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Interactive Achievement Awards nominees announced, Gears in the lead
The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences has announced the nominations for the 10th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards. Though Gears of War has yet to make an acquaintance with that irrelevant temptress, Emmy, it stands a very good chance of winning a statuette that actually matters -- it's been nominated in ten different categories, including Console Game of the Year, Action / Adventure Game of the Year, and Overall Game of the Year. The AIAS (probably not pronounced "Ahyeehuss") also fancies The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, each garnering six nominations. These, along with Guitar Hero II and Wii Sports complete the list of classy nominees in the Overall Game of the Year category. The full list of nominees is available on the official Ahyeehuss website.[Via GameDaily BIZ]See also: Joystiq's Game of the Year
Guitar Hero II to have Original's tracks on Marketplace
Gamespot held an interview with RedOctane's Dusty Welch about the much anticipated Guitar Hero II for Xbox 360. One question came up that is probably on the minds of many fans of the series: Will Guitar Hero's tracks be available for download over Marketplace? Welch didn't outright spill the beans that all of the tracks would be there for the taking on launch day, as no specifics on the content has been confirmed yet. What he did say, however, was that fan feedback had high demand for the original's set list, and it would be a safe bet to see a good portion of the songs.So, should Guitar Hero's tracks be available for download to play on GHII, how would you want the content organized? One big 47 song download featuring all the tracks, broken up into the same sets as the first game, genre based, or even single song downloads of the "fan favorites"? We'll be satisfied as long as "More Than A Feeling", "Killer Queen", "Sharp Dressed Man", and all the other top-notch tunes are confirmed.
First Guitar Hero II impressions [update 1]
Those lucky guys over at GamePro got their hands on a preview of Guitar Hero II and came away impressed. They were in love with the high definition graphics, polished 3D models, pretty lighting, and enhanced audio capabilities of the 360 ... it just adds to the whole rockstar environment. They also felt that the Xbox Live Marketplace is going to add a lot of longevity to the game, because you can download new songs and content. Overall, GamePro enjoyed themselves and said that the Xbox 360 version is the crème de le crème of the Guitar Hero series, take that PS2! They've posted a few new never before seen screenshots of the menu and Live leadboards, go check them out after the jump. Update 1: Please be patient, we're just learning how to spell "hero".[Thanks, Jonah]
It's true, Guitar Hero II price and tracks confirmed
Last week an employee at EB Games wrote in telling us that Guitar Hero II for the Xbox 360 was available for preorder and was going to cost us $89.99. There was no preorder page online at the time, so we couldn't confirm the price. But now the page is up and you can preorder Guitar Hero II online at EB Games and check out the song tracks too! Head over there to reserve your $89.99 copy and read through the track listings. See guys, our readers are the best tippers on the net and you doubted them? For shame! Complete track listing after the break and preordering info after the jump.[Thanks, to everyone who sent this in]
Guitar Hero II for preorder, $89.99
Mark, an employee at his local EB Games, sent us a tip that the Xbox 360 version of Guitar Hero II is now available to preorder at their stores. He also mentioned that the full price of the game, including guitar, will be $89.99. Currently, there is no page up on either Gamestop.com or EBgames.com to preorder the bundle, so we can't actually confirm the price. If anyone is heading to Gamestop or EB Games in the near future please ask about Guitar Hero II and how much you can preorder it for. We're an army, a fanboy army, who hungers for knowledge![Thanks, Mark Z.]
