Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers’ Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, Super Bowl XL MVP Hines Ward, and several of the teams running backs and offensive line members participated in a Guitar Hero 5 “Pro vs. GI Joe” competition with a group of soldiers from the U.S. Army’s 336th Military Police Company stationed in Iraq.

Pro vs. GI Joe is a non-profit organization started by Addie Zinone (still active in the military with two tours in Iraq under her belt) and her husband Greg in June of 2007 as a means to “do a little for those who do a lot.”

“This is an opportunity and a way that the professional athletes can say thank you to the troops from their community in a really fun way,” said Zinone.

This Friday, the service did just that, as it connected soldiers to the Steelers players at their practice facility in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania through used of satellites and the Xbox LIVE service. Steelers Quarterback had the following to say about the experience:

“To be able to interact with these guys and enjoy it – and I could see the joy on their face – and get to beat them a little bit in some Rock band. It’s a lot of fun”

Apparently even Super Bowl Quarterbacks have a hard time telling EA’s Rock Band and Activision’s Guitar Hero apart these days.

While Steelers All Pro Safety, and co-Madden 2010 cover athlete, Troy Polamalu, didn’t take part in the strumming of plastic instruments, he did his part to boost soldier moral by showing up in a grass-covered Ghillie sniper suit. Check out the video below.

In the end, Pittsburgh’s KDKA news station declared the Steelers winners of the competition, and considering the teams performance in last Sunday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals, I’m sure they’re relishing the win.

Yes. I’m a bitter Steelers fan. Sue me. I will end this on a positive note by saying bravo to Zinone and her husband for putting together such an awesome organization. If you’d like to find out more about Pro vs. GI Joe, head on over to their website at provsgijoe.com.

Despite drummer Nick Mason’s comments that “It irritates [him] having watched [his] kids do it – if they spent as much time practising the guitar as learning how to press the buttons they’d be damn good by now,” he has expressed that the band could be interested in a Rock Band/Guitar Hero Pink Floyd game. “I think we’d consider it,” he told the BBC. “I think everyone’s looking at new ways of selling the music because the business of selling records has almost disappeared.”

Seems like he’s only in it for the record sales, but to be honest, I don’t care. A Pink Floyd Rock Band game would, to me, be one of the best music games possible. In fact, just a spin-off as simple as “Rock Band: Progressive Rock edition” would be brilliant. Nick Mason lives near to me, so if they say no to this I will go round to his house and give him a good talking-to. (this worked for Daft Punk in DJ Hero, there’s no reason why it can’t work twice).

Via Kotaku

I jump with joy any time that video games are brought up in a good light, and this is no exception. Deval Patrick, the Governor of Massachusetts, lobbied game publishers to relocate to his state in an effort to help his state’s economy. Now he’s brought the subject up again, this time bragging about it.

“This is not your father’s [Route] 128. You know that [There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.] ‘Guitar Hero’? That was invented here. It was built here.”

Harmonix is indeed based in Cambridge. And the Route 128 area is a massive technology hub in the state, with companies like Polaroid, Sun Microsystems, and Raytheon having branches there.

Game Politics

Another day, another Guitar Hero story, but this one is sure to have some of the franchise’s fans excited. USA Today announced some brand new features for Guitar Hero 5(Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, Wii) as well as a partial setlist featuring tracks by Tom Petty, White Stripes, Bob Dylan, Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder, Johnny Cash, Santana, and Vampire Weekend. Now, regardless of how you feel about the franchise, you’ve got to admit- that is a fantastic setlist.

USA Today also announced the brand-new Fest mode that allows people to battle at home or online for scores. As always, 4 can compete at home, but with the inclusion of online battles, 8 players in total can compete online, for “momentum points”. Another mode they detailed was Party Play, which lets you join songs, switch instruments, or change the difficulty level-mid-game. Activision’s creative director says that GH5 will have a lot more variety, with more indie artists, classic rock, and heavy metal.

Call me a hypocrite if you want, but if the setlist continues to be this great, and the features keep rocking, this might be the first GH game I’ve picked up since Guitar Hero 2 back in ‘06. Plus, Vampire Weekend! I’ve been asking for their songs since Rock Band came out, but I guess Activision beat Harmonix to the punch. Hit the jump for the partial setlist.

•Tom Petty (Runnin Down a Dream)
•White Stripes (Blue Orchid)
•The Rolling Stones (Sympathy for the Devil)
•Bob Dylan (All Along The Watchtower)
•Santana (No One To Depend On)
•Vampire Weekend (A-Punk)
•Johnny Cash (Ring of Fire)
•Kings of Leon (Sex on Fire)
•Stevie Wonder (Superstition)

It seems nowadays that everytime I write up a post, I end up complaining about Activision and their cash cow known colloquially as Guitar Hero- and this post will unfortunately be no different. Because