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Joystiq Holidaze: the guitar compatibility guide
#comparechart { border: 2px solid #333; border-collapse: collapse; } #comparechart td { padding: 3px; border: 1px solid #ccc; vertical-align: top; margin: 0; line-height: 1.3em; font-size: 80%} #comparechart th { font-size: 80%; font-weight: bold; text-align: left; padding: 4px; background: #eee; } #comparechart th.x360th { font-size: 100%; border-bottom: 1px solid #333; background-color: #66FF99;} #comparechart th.mainth { font-size: 100%; border-bottom: 1px solid #333;} #comparechart th.ps3th { font-size: 100%; border-bottom: 1px solid #333; background-color: #99ccff;} #comparechart td.red { background-color: #f08c85; } #comparechart td.green { background-color: #b3e2c4; } 'Tis the season for shredding plastic guitar controllers in a virtual environment for screaming, adoring virtual fans - do you know if your plastic axe can rock with your game? Through playtests and corroboration via other sources, we have combined three handy charts (one for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and now Wii) to let you know what guitar controllers work with what games.First, the Xbox 360: Rock Band Stratocaster Yes No* No** Guitar Hero 3 Les Paul Yes Yes Yes Guitar Hero 2 Xplorer Yes Yes Yes Notes: * Can navigate menus, but during the songs the green button is stuck down, orange is red, and everything else is dead** Interestingly, the drums are recognized, so you can actually navigate menus using them, but playing songs is a no go.The PlayStation 3, however, has a much "easier" choice (after the break).
GHIII gets the Halo theme tomorrow (free)
Not a hacked version either. No, this is the real thing. Starting tomorrow, Halo fans can download the Mjolnir mix of their favorite theme song, as originally played by Steve Vai. As if that news weren't good enough, we can also confirm that the track will be free. That's 0 MS Points, no money required, zip, zilch, naught, etc. So there you have it, folks, a free Halo treat on Thanksgiving day. Pass the gravy.Now all we need is Master Chief as an unlockable rocker.
Poll: Rhythm game nation - Rock Band or Guitar Hero 3?
So last night at midnight Harmonix -- former developers of the Guitar Hero series -- and MTV's new rock and roll simulator, Rock Band, had its first ever gigs. Of course, Guitar Hero 3 fans have been shredding for weeks, and probably aren't about to sell one faux guitar for another (especially if it's not even guaranteed to work). So which are you buying (or asking for)? What's that, you want our take? Ok, well, since you asked, when the talent (Harmonix) left the Guitar Hero series, we thought the new game suffered big time. Plus we're WAY more into the tracks on Rock Band -- c'mon, they've got Bowie and The Clash! -- but we kind of think the Guitar Hero Les Paul is better than the Rock Band Fender. Vote below in the battle of the bands, and may the rockingest win. %Poll-6032%
Guitar Hero, Tony Hawk getting in-game ad treatment
Anyone who's spent even a little time rocking out to Guitar Hero III has likely noticed the game's heavy-handed approach to product placement, with stages littered with cans of Red Bull and billboards hocking everything from Axe Body Spray to Pontiac. The whole thing feels oppressive and graceless as even the game's underground rock venues are reduced to feeling like props to corporate shilling. And things are likely to get worse before they get better, as Activision today announced that it has inked a deal with Microsoft-owned Massive to provide in-game ads in not only Guitar Hero III, but Tony Hawk's Proving Ground as well. The two titles have been added to the growing Massive Network advertising collective, which also includes Activision's Transformers adaptation, and will made to include "contextually relevant" dynamic ads. Interestingly, it's unclear if this partnership extends to all versions of the affected (afflicted?) games, or just those for Microsoft's console. What is clear, however, is that as games are now a big business, more and more companies are beginning to get in line for their slice of the money pie, and while game companies and advertisers reap the benefits of this arrangement, gamers are left holding the controller wondering just when their games became interactive commercials.