Learn to rock and achieve in GHII
Today, Xbox 360 Achievements posted every last achievement for RedOctane's Guitar Hero II. And there's a lot of 'em. Our favorites have to be the Extra Credit Award, Long Road Ahead Award, and for all those rockers who don't give a damn about their fans, the Rock Snob Award. We cannot stress enough how much we enjoy achievements that are spread out in a game making you take in everything it has to offer. Don't you just love well thought out achievements?[Thanks, DaKing240]
Guitar Hero II: online play? Maybe
GameSpy has posted a new preview of Guitar Hero II that answers some of our most burning questions. Of course, no GHII interview would be complete without asking about a wireless guitar. The answer, unfortunately, is the same as always: Microsoft still isn't allowing 3rd party wireless peripherals. Bummer. What about online play? Right now, the game will be limited to leaderboards, but Red Octane is considering adding real online multiplayer via an update in the future. We're keeping our fingers crossed. Finally, the cost of downloadable songs is expected to be on par with other music download services. In other words, it should be something to the tune of $1 a song (get it, tune? Get it? Oh, never mind.).This game cannot come out fast enough.[Thanks, Jonah Falcon]
TAC Freedom V wireless problem and how to fix
The Ant Commandos, makers of the Freedom V Wireless guitar for Guitar Hero and Guitar Hero II, have contacted Joystiq about a problem being reported with the latest Freedom V shipment. This issue only affects the most recent shipment of Freedom V guitars. Turns out the black foam, which was recently added, surrounding the battery pack is causing the wireless guitar to lose connection. Fixing the problem is as simple as "removing this foam padding from the battery pack." Once again, this only affects Freedom V Wireless units purchased recently and fixing the problem involves removing the black foam around the battery pack. That'll be all, rock on!
Video: 360 exclusive GHII song
We are mucho excited for Guitar Hero II to finally make its debut on 360. We're just dying to live out all of our broken dreams. Recently we've been lucky enough to learn about the impending bundle as well as the 360 exclusive songs. Today, we bring you a video of one of those songs, "Possum Kingdom" by the Toadies -- oh, those middle school memories. It's a good song and a great addition to Guitar Hero II. Check it out after the break.
Guitar Hero: distortion pedals on the way?
Game Informer has posted a pretty straightforward preview of the Xbox 360's version of Guitar Hero II, listing the ten exclusive tracks and some of the achievements waiting to be unlocked (both lists after the break). Things get a little more interesting, however, when the focus shifts to a mysterious port situated on the X-plorer controller."While RedOctane wouldn't elaborate on that port's function other than saying it will be 'gnarly,' it's the same port that's used to connect the pedals to the base station on Microsoft's steering wheel. Let's just call that a coincidence for now..." The folks at BBPS stomp the subtlety out of the article and venture that distortion pedals might be due for the next Guitar Hero installment. We don't use the word much, but that really does sound gnarly.[Via BBPS]
GTR interviews Red Octane [update 1]
Godfree of Gamertag Radio had a chance to sit down with Red Octane and discuss Guitar Hero II. He discusses the leaderboards, plans for tournaments, what sorts of downloadable content we can expect (hint: songs), and what's in store for Guitar Hero III. Also, a wireless guitar is in the works but right now it's not even close to official. If you have an idea for songs you'd like to see available for download, head over to the Guitar Hero forums and let your voice be heard.GTR also got a chance to chat with Old Grandma Hardcore, so be sure to check it out.Update: Clarified the wording regarding the wireless guitar.
GH II: 360 exclusive tracks revealed [update 1]
Joystiq brings word that Guitar Hero II info is to be revealed today by TeamXbox. It is expected that they will confirm the March release of the game (just in time for tax season, yay!). Already revealed are 7 of the 10 exclusive Xbox 360 bonus tracks. These eight tracks are: Billion Dollar Babies (Alice Cooper) Dead! (My Chemical Romance) Hush (Deep Purple) Life Wasted (Pearl Jam) Rock N Roll Hoochie Koo (Rick Derringer) Possum Kingdom (Toadies) Salvation (Rancid) The Trooper (Iron Maiden) While most of these songs will be typical covers, it's rumored that Dead! and Possum Kingdom will be the original recordings. So, let's ask the important question: are you ready to rock? We can't here you! We said are you ready to ROCK?!On a side note, what tracks would you like to see available for download?[Via Joystiq]Update: Found a muppet, learned to count to eight.
