Vicarious Visions
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Aerosmith and Guitar Hero come together, leave us cryin'
Those of you who love Aerosmith might feel a sweet emotion at this news. Activision has announced that its next Guitar Hero game will be devoted entirely to the band, fittingly called Guitar Hero: Aerosmith.Now, we like Guitar Hero and Aerosmith as much as the next guy, but we can't help but feel a little jaded; this just seems like overkill. Activision is surely livin' on the edge, releasing so many iterations of Guitar Hero in such a short period of time. As for the game itself, that's just a lot of Aerosmith. We're sure that fans of the franchise don't want to miss a thing and will just push play, but we hope Activision knows that an Aerosmith guitar game isn't an original idea.So, what's our verdict? Activision can dream on. We're not crazy, crazy, crazy for this game.[Press release via NeoGAF]
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith announced, GHIII getting 'Dream On' for free
In an announcement that may just usurp the throne from Electronic Arts as the king of milking franchises, Activision has announced plans for a new Guitar Hero title, casting aside the franchise's reputation for offering a wide breadth of rocking tracks in favor of highlighting a single band -- Aerosmith. The news echoes comments made by guitarist Joe Perry last year regarding the series' next installment, at which time he said that the next Guitar Hero game would be dedicated to the band's music. The announcement comes following Activision's promise earlier this month to return to the well this year, with the newly announced Guitar Hero: Aerosmith currently expected to ship to retail in June with Neversoft handling the game for the Xbox 360 and PS3, and Vicarious Visions taking care of development on the Wii. Details remain nonexistent concerning what tracks we can expect to make the cut, with guitarist Joe Perry commenting only that the title is "based on the diversity of the Aerosmith catalog." With a game dedicated to one -- and only one -- band, we have to assume that whatever songs do find their way onto the disc, they'll be master tracks (they better be).And if June seems to far off for those of you hugging your Steven Tyler doll while staring at the Pump tour poster on the wall, Activision has announced plans to release the band's 1973 power ballad 'Dream On' as a download for the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of GHIII (Sorry Wii owners, but you knew what you were getting into). The song will be free from February 16-18, so get it while it's hot!
Rumor: Guitar Hero DS nameless no longer
It looks like the filing of a new trademark may have inadvertently exposed the real name of Guitar Hero DS, after online trademark-spotters at Trademork picked up on Activision's registration of the words "Guitar Hero On Tour." Obviously, some company filing something doesn't always mean what we think it means. But then again, there's decent evidence in this case to suggest that the DS game will be known as Guitar Hero: On Tour (indeed, we're so confident that we're already italicizing it). For a start, that "On Tour" suffix suggests portability. Secondly, the game is supposedly due out soon. And finally, French site Wiiz mentions the game under the title of, yep, Guitar Hero: On Tour. [Via Joystiq]
'Guitar Hero: On Tour' trademarked, possible name for DS version
The trademark hunters over at Trademork have latched on to a Jan. 19 trademark filing by Activision for the words "Guitar Hero On Tour." "Big deal," you might well say. "That trademark could be for anything. A national promotional tour ... a Guitar Hero themed safari adventure ... a new show on the Travel Channel ... anything!" That's a good point, but when you put the trademark together with a Wiiz.fr post (picked up by GoNintendo) that lists Guitar Hero: On Tour as the name for the previously confirmed DS version of the game, then things get interesting. Of course, knowing the probable name of the upcoming DS game doesn't really tell us much about how Activision is planning to squeeze Guitar Hero's larger-than-life gameplay onto the DS' small screens. Still, this information could be useful for impressing friends. Try this: The next time Guitar Hero comes up in conversation, casually mention that you "can't wait for Guitar Hero: On Tour" and watch your buddy's face sink in awe of your amazingly wide gaming knowledge. You can thank us later. We accept checks and money orders. [Via CVG]
DS Daily: Guitar Hero DS
Most people seem to love Guitar Hero. If you're one of the few who have managed to escape the dastardly clutches of the franchise, please, feel free to tell us all about it. But if you're one of those who are totally addicted to getting your thrash on, we've got a question for you: what do you think of the franchise heading to the DS? With a peripheral, even? Does it appeal to you or not?
Vicarious Visions pens op-ed on troubling NY game bill
The Albany Times-Union today ran an op-ed piece by the CEO and president of Vicarious Visions (Marvel Ultimate Alliance), a New York based development company, about the New York video game bill legislation going down. They discuss being "deeply troubled" by the legislation currently being fast-tracked making games different from other protected speech. The disturbing nature of the bills apparently can't be stressed properly at this point. The key feature sending chills up many game advocates' spines is that selling a game considered "depraved" to a minor would be considered a felony, with a minimum sentence of one to four years according to the New York penal code.Vicarious Visions' CEO, Kathik Bala, and president, Guha Bala, write, "Just like movies, books, photographs, music and other forms of art and entertainment, video games are fully protected speech under the U.S. Constitution. In fact, nine federal courts in the last six years have ruled that legislation in other states substantially similar to what is being proposed in New York violates free speech protections. States have wasted hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars to defend these statutes. Several states and municipalities have been ordered to pay more than $1.7 million to the video game industry for legal fees. Given New York's pressing economic needs, it can ill afford to spend money enacting and then having to defend this proposal."And therein lies the rub. In the end, these bills fail in court. The states involved are forced to pay the ESA for the cost of defending the industry from unconstitutional legislation. How many times do they need to play out the same plot line over and over again? The outcome remains the same. But it looks like state after state will pop in another quarter and try again.[Via GamePolitics]
Forlorn Spidey has nowhere to sling his webs
No wonder Spider-Man 3 got such mixed reviews on the Wii version of the game -- someone forgot to finish the graphics. We can't think of any other possible explanation for something this atrocious. What's going on here? How can this be considered acceptable ... and how can anyone bestow even a middling-good score on such a sight? We love us some Spider-Man and all, but this game would have to be the best thing ever (moreso even than sliced bread) to wrangle an 83%. Maybe we're just pickier than most, but this looks like a sign that not only is there something wrong with how some third-party Wii games are being handled, but maybe the review system isn't all it's cracked up to be, either.[Via Digg]
Transformers: The screenshots
Two incredible forces. Two sides in the battle for Earth -- and appropriately, two completely different games for two completely different stories. How ... balanced. We love it. As licensed games go, these don't sound (or look) half bad. After the jump, we've got new screens from both Decepticons and Autobots. We won't even make you choose between 'em; you can ogle both if you're so inclined.
Spiderman 3 info... 'Nuff said!
There hasn't really been much info on any version of Spiderman 3 other than the next-gen ones. That's all changed now because IGN has an interview with Vicarious Visions (the developer of the PSP version). Here is what the PSP version will offer:
