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RedOctane unveils Guitar Hero 5 drums
We're guessing that of all the tiny plastic instruments you've collected in your den, drum sets are still the most uncommon. Therefore, you may be able to scrounge up a smidgen of enthusiasm for the image above, which depicts the drum peripheral that will come bundled with select versions of Guitar Hero 5 when the game launches this September.This revelation brings up two interesting points -- first, RedOctane is viciously taking the wind out of the sails of Logitech, who revealed its own cymbal-equipped drum peripheral yesterday at an unwelcoming price point of $229. Second, it looks like the leaked pictures and list of features we received earlier in the month were legit -- and as you surely know, every time a leak is proven legitimate, an angel gets its wings.[Via Engadget]
Pick up Metallica/Smash Hits Guitar Hero bundle for cheap
Yet another crazy music game fire sale from RedOctane today: For $49.99 on PS2, $59.99 on Wii or $69.99 on PS3 or 360, you can pick up a two-pack of Guitar Hero: Metallica and Guitar Hero: Smash Hits.As an added bonus, you'll also get a free Guitar Hero World Tour shirt. Now, you should by no means wear this in public, but if you need to work on your car or play the Super Sloppy Double Dare home game, it's a nice perk.
Face-melting deal: GHWT guitar and mic for $50, today only
Everyone's favorite plastic peripheral purveyor, Red Octane, is having a bit of a deal today. The normally $60 wireless guitar and $20 wired microphone for Guitar Hero World Tour (across all platforms) are being offered together in a $50 package -- today only! If you're less than impressed by the GHWT deal from today, why not get into your fancy schmancy time machine and head back to yesterday when you could've gotten an even better deal? Oh, what's that -- you don't have a time machine? Guess you're stuck with the $50 dollar deal over at Red Octane's website then, fancy pants.
DJ Hero 'more mainstream' than Guitar Hero, Activision CEO says
DJ Hero might be the cliquish kid sister in Activision's branching "Hero" family, but it belongs to a really big clique, according to CEO Mike Griffith. "It's certainly hitting a more mainstream and expanded audience from Guitar Hero," Griffith said of the spin-off in an interview with GI.biz. As expansive as the Guitar Hero catalog has grown over the years (enough to re-release a disc of "greatest hits"), there's potential for DJ Hero to reach far beyond, literally mixing in, well, anything.While Griffith has his sights set on some 300 million Hero-less households, developer FreeStyleGames must be a bit more narrow-minded, lest DJ Hero come out as a cacophonous mashup. As mainstream as turntablists have become, they're still spinning for a variety of crowds. There's a difference between a game for everyone and a game with something for everyone. So it's simple then? All DJ Hero has to be is the greatest mixtape of all time. %Gallery-64592%
Activision announces Guitar Hero 5, Band Hero and DJ Hero for fall
Activision continues to "exploit" its Guitar Hero franchise this year with three new full titles coming this autumn. The newly announced Guitar Hero 5 will offer "the ability to drop in and out of songs and change band members, instruments and difficulty levels on the fly." The press release contains no other details regarding the game, but you can bet it'll be pretty similar to Guitar Hero: World Tour. Band Hero is the second of Activision's Hero trifecta for this fall. Don't be confused, Band Hero is completely separate from Guitar Hero. Except it's very similar -- it's Activision's attempt at a family-oriented Guitar Hero game, rated E10+, and will be facing off against Harmonix's Lego Rock Band later this year. Finally, DJ Hero is something we've been hearing a lot of murmurs about for a while. It will feature "diverse music genres including hip-hop, R&B, Motown, electronica and dance" and will include the turntable controller, images of which we posted earlier. Apparently the title "transforms players into DJs who rule the club scene by creating original mixes of popular songs and music from the world's most exciting artists and DJs." We have to wonder, does the world need this many heroes?