RedOctane dropping new Xbox 360 Guitar Hero II info tomorrow
RedOctane will be rockin' the Xbox 360 world tomorrow when they make their announcement regarding the upcoming release of Guitar Hero II for that console. They are expected to confirm the March release date, and to cover the new songs this version will have. TeamXbox has the scoop on almost all of the ten new tracks that 360 players will get, which is ten more than the PS2 version for a total of 74. Additionally, Xbox Live will let rockers download songs from the original Guitar Hero (hope that includes the ones you can buy, like The Slip's "Even Rats"), as well as the ability to purchase new songs in the future.Check out their complete coverage, and stay tuned (get it? tuned? Okay, slap us) tomorrow for more after the word hits the show floor.
Guitar Hero II box and bundle pics
RedOctane released some pictures of both the box art and bundle for their upcoming 360 game Guitar Hero II. Not only does the white guitar look sexy, but the promise of additional songs and downloadable content ... we love you RedOctane. Even with the release of these pictures there is still no firm release date set. We're ready for the release though, already bought the purple hair dye, tight leather pants, and Super-X hold hair gel ... let's rock!
Joystiq's Game of the Year
Gears of War (Xbox 360)What the hell just happened? Did we honestly pick Gears of War as the best game of 2006? No, that can't be. The plan was to throw juvenile tantrums and to violently thrash against the machine! To blind the world with an elitist badge and proclaim an innate resistance against games that are both popular and heavily marketed! It's a shooter, for Allard's sake. You shoot things. With guns.The senseless violence is but one reason to look away from the screen in disgust. The other, as you may have concluded already, is the appalling state of the game's graphics. They make Pong look like an M.C. Escher painting being displayed in a room pumped full of hallucinogenic gas. If you can even discern your pixelated soldier from the flat environment, you'll note how you get repeatedly punished for running blindly into a hail of bullets and neglecting to take "cover." Not only is this completely unrealistic and contrary to modern warfare, it's a needless refinement to a bizarre, self-preservation concept in the genre. See, it's not even a very good shooter. The complete lack of immersion and excitement carries over into the game's terrible online cooperative mode. Some idiot on your friends list can rudely jump into your game at any point and then proceed to get in your way at every available turn. Multiplayer deathmatch isn't any better, forcing you to work with 3 other buffoons (who can't even circle-strafe or jump) if you hope to succeed. Add a forgettable MIDI soundtrack, poor pacing and a complete failure to emulate an action film to your considerations, and you become perfectly equipped to answer the pertinent question. Game of the year? Obviously not.The runners-up are presented (in order) after the break.
Guitar Hero II: we have a winner
It takes guts for someone to dress up in a silly outfit, courage for them to pose for pictures, and a sense of humor to know that they'll end up on the internet. However, it takes real balls to do all of that while wearing a Victoria's Secret Angel costume and playing Guitar Hero. Thus, we have a winner for our contest. We apologize in advance if you can't get this image out of your head for several days, but hey ... them's the breaks.Kudos to Stacey for this winning entry, she'll receive a copy of Guitar Hero II with a guitar signed by Dave Navarro (eBay value of autograph = $1.57). Our two runners-up are Casethan and his dual-guitars of death/J.C. Penney catalog picture, and JediJoe9's proof that he might have some brain damage. They'll both receive signed posters and GH2 t-shirts.Thanks to everyone who entered!
Free Guitar Hero II game & guitar still up for grabs
The Guitar Hero II game and guitar autographed by Dave Navarro are still up for grabs, giving you an excellent opportunity to score a sweet gift for yourself, or someone on your holiday list. We'll be announcing a winner sometime soon, but in order to get into the running, simply post a link to a funny picture of yourself goofing on Guitar Hero, playing an instrument, or just generally acting mental. We'll pick the top three pix to win -- first place gets the guitar and the game and the two runners-up will get a Guitar Hero II poster signed by Navarro and a Guitar Hero II t-shirt.If you're still wanting to upload a video of yourself doing something with a guitar (keep it clean, folks), then follow the link to the original contest announcement, instructions are there. We'll take a closer look at the video submissions, but if one of you sends in a photo that makes milk squirt out of our nose, then chances are you'll be a winner.
