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Snag Guitar Hero II for $10 less
360 Fanboy reader, Nitin, sends us word that he received a coupon from Best Buy offering $10 off games and accessory purchases of $75 dollars or more. Now, it just so happens that Guitar Hero II will set you back 90 clams when it debuts on Arpil 3rd, and it just so happens that the Best Buy coupon expires on April 4th. You see where we're going with this? Of course, there is one possible caveat. According to the fine print, the coupon doesn't include video game hardware. Now, we're pretty sure that refers to actual consoles, but don't blame us if the guy behind the counter says the guitar counts as hardware.At any rate, you were going to pick up GHII anyway, right? You might as well try and save 10 bucks.[Thanks, Nitin]
Guitar Hero II hits UK on Good Friday
So on Friday, or maybe it was Thursday, we told you that Guitar Hero II was releasing on April 3rd in North America. Well, fortunately the blokes over in the UK won't have to wait too much longer after the fact to get their grubby hands on a guitar controller. According to Eurogamer, Activision US also announced that the UK should have Guitar Hero II hit store shelves on April 6th, Good Friday. Hopefully there will some stores open for business to sell it to eager gamers looking to rock out on the long weekend. [Via QJ.net]
Guitar Hero II rocks 360 on April 3rd
Screw Guitar Hero II demo stations! Why waste time with a puny demo station when you can bag the real thing in just two weeks? That's right, Activision has officially announced that Guitar Hero II will release on April 3rd. Wait a minute, that sounds awfully familiar. Oh, that's because we reported it two months ago, booyah!At any rate, in just over two weeks, budding 360 rockers will finally get to lay down some righteous chops with the best of them. The 360 version of GHII features the all new X-plorer guitar, updated graphics, and 10 exclusive new songs. Not only that, but Red Octane already has a ton of downloadable content in the pipeline.So, 360 fanboys, we ask you: are you ready to RAWK?![Via Joystiq]
Guitar Hero II demo stations next week?
One of X3F's regular anonymous tipsters has given us ... um ... an anonymous tip. What tip you ask? It looks like we might start seeing Guitar Hero II demo stations as early as next week in retailers like Wal-Mart. Our tipster reports that demo units are already being delivered to retailers. What is more, the X-plorer guitar that comes with GHII will feature a normal USB connection -- not exactly a surprise really -- which may allow PC users to find ways to utilize the controller.So, there you have it, start looking for Guitar Hero II demo kiosks starting next week. Be sure and send the news to X3F when you find one. We're just as excited to get our hands on the game after all.[Thanks, Anonymous Rep]
EA publishing next Harmonix game
Activision may control the Guitar Hero franchise, but EA has the developer in its clutches -- or at least, the two are holding hands. Now an MTV brand, Harmonix has reached a publishing deal with EA Partners, which puts control of the sales, marketing, and distribution of the rhythm whiz's next project in the hand of the mega-publisher's "indie" arm. While Harmonix CEO Alex Rigopoulos has called the game "hugely ambitious," actual details won't be revealed untill a later date.The announcement was made last night by EA Partners VP David DeMartini (pictured) during an invite-only GDC event.
Halo theme could join Guitar Hero II set list
According to the March issue of OXM, Steve Vai's guitar-charged "Halo Theme (Mjolnir Mix)" could be a downloadable track for Guitar Hero II. Heck, if Spartan-458 can jiggle in Dead or Alive 4, then Halo 2's theme can be strummed along to in the GHII encore. This is one Halo rumor that smells probable; if not simply because it screams, "impulse buy!"Assuming we'd have to pay to play, the Halo theme has the potential to pocket as many micropayments as just about any licensed track imaginable. This is the Xbox 360 venue, folks, where Master Chief is as big as any 'Rock God' -- dead or alive.
Video: Guitar Hero II DLC Details and More???
GameTrailers sat down with Bryan Lam of Red Octane to talk about Guitar Hero II, and he touches on a lot of the latest topics regarding the title. He brings up the amount of downloadable content they're bringing, the availability of the original Guitar Hero songs on Marketplace, wireless guitar controllers, Neversoft taking the helm for the next game, and even implementing online co-op in the future. All in all it's a very interesting sheds light on many things that are on gamer's minds about GH II. It's also available in HD if you're into that resolution.
Amplitude servers going offline, 'farewell party' Sunday
Before Guitar Hero there was FreQuency. After FreQuency came 2003's sequel Amplitude. Harmonix's Sean Baptiste dropped us a note to let us (let you) know that Sony is pulling the plug on Amplitude's servers this coming Monday, February 26. Baptiste is organizing the final "shindig," currently scheduled for Sunday, February 25, at 7pm EST. All are welcome!Reminder: this will be your last chance to download user-created remixes from the Remix Repository.
GH II wireless guitar arriving "hopefully rather shortly"
Associate Producer for Guitar Hero II, Ted Lange, was asked a few questions by IGN Australia. They touched on downloadable content as well as the exclusive tracks and even licensing issues with other bands. The main thing that caught our attention was Ted's thoughts on a wireless guitar. He said that he hopes they'll be able to provide a wireless solution rather shortly to fans, which is definitely a good thing. Hopefully this indicates that their talks with Microsoft about bringing this to the market is making significant progress. After getting Guitar Hero II with its wired guitar, would you buy a second one if it was wireless, and for how much?