PSN Thursday: (Motor)storming through Uncharted territories
You've heard us talking about Uncharted: Drake's Fortune before, both in positive and less-than-positive lights. Now you'll get to decide for yourself. As planned, the demo for this PlayStation 3-exclusive title is heading to the PS Network today, along with a demo of College Hoops 2K8.Additionally, Sony is giving Motorstorm fanatics some more content. The Devil's Weekend add-on ($5.99) includes a new track (Devil's Crossing), five new vehicles with three styles apiece, and The Devil's Weekend festival with nine new races. For Guitar Hero III, the Foo Fighters and Velvet Revolver packs that were previously announced for Xbox Live will also be available on the PS3 for $6.25 apiece. An assortment of game videos and movie trailers, a new wallpaper featuring Call of Duty 4 is available for free, as well as three new themes (Classy Pink, Pixel and Nature) to spice up your new firmware update. More details after the break.Update: Sony notes on the PlayStation blog that the Uncharted demo will only work on American PS3 systems due to a bug. The demo is still undergoing localization and will see official release in other territories at a later date. [Via PS3 Fanboy]
Guitar Hero III sells tremendously - DLC on its way
Did you go out and pick up Guitar Hero III after it was launched a week ago? Ok, fine - forget going out. Did you order it in from one of the many online retailers? We're willing to bet you did because Activision have today sent out a press release bragging to notifying everyone that the game has sold more than $115 million worth in its first week. This gives Guitar Hero III the honour of being the largest single product launch in the company's history. The press release goes on to state that Activision have made plans for downloadable content for the PS3 version for November. Three content packs will be made available within the next four weeks. Each song pack will contain three new songs though there's no indication as to the price or what exact songs they will be. Still, a little bit of mystery is always fun, right?
Metareview: Guitar Hero III (Xbox 360, PS2, PS3, Wii)
The battle of the fake bands is about to commence, with Activision's instrument protagonist series swinging the first ax. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock seems to have struck a chord with most reviewers, prompting them to praise its track list and resort to awful music puns (see: above) to convey their satisfaction. Boss battles and some strumming sequences raise a few eyebrows, but at least Neversoft manages to handle the third entry in the franchise without drawing out Brett Ratner references. What say you to that, Rock Band? 1UP (90/100): "There's really not a whole lot to 'get' about Guitar Hero, but whatever there is, you absolutely have to get it right. If the song selection stinks, or if the note layouts are boring or don't make musical sense, or if the strum/fret timing is off...then the whole game suffers for it. These are the three critical components, and Neversoft absolutely nailed them. In fact, aside from a few misguided artistic choices and a new 'boss battle' feature, the developer transition would be virtually invisible to anyone who wasn't keeping up with the news. They 'got' Guitar Hero, and they got it good." Games Radar (80/100): "It's hard to argue with Guitar Hero III's place in the series canon. By going real with the songs, next-gen with the graphics and online with the gameplay, it leaves the wishlist relatively barren. At the same time, it's not delivering us much new on the gameplay front, and in fact lags a bit in terms of smart strumming mechanics. Neversoft would do well to remember that the game doesn't play itself, and we need to be challenged/satisfied with how and what we shred." Gamespot (80/100): "Sure, the difficulty can be vexing, but the game never loses that sense of 'just one more song' addictiveness, even at the height of its challenge level. Once you start playing, you'll be hooked for hours at a time, both online and off. It might ultimately just be more Guitar Hero, but that's hardly a bad thing--in fact, it's a great thing." %Gallery-4675%
Guitar Hero 3 goes on sale, gets unboxed, melts countless faces
Yep, Guitar Hero 3 is officially on sale and everyone and their tattoed mother's picked up a copy (along with the new axes that accompany it). Oh sure, GH2 players making the jump to 3 won't feel like any less like any less of a nerd trying to ape the genuinely cool (that is, if you actually still think The Scorpions are cool), but now your guitar is collapsible and, if you're lucky, wireless. Rock on, Bill, Ted. Video after the break.P.S. -By the way, if you're planning on picking yours up at your local Wally world, buyer beware: they're selling GH3 with the old school guitars from GH2. We're not sure if this is going on elsewhere, but you should definitely keep an eye out.
Rock Band strat may not rock with Guitar Hero 3
Although various guitar models provide disparate tonalities, string action, etc., they all still let you pluck through the arpeggio intro to Green Day's "Good Riddance" (we only wish it had such a power). Such is not the case for the virtual world of Guitar Hero 3 and Rock Band. According to early tests conducted by IGN, the most compatible controller is Xbox 360's Guitar Hero 2 X-plorer model, which works with both upcoming titles, although you cannot use the special effects due to the lack of a five-way switch. The GH3 Les Paul controller works with everything except the PS2 version of GH2 (played on a PS3, natch) and, like the X-plorer, cannot activate effects.Rock Band's Stratocaster, however, does not work with any Guitar Hero title on the Xbox 360. (IGN has not been able to test the PS3 version yet.) A statement released by Harmonix said, among other things, that they "welcome any 3rd party software that wishes to support Rock Band guitars. If a 3rd party guitar / music game does not support the Rock Band guitar controller, questions regarding this should be directed to the game manufacturer." There is no word yet from Guitar Hero publisher Activision. And when everything is finalized, we'll be sure to make you an colorful, easy-to-read compatibility chart.
Study: Guitar Hero III has more groupies than Rock Band
Sure, we may go crazy over Harmonix and Electronic Arts' love child Rock Band, but data from IGN's GamerMetrics reminds us that the franchise has a ways to go if it wants to overtake its distant cousin Guitar Hero III. According to the statistics, there were 22 million page views on IGN for Guitar Hero III-related articles, vs. 10 million for Rock Band (a 120% increase). GHIII was also on almost twice as many wishlists (5,755 vs. 2,928) as its competitor and over six times as many message board posts (25,000 vs. 4,000).The Guitar Hero series has a lot more going for it right now, including a two-year history of commercially and critically successful titles. Commentary provided with the data notes that Rock Band has "experienced a noticeable surge in both awareness and purchase intent metrics" in the past three months, which bodes well for the game due out November 20. Guitar Hero III is coming next week.
Guitar Hero 3's PS3 Les Paul hits the FCC
If it's got a radio in it, the government's gonna want to poke at it, and the wireless Les Paul shipping with the PS3 version of Guitar Hero 3 is no exception, turning up in the FCC's database today. Just like the 360 version we saw hit the FCC a little while ago, there's nothing shocking to report -- the PS3 version will still (sadly) require a USB dongle, up to four controllers can be paired up, and the faceplates are interchangeable -- but it's nice to know we're getting ever close to melting our faces off with GH3.
Fanpoll: Rock Band Vs. Guitar Hero III
It's time for another Fanpoll kiddies. This week we take on one of gaming's most pressing questions: Rock Band or Guitar Hero III? Neither of these games are available just yet, but they're both right around the corner. We're sure many of our readers (pssst ... that's you!) already have at least some idea of which one they desire more. As such, we ask that you follow your heart and place your vote accordingly. Once you place your vote, feel free to explain your reasoning in the comments. Also, you'll find the results of last week's Fanpoll, skate Vs. Tony Hawk's Underground, after the break. Which do you plan to buy, Rock Band or Guitar Hero III? Rock Band Guitar Hero III I'm getting both I'll wait for the reviews, thank you very much Neither
European Guitar Hero 3 release date confirmed
Those of you with your eyes out on the retailer websites will probably have known this for a little while, but Activision have finally confirmed the EU release date for Guitar Hero 3. With a release on November the 23rd, Europeans will have almost an entire month of sitting around and twiddling their thumbs while their American cousins rock out to songs like One by Metallica and Weezer's My Name is Jonas. Having said that, there's plenty to keep us busy what with the holiday season lineup. At least we're not waiting until next year like another game we won't mention. Those of you who are impatient can import the game, but we're not sure how the downloadable content will work in that case. We're currently trying to find out, so watch this space.
Why is Red Octane giving PS3 a wireless dongle?
All of us PS3 owners know that our sexy console sports Bluetooth technology -- real awesome stuff, being able to attempt to play Warhawk while cooking in the kitchen and the TV is upstairs in a bedroom. Anyway, Red Octane doesn't seem to think Bluetooth is all it's cracked up to be. It's been revealed that the PS3 version of Guitar Hero 3 will force PS3 owners to attach a wireless USB dongle to their consoles instead of using the Bluetooth technology. Well, that might not be true. Red Octane is blaming Sony for this USB device. Let's investigate!1UP contacted Red Octane for comment and they replied: "Our products require considerable time for certification and testing to perfect both our software & hardware, so this was the most effective way for us to bring a high quality wireless solution for PS3 this holiday." Since that didn't adequately answer why, they pried further, since the Wii uses Bluetooth but won't require such a crazy USB device. Apparently the Bluetooth technology only works with the Sixaxis and Sony doesn't have the technology set up to allow third-parties to use it. That's a little strange sounding.Sony gave vague answers, using the word consider many, many times: "Many factors were in play regarding the decision to go USB wireless vs Bluetooth for GH3. However, we are considering Bluetooth for future consideration." Everything else is classified! This is a minor issue, but speculation seems to surround the PS3's strange de-sync with the Sixaxis. Surely that would be a horrifying situation while strumming your axe, so perhaps Red Octane decided not to risk that problem on the PS3. Who knows. Does anyone really care? Wireless is wireless, right?
Today's shredingest video: Guitar Hero III victor
Game Revolution's Nick Tan recently played Guitar Hero III song, Through the Fire and Flames by Dragonforce, on expert. That website describes it as the hardest in the game, designed to be "unbeatable." And Nick conquered it.Yes, weeks before you adoring, fake guitar fans get a chance to play, the hardest song has been bested by a player on his fourth attempt. The video of the event is mediocre, and the moment of triumph is anticlimactic. ("Go balloons, go balloons, we need more balloons. ...") But we were still floored watching this face-melting song --and player -- in action.Be amazed by the clip after the break.