TAC: Guitar controller issues resolved
Following Guitar Hero II's release, owners of The Ant Commandos' (TAC) generation one guitar controllers, manufactured pre-Oct. 1, 2006, discovered their units didn't work with the new title. This was because, whether sinister or not, Guitar Hero II's publisher, Red Octane, placed coding in the game allowing only their brand of guitar controllers to work. This put The Ant Commandos, who are currently in the middle of litigation with Red Octane, on the defensive with inoperable controllers for a large base of their customers. Many customers blaming TAC for the problem.The Ant Commandos says that they are offering an adapter on their website for all generation one controllers. The cost is $6.99, with 3 - 5 business day shipping built into the cost. They stress that the $6.99 is actually the cost to have the adapter manufactured in China, shipped to the states and then sent to the consumer. A TAC spokesperson says, "We feel really bad for the consumer, [Red Octane] is penalizing Guitar Hero fans ... we are charging cost, we are not making money off this adapter." Retail outlets that still have generation one controllers, which come in a red or blue box, will receive adapters soon and are asked to place them inside the units. Generation two controllers, manufactured after October 1, 2006 and come in a yellow box, work fine with the game.[Thanks to those that sent in their control problems originally]
Win Guitar Hero II, 'graphed by Dave Navarro
So, maybe the hardcore Guitar Hero thrashers that queued up at the LA Best Buy Monday night didn't care if it was Dave Navarro or Trogdor pimping the sequel to the hit rockstar simulator (groupies and crippling drug addiction not included). But that didn't stop us from getting him to autograph a guitar (and box), along with some Guitar Hero II posters.Of course, we're going to give everything away to a handful of lucky readers. The rules are simple Record a video of yourself playing Guitar Hero 1 (pizza suit optional) Upload that video to Netscape with the tag "GH2contest" Double check to make sure you tagged it right ... otherwise, no prize for you! Vote on your favorite entries, conveniently compiled at Netscape.com/tag/gh2contest We'll give the autographed guitar and game to the entry with the most votes, while the two runners-up will each get a t-shirt and autographed poster So, those are the entry rules ... but what about the fine print? Pretty simple: the contest will be open for three weeks, so you've got some time to get something together; you need to be a US resident (or at least know someone in the US who can receive your prize for you); and you need to own the video content you upload, you can't just submit something you found on the net.
Dave Navarro & Guitar Hero II at Best Buy coverage [update 1]
Hot guitar strummin' and finger pickin' action collided with the corporate man at Best Buy in Los Angeles on Monday, with Dave Navarro (because real rockers love the game too) on hand to promote Guitar Hero II, and Joystiq was there. We lined up about half an hour early to get pix and vids, quietly slipping in amidst the obsessive fans of either Navarro or this game. After talking to about a dozen people, we realized that they could have sent James Taylor to plug this thing, and the same people would've shown up. Everyone was stoked for the midnight release of the game, and one hardcore fan even drove up from San Diego, just to get his axe signed.A representative from BB handed tickets out and told us that they were only giving out 50 so that you could get in line to have things signed. Once they finally opened the doors and let us flood in, we spent some time at the various demo stations they had set up (with pretty sweet speaker systems that looked like they were on loan from a K.I.S.S. concert), and then dutifully took our spot in the signing line. We grabbed a game en route to the table and pulled the guitar out of the box, got it signed by Navarro, and then -- surprise! We were told that Activision was buying the game for those first 50 tickets. Score! Big announcement about that guitar & game soon on Joystiq, so keep your eyes open.Pictures and video after the jump, but sadly no Carmen Electra since she and Dave went splitsville earlier in the summer.[Update: added some rockers]
