Exploring Stuff That Makes Life Great
We got our hands on Ali & Aj’s Heart Shaped Guitar for the Playstation 2. There is a model that works on the Wii as well. This stylish guitar is targeted to female rockers. So to all you guys out there, buy this for girlfriend if she likes to play Rock Band or Guitar Hero! Continue reading “Aly & Aj’s Guitars”
Time to trade that controller for the plastic guitar once again! Yah, you know what I’m talking about: Guitar Hero. The newest installment, Guitar Hero: World Tour by Activision boasts a new array of features and game play options that pushes this game beyond that of what Guitar Hero 3 ever was. In fact there are so many upgrades, I may have to turn this single review into reviews to give this game the justice it deserves!
Lets start with the staple equipment of the game: the guitar. This edition has given the traditional guitar a few upgrades including a star power button next to the strum bar, a longer whammy bar, slide bar, longer neck and a bigger body! The guitar is considerably easier to hold for longer periods of time with it’s larger body size and longer neck. One of the more prominent changes in the guitar is the new slide bar! It’s a tad bit tricky to learn how to use because of the smooth surface of the pad, which makes it hard to distinguish the separate pads from each other, but this new feature seems to be a good touch to add a new twist into the play. The new star power button is a wonderful idea for those who have a hard time tilting the guitar and hitting a note (such as yours truly), but the positioning right up against the strum bar makes it hard to hit, causing those notes to be missed anyways if you decide to go this route to activate the star power. Overall the new guitar design is a great upgrade from the old style with little to complain about!
Now onto the game itself! The graphics are considerably improved from Guitar Hero 3 with smoother curves, more details, bigger (and cooler) venues and smoother character movement with some amusing cut scenes between songs in Career mode. I do have to say, the game has started catching up with what the 360 console is capable of while still holding onto its signature look.
Once you start in either career or quick play mode, you’re able to choose from what you want to play: guitar, bass, drums or vocals which makes for a nice change up every once in a while. The gameplay screen has changed slightly as the display showing your star power, rock meter, score and note streak has been shifted over to the left side of the fret board and is smaller, making it harder to see how much star power has been built up.
The beginning set list is a little slow at first on medium, making the difficulty rather easy, even for a guitar newbie like me! As you advance through career mode, the songs become (thankfully) harder and more challenging. Activision this time around has included a shocking variety in this set list, with everything from Michael Jackson’s “Beat it” to Jimi Hendrix’s “Purple Haze”! Yes, that’s right Hendrix fans, Jimi’s been added to the Guitar Hero world!
So there’s the basics and a very small introduction to the new Guitar Hero. The new features list continues on and on with everything from the ability to customize everything about your character’s look and their instrument to the new feature to create your own song! More than likely a part two to this review is coming up, with a coverage of just about every other feature that I didn’t get a chance to cover
Oh, and for those of you who are yelling and screaming at me about the drum and mic set: I haven’t been able to get my hands on either of those…yet. So in the next review I’ll try to fully cover those new features of the game! I’ve only got so much money on me you know!
Who is he kidding now? If a game called Guitar Hero: Aerosmith could work, what’s going to stop a Guitar Hero game on Metallica: one of the most well-known Thrash Metal bands ever? While we have almost certain confirmation that the game will be happening, Lars Ulrich was still acting a little cagey when asked about the game.
Talking to MTV News, he was caught saying:
“Let’s put it this way, [Our next album] Death Magnetic comes out in September, and the day it comes out, it will be available in the ‘Guitar Hero 3‘ format, which we’re obviously super-psyched about. As I’ve born witness to in my house, its all about the next generation. My kids play ‘Guitar Hero’ every day, and to be able to get the Metallica record the day it comes out, that’s super cool.”
“There’s an Aerosmith game out there that’s super successful, and if somebody’s gonna follow that up…we’re talking, and its exciting, and the people at ‘Guitar Hero’ and Activision are rapidly becoming our best new friends in the world. You can put the rest of it together yourself.”