Guitar Hero III's wireless PS3 guitar rocking a dongle
The wireless Guitar Hero III guitars for PlayStation 3 will not work seemlessly with the console's Bluetooth technology, instead requiring a dongle that plugs into the USB ports. On the plus side, as noted by Wired's Chris Kohler, is that the dongles are modeled after guitar picks. Much more appealing than a boring, black brick.Rock Band's wireless PS3 guitar also showed up recently in an FCC filing with a mysterious (albeit less attractive) dongle solution, which presumably will ship with the final product. Maybe by then, however, the Harmonix Red Octane gang will pretty their dongle up.
Aerosmith, Disturbed, and others make it into Guitar Hero III
Word comes from our overlords at Joystiq that Guitar Hero III will include plenty more tracks, some from classic bands and some from newer musicians on the block. And we know how much you folks are looking forward to the franchise's first installment on the Wii, so we figured we'd let you know just exactly what these new tracks are. We're nice like that, Same Old Song and Dance (by Aerosmith) Helicopter (by Bloc Party) Stricken (by Disturbed) Monsters (by Matchbook Romance) Before I Forget (by Slipknot) Kool Thing (by Sonic Youth) When You Were Young (by The Killers) Devil Went Down to Georgia (as made famous by Charlie Daniels Band) Sunshine of Your Love (as made famous by Cream) Holiday in Cambodia (as made famous by Dead Kennedys) Cliffs of Dover (as made famous by Eric Johnson) Hit Me with Your Best Shot (as made famous by Pat Benetar) Black Magic Woman (as made famous by Santana) Story of My Life (as made famous by Social Distortion) Pride and Joy (as made famous by Stevie Ray Vaughn) The Seeker (as made famous by The Who) Black Sunshine (as made famous by White Zombie) If you've forgotten what previous songs were confirmed to be included in the game, then head past the break for a full list.
Seventeen more tracks announced for Guitar Hero III
With Guitar Hero III's imminent release later this month we've almost got the entire track list for the game. Almost. Activision have today revealed another seven songs that will be available on the game disc. Are you ready to see them? Are you sure? Go on then, they're just below. Check out the rest of the previously announced songs as well, after the break. Same Old Song and Dance (by Aerosmith) Helicopter (by Bloc Party) Stricken (by Disturbed) Monsters (by Matchbook Romance) Before I Forget (by Slipknot) Kool Thing (by Sonic Youth) When You Were Young (by The Killers) Devil Went Down to Georgia (as made famous by Charlie Daniels Band) Sunshine of Your Love (as made famous by Cream) Holiday in Cambodia (as made famous by Dead Kennedys) Cliffs of Dover (as made famous by Eric Johnson) Hit Me with Your Best Shot (as made famous by Pat Benetar) Black Magic Woman (as made famous by Santana) Story of My Life (as made famous by Social Distortion) Pride and Joy (as made famous by Stevie Ray Vaughn) The Seeker (as made famous by The Who) Black Sunshine (as made famous by White Zombie) As usual, "as made famous by" means that the song will be a cover. All the others are master tracks. We're excited about this lineup, particularly with the addition of British indie rock favourites such as Bloc Party. Don't forget more songs will continuously be available for download after the game is released too. At what price? Good question.
DS version of Guitar Hero III to feature a guitar controller?
It's not set in stone, but in an interview with CNET.au, RedOctane cofounder Charles Huang suggested that the DS version of Guitar Hero III would include a guitar controller "as long as it makes sense and it plays well." Huang went on to say that RedOctane is "exploring ways to get peripherals on a DS game," and that the company is working on approach with Nintendo's assistance. Given the novel controllers we've already seen hit the DS, RedOctane's got some work to do to back up Huang's assertion that GHIII on the DS "will play probably unlike any other DS game that has come out," but we're willing to give the company the benefit of the doubt -- they seem to have a handle on that whole "gameplay" thing.[Via DS Fanboy]
Guitar Hero III, Rock Band guitar gaming round-up
There's been a lot of guitar gaming related news lately for some reason, starting with the spotting of a wired version of the Rock Band virtual guitar. Joystiq speculates that this could mean a cheaper guitar for the Xbox 360 version of the game, but then again they've been playing a lot of Rock Band lately so the rockin' out may be affecting their minds. The second tidbit of news comes from the ever informant FCC, which has just taken a look at the Guitar Hero III Les Paul. We've seen this particular model before a couple of times -- albeit without the black lick of paint -- so it's not a great surprise to see this hanging around at the Federal Comm' Comm'. A much bigger surprise is the fact that the FCC shots don't include blurred pictures of the approval team (and cameraman) rocking out: an FCC tester position evidently ≠ a rockstar lifestyle. You can also see hands-on with both Guitar Hero III and Rock Band over at Joystiq.Read - Guitar Hero III guitar at FCCRead - Wired Rock Band guitar?Read - Wii's wireless Rock Band guitarRead - Hands-on: Rock BandRead - First-look : Guitar Hero III
