponding fret buttons with your fingertips. There is no strum bar, instead you use the included guitar pick-like stylus to strum across the guitar that is displayed on the right screen. It takes a bit of practice to get the strumming down but unfortunately, even when you do, at times the input is not registered. Improving your high scores using this handheld version can become quite frustrating but isn’t enough of an issue to render the game unplayable.

Guitar Hero: World Tour for Nintendo DS with fret attachment

The game begins with instructions for the player to keep his/her wrist straight, to take frequent breaks to avoid cramping, try different play styles to find one that is most comfortable for the player, and to even visit the game’s Web site “for more play comfort suggestions.” That tells me that someone was aware that the game could present physical problems for people.

There are 26 songs on the setlist. The audio quality of the songs is poor through the DS speakers and it has been recommended to use headphones, but this also highlights the low fidelity of the tracks.

It is yet to be seen what types of improvements will follow and possibly allow the user to play the game with some sort of alternate control scheme, but such an option isn’t available.

Though impressive from a technical standpoint, the limited setlist, the somewhat awkward-at-times fret attachment, and the high price tag ($50 USD) leads a Guitar Hero aficionado to decide whether the cost is worth having your favorite game…on the go.

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Here’s a screenshot of the digital representation of the righteous James Hetfield of Metallica. Death Magnetic, while not the travesty that was St. Anger, has a few noteworthy tracks that you might even enjoy better as if you consider this, “The Guitar Hero Album”. A far cry from Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets, they’re in a video game and that’s kinda cool, right?

The authenticity won’t quite be up to snuff unless the video game avatar Lars matches the douchebaggery of the real life one.

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According to VGChartz.com, Guitar Hero: World Tour appears to be gaining ground on RockBand 2.

At present, Rock Band 2 is in .69 million homes as GH:WT is in already in .45 million despite RB2’s 6 week head start,

No matter which path you choose, it looks like both are ending up winners this holiday season.

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