Here at StuffWeLike, we’re hard at work putting the rest of it together, but our extreme calculations show that the result will be a glamour-filled, guitar-screaming, drum-killing title called Guitar Hero: Metallica! Or perhaps a variant on that name.
The record setting teen is at it again! Chris Chike (known online and in-game as Iamchris4life) has broken his own Guinness world record of 840,647 points on the hardest song in the game, “Through the fire and the flames” and has now perfected the song with a flawless 100% (987,786 points and a 3722 note streak) on expert—AND caught the whole performance on video.
The video is currently one of the top viewed videos on Youtube and has just broken the 1.6 million view mark (currently stands at 1,609,299).
“I was almost in shock when I finished the song and had hit the 100%–I am so glad I caught it on video or even I wouldn’t have believed it happened,” said Chike. “It feels great to have accomplished it, and it is exciting to see so many people online watching me get a perfect score on the hardest song in the game.”
The teen, who recently signed with The Ant Commandos guitar and peripheral company to be their spokesperson and help them design their next guitar, was recently challenged for his Guinness World record title. But Chike has no doubt he will continue to be at the top of his game and will get the title back soon, declaring “It is pretty hard to beat 100%”.
After playing to sold-out crowds in living rooms around the world, the blockbuster video game Guitar Hero is hitting the road with Guitar Hero: On Tour for Nintendo DS, Activision, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) today announced. Available now at retail outlets nationwide, Guitar Hero: On Tour brings a new dimension to handheld gaming and gives fans the ability to shred along to their favorite tunes with complete portability.
Packaged with the revolutionary Guitar Hero Guitar Grip peripheral that fits snugly into Nintendo DS, and a unique Guitar Hero pick-stylus, Guitar Hero: On Tour delivers a unique experience by challenging handheld gamers to rock out and prove their shredding skills on one of the most diverse set lists ever offered in a Guitar Hero game, including master track hits from Nirvana, OK Go, No Doubt, blink-182 and Bloc Party.
“Guitar Hero: On Tour offers handheld gamers an all-new Guitar Hero experience letting them unleash their inner rock star anywhere, anytime,” said Dusty Welch, Head of Publishing for RedOctane. “Utilizing the innovative Guitar Hero Guitar Grip peripheral and Guitar Hero pick-stylus, and taking full advantage of the unique voice and touch abilities of Nintendo DS, Guitar Hero: On Tour is going to again redefine how fans can experience music.”
Designed from the ground up specifically for Nintendo DS, the game continues to build on the franchise’s signature easy-to-play, yet difficult to master addictive gameplay, and now lets players take their experience wherever they go. Players use the Guitar Hero Guitar Grip, which mimics a guitar fret board, and the Guitar Hero pick-stylus on the touch screen to strum their favorite tunes and create their rock ‘n’ roll legacy in career mode. Fans can also join together to play co-op mode using a local wireless connection, or battle each other in a Guitar Duel using new Battle Items unique to Nintendo DS.
Guitar Hero: On Tour is developed by Vicarious Visions, is rated “E 10+” (Everyone 10 and older) by the ESRB and is available now at retailers nationwide. For more information about Guitar Hero: On Tour, visit www.GuitarHeroOnTour.com.
As if the Nintendo DS wasn’t popular enough, this little add-on should see it score yet more points with fans of portable gaming.
Guitar Hero: On Tour will let you strum wherever you like courtesy of the accompanied Guitar Grip peripheral replacing the guitar from its console counterparts.
As you’d expect, it will feature a huge selection of tracks and will also come toting Wi-Fi for duking it out online, rock and roll stylee.
While it’s a smart move to bring such a popular franchise to the DS it probably won’t replicate the feeling of being trying to be a rock star you’d get with holding an actual guitar.
I guess we’ll find out when it hits stores for around $49.99. Check out the official site for more details, rock aficionados.