Joystiq impressions: Guitar Hero: Metallica
Imagine if Guitar Hero: World Tour featured a song selection consisting mostly of songs by Metallica, contained trivia about Metallica and let you play as video game-ified likenesses of Metallica. That is Guitar Hero: Metallica. Is it fun? Sure. Is it for non-fans? Eh, maybe. Is there anything remotely new about it apart from the fact that it's totally, completely, fully and thoroughly Metallica? Yes.In a move to make the game more party-friendly than GHWT from the get-go, Neversoft has thoughtfully unlocked every song on the disc in Quick Play mode; playing through career mode is mainly about unlocking items and the overall Metallica "experience." Which, as we found, starts out by having you play a couple of songs by the metal legends then becoming so inspired that you start your own band (who you play the games non-Metallica songs as).%Gallery-47658%
Rumor: 'Guitar Hero 5,' 'Band Hero' coming this year
*ring* "Hello, you've reached Joystiq. We can't come to the phone right now, but if you leave your name and number after the beep we'll return your call as soon as possible." *beep* "Um, hi guys ... it's me again. You know, The Post About Another New Guitar Hero Game. Look, I know you guys just used me for the Van Halen game like an hour ago. Anyway, I just thought you might want me to come back into the office because of this Eurogamer rumor? It's about Guitar Hero 5 and something called Band Hero supposedly coming out this year. There's also another DS Guitar Hero game, apparently. Anyway, I just thought you'd be interested." *click* "Oh well. Guess they're out 'watching the Watchmen.' I'm just gonna check after the break to see what's on YouTube."
Guitar Hero to invade the Google Android Market
Those trendy enough to own T-Mobile's G1 "Google phone" will have the opportunity to mash their touchscreen and rock out to an Android version of Guitar Hero.This edition of Guitar Hero will feature music from Deep Purple and Guns N' Roses among others, and will be one of a few paid applications for purchase off the Android Market. It'll be playable on any Android OS phone, which is currently just the G1.Guitar Hero "Android Edition" (not the official name, but we think it sounds nice) will join EA's catalog of games in the surprisingly empty gaming section of the Google phone marketplace. We can, however, be certain that if Guitar Hero becomes a sales hit, Activision will continue to churn out sequel after sequel for the Google OS. It's the Acti way.[Via Guitar Hero News]
Guitar Hero: Metallica box art 'mispellz' Lynyrd Skynyrd
Take a look at this close-up of the recently released Guitar Hero: Metallica box art. Note the highlighted name "Lynyrd Skynrd," located in the top left. The band's name is clearly misspelled. The correct spelling is "Lynyrd Skynyrd" -- duh.Some conspiracists might insist that the error is intentional, enforced by Metallica (take note: "Metallica" is spelled correctly), which secretly despises Skynyrd's musical success and demanded humiliation in the form of a misspelling. Seriously? No, that can't be it. Chalk up this mistake to poor proofing. (On a side note: we're petitioning to have "Lynyrd Skynyrd" introduced into the Scripps National Spelling Bee -- it's a tough one!)[Via playgirlz]
Buy Guitar Hero: World Tour, get five free songs
Activision is giving you a little something back in the form of five free downloadable tracks if you buy Guitar Hero: World Tour before New Year's Eve. It only applies to the "Complete Guitar Game" variety that retails for $99.99, which is the package that comes with the game and a guitar controller, but not the standalone game or the more expensive "Full Band Kit". DLC is usually about $2 a pop, so you'll be saving about $10 with this deal. Of course, if you own the game already, this simply means you are getting 5 songs for free.Some people will try to compare this deal with the 20-song DLC Rock Band 2 offered a while back, but in this case you actually get to pick and choose which songs you want.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Guitar Hero 5 and Tony Hawk announced
[Update: Activision tells Videogamer that MTV's report is "speculative as far as we're concerned." Yeah, sure.]MTV Multiplayer reports that at a Massive (Microsoft-owned advertising firm) event yesterday in New York City, Activision Blizzard revealed a number of sequels to their popular franchises, such as Guitar Hero 5 and a successor to Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. The sequel will be named ... Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. And here we thought they were going to do away with the numbers! Unfortunately, no gameplay details were mentioned for either title.Finally, it sounds the rumors we heard earlier during the summer might be true: a Tony Hawk game is scheduled for release in October that "you're not going to be playing ... with a controller in your hands."
Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins and Eagles DLC coming to GH: World Tour
A number of renowned rock bands are joining the Guitar Hero: World Tour in the form of DLC this month. Each band will be contributing three songs -- the Smashing Pumpkins Track Pack will be released December 4th, while the Nirvana and The Eagles Track Packs will make their debuts on the 11th and 18th, respectively. During the last week on the 23rd, you'll even get three reggae tracks for free.Every track pack will cost $5.49 and each song can be individually purchased for $1.99. So which songs made the cut? Take a look, after the jump:[Via press release]
Activision to bring new The Killers DLC to GH: World Tour
Owners of Guitar Hero: World Tour that are fans of The Killers can rejoice. Day-to-day with the release of their new album Day & Age on November 25th, two singles off the album, Human and Losing Touch will become available as DLC. On top of that, fan-favorite Mr. Brightside will also be released as DLC that same day. All three tracks can be purchased as a track pack for $5.49 or individually for $1.99 each. So, those of you who are fans of The Killers but not GH:WT, will this convince you to pick the game up?[UPDATE] Wired is stating that three tracks will also be heading to Rock Band on the same day. "Mr. Brightside," "Smile Like You Mean It," and "Spaceman" (the latter of which is from the new album) will be made available on the Rock Band store on November 25th. Those of you tempted to pick up Guitar Hero World Tour off the back of this news can put your wallets away. [Via press release]
Joyswag: Guitar Hero World Tour band kit + Rock Band 2 game = [fill in the blank]
Update: Congratulations to the winner -- Sean H. of Nova Scotia fame!Our sincerest apologizes. We know, no one wants to do math problems on a Friday, but today's your first opportunity to slap down an "answer" to the equation in the headline, and thereby enter another spectacular Joyswag® giveaway. That's right -- we're offering up the Guitar Hero World Tour band kit (includes game, guitar, drums, and mic) and the Rock Band 2 game disc to one lucky winner! (The World Tour instruments are totally compatible with Rock Band 2, by the way!)So keep your thinking caps on and cheat sheets in pocket because this contest is running for an entire week, with a chance to enter each day: Leave a comment completing the equation: Guitar Hero World Tour band kit + Rock Band 2 game = [your answer]* Limit 1 entry per person per calendar day; entrants must be 18 years or older and residents of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec) This entry period ends at 5:00 pm ET on Friday, November 21st. We'll randomly select one winner at that time to receive Guitar Hero World Tour (ARV: $190) and Rock Band 2 (ARV: $60) for Xbox 360 For a list of complete rules, click here *Note: There are no wrong answers.****Of course, some answers are better than others.******But all eligible entries have an equal chance of winning.********So why are you still reading the fine print? Enter the giveaway already!
Deals: Guitar Hero III Bundle $40, DualShock 3 $41
Red Octane is having a sale on the Guitar Hero III Wireless Les Paul Bundle for only $39.99. Shipping will vary but it shouldn't be more than $10. The sale is today only and will end at 6PM PT / 9 PM ET. As Gamestooge noted, even if you just want an extra guitar, you can always just sell the game. You can find this limited-time offer here.In other bargain hunting related news, Amazon has put up their stock of official DualShock 3 controllers on sale. Originally retailing for $54.99, these are now on sale for $40.96 with free shipping. Take advantage of the deal here.Source -- Red Octane via GamestoogeSource -- Amazon[Thanks, Jonah F. and burandon!]