"Dead!"ly Master Track Goodness Video
On Friday, IGN added another one of Guitar Hero II's Xbox 360 exclusive songs to their video page. It is, of course, none other than My Chemical Romance's "Dead!". It, alongside "Possum Kingdom", are the only "Master Tracks" of the new songs included. This is definitely a good thing, as Gerard Way's distinctive vocals would be hard to reproduce by the cover artists used. The video is pretty good, and available in High Definition for IGN Insiders, showing how difficult the Expert rendition of the song is. For the purists out there, it seems the complete lyrics are intact (2:50 in the video, 2:40 in the song). In any case, everyone here at Fanboy Towers is pining for this game and can't wait for its release. This video, along with the others available on the same page, makes the wait all the more difficult. Are you guys ready to rock out?
Guitar Hero II for $79.99 [update 1]
Update: Oops, looks like shipping isn't free. Instead, all customers will be upgraded to 2nd day air for the normal shipping cost of $7.67. Still, you'll get Guitar Hero II for $87.66 delivered. Not too shabby.Anyone looking to save a little scratch on the upcoming Guitar Hero II need look no further than Costco. Costco is offering the bundle, including the game and X-plorer guitar controller, for $79.99. That's a full $10 off the retail price. As an added bonus, Costco will throw in a 2 day shipping upgrade for free. According to the website, this deal will only be available for a limited time, so those who prefer to rock on the cheap better get moving.If any of you frugal rockers find any more great deals, be sure to send us a tip.[Thanks, james fearn]
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.
Harmonix quits the band, starts up new project
As a follow-up to our speculative post regarding the future of Guitar Hero development, Harmonix has cleared up the whole mess in an interview with Gamasutra. We'll hit you with the good news first: Harmonix is in fact working on a brand-new music title. The (possibly) bad news being that they will not be involved with Guitar Hero III, leaving that title in the hands of, presumably, Neversoft.Regarding the new project, Harmonix producer Daniel Sussman took time away from reading the blogs of his favorite Laguna Beach cast members to say it's "a bigger and more ambitious endeavor than we felt we could pursue within the bounds of the Guitar Hero franchise." Though he could have just been talking about the new Fall Out Boy album (they're still hot with the kids, right?), we're excited all the same for whatever the future may hold for the MTV-owned developer.
Neversoft to develop Guitar Hero sequel
Activision looks to be taking full advantage of the Red Octane acquisition as Neversoft is gearing up to take on the illustrious Guitar Hero franchise. While there was a small blurb in the latest issue of EGM concerning this very arrangement, Neversoft has updated their website tonight in hopes of bringing some new talent to the board specifically to rock. GameDaily seems confident that Neversoft will take over the franchise beginning with Guitar Hero III, but this is only one possibility. Other current Guitar Hero rumors (again, perpetuating from EGM) include an 80's version of the series to see release this year, which Neversoft could be working on, leaving the brand name sequels to Harmonix.And where does this leave Harmonix? While one would assume they'll still be involved with the series, they could very well be off starting up a new franchise, or perhaps working on one of those rumored Amplitude sequels. Regardless, they've laid out the foundation for an extremely popular and established series. Hopefully this changing of the guard will be more like a Sammy Hagar and less like a Gary Cherone.
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]
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.
Sony hates music games: no Traxion or Frequency?
IGN's David Doel recently had a conversation with Harmonix, the development team behind games like Frequency and Guitar Hero. The team proposed a sequel to the fan-favorite Frequency and Amplitude for the PSP, however Sony declined their request. The music game would've been well suited for the PSP, as the excellent gameplay of other music games, like Gitaroo-Man, show.However, to add insult to injury, it appears that the other music game heading to the PSP, Traxion, has also been canned. This music game from LucasArts was supposed to allow players to import their own songs into the game, a "Frequency-killer," as reported by IGN's nixice. He didn't give a reason, but it's sad to see that the music genre seems to be so neglected on our handheld.
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.
Guitar Hero 2 experts are already better than you
You might think that today's release of Guitar Hero 2 marks the official start of the race to master the game's new songs. But that would be naive. The real battle for Guitar Hero perfection started when the demo was released to the general public in Official Playstation Magazine issue 110. In honor of the official release of the game, we've scrounged up some highly-variable-quality videos showing off some people who are already on their way to true Guitar Heroism.
Full Guitar Hero II setlist with 24 bonus tracks
No sooner did we let y'all know that DethKlok, the fictional band in Adult Swim's Metalocalypse, would be making an appearance as an unlockable bonus track in Guitar Hero II, than we found out the entire bonus song list ... 24 tracks in total! It appears certain Wal-Marts, depending on how many copies of Guitar Hero they sold, have demo kiosks with the sequel set up and ready to rock! Twenty-four low-res pictures later, we know the entire list of unlockable songs. Combine those with the forty tracks already confirmed, and you've got yourself quite the rock feast.A notable addition: Popular Flash cartoon -- and Nintendo Tag Team Wrestling alum -- Strong Bad's metal/dragon opus Trogdor (The Burninator). Check out the video -- and the entire 64-track setlist -- after the break, then play the Trogdor game, to hone up on your burninating.[Thanks, notafan]