Guitar Hero: World Tour drum tuning kit now available
The solution announced last week that proposes to fix the problems occurring with your brand-new plastic drum set from Guitar Hero: World Tour is now available for download. Officially named the Drum Controller Standard Tuning Kit, this Windows program (sorry Apple and Linux users!) should solve your sensitivity troubles. Too bad though, cause you'll also need an midi-USB cable, which you are unlikely to already possess. Luckily, you can get one for free from Red Octane. Of course, you'll still need to wait for the cable to get to you ... and who knows how long that will take.You can download the tuning kit here and request for a midi-USB cable here.[Via Joystiq]
GHWT drum tuning app now available, Red Octane shipping midi-USB cables for free
Well, dear readers, we've got good news and we've got bad news ... and then we've got good news again. The (first) good news -- the promised Guitar Hero: World Tour drum tuning application is now available for download on Red Octane's customer support site. The bad news is that the application requires you to connect your drum kit to your computer using a midi-USB cable, which we imagine few of you actually possess. The (second) good news -- Red Octane is shipping these cables, free of charge, to anyone who requests one on their support site.We suppose it's bad news that we'll be waiting for these cables to ship before we can give our drum kits some much-needed sensitivity training -- on the other hand, the fact that we won't be dealing with any suggestive, RealDoll-sized replacement boxes (or the resulting judgment from nosy neighbors) is good news indeed.[Thanks, Eric G.]
The Guitar Hero World Tour unlock all songs code
We know we said that unlocking every Rock Band 2 song using a cheat code wasn't, in fact, cheating at all but rather a singular act of rock and roll rebellion; a quick 10-button eff you to the establishment. Well, if you followed our logic there, then what can we say about Guitar Hero World Tour's unlock code, first distributed to the responsible folks who preordered the game through GameStop?Well, one of 'em did manage to share the code with The Internet, so that's pretty rock and roll. And also, since when is repackaging the allure of real rock and roll into a more palatable, mainstream package any less rock and roll? For every Beatles there's a Monkees; for every Monkees, there's a New Monkees. And with that in mind, we present you the cheat code to unlock every Guitar Hero World Tour song. Just plug this string of buttons into the "Cheats" section under the "Options" menu: Blue, Blue, Red, Green, Green, Blue, Blue, Yellow.
Joystiq at the Guitar Hero World Tour Launch Party
... or, more aptly titled, the Guitar Hero World Tour Launch Party sponsored by Best Buy, Jack Daniels and Coca-Cola. If that's not the longest-titled event we've attended, then we're not sure what is. (Although you're in trouble, Guitar Hero, if the Japanese game Tohoku Daigaku Mirai-Kagaku-Gijutsu-Kyodo-Kenkyu-Center Kawashima Ryuta Kyoju Kanshu: Motto Nou wo Kitaeru Otona no DS Training ever has a launch party.)We were inside the midnight sale / launch party at Best Buy in West Hollywood last night, where DJ Jazzy Jeff opened for the Smashing Pumpkins. Several bands were in attendance, along with the requisite roundup of actors and actresses from the Hollywood alphabet list. Head after the break for highlights and a full rundown.%Gallery-35402%
Report: Some Guitar Hero World Tour peripherals not functioning properly
Many of us will find it easy to imagine the following scenario, having lived it a little over a year ago with the release of an alarmingly similar title -- hordes of rhythm game junkies returned home last night from midnight launch parties at various retailers, cumbersome Guitar Hero: World Tour bundles in tow. Shortly after failing "Eye of the Tiger" for the third time in a row, an upsetting discovery is made -- one (or more) of the bundled instruments doesn't work as intended. The rocking is abated! Hearts are broken! Hands are wrung! Teeth are gnashed!Sadly, such a scenario has reportedly been experienced by many a concerned forum poster, as threads stating issues with the game's peripherals have sprung up like discontent weeds. Their complaints are many -- one GameFAQs thread includes reports from players with unresponsive cymbals and, less commonly, drum heads; some posters decry their guitar's inability to register every strum; and some complain of faulty fret buttons.We should point out that there are a number of forum posters who have stated complete satisfaction with their newly acquired fake instruments -- still, Activision has been quick to direct those with busted periphs to their customer service page, where information on how to get warranty replacements from RedOctane is given. We certainly hope the replacement process is a speedy one -- not that you don't already have a gaggle of fully functional instrumentrollers strewn across your den.[Thanks, Neb.]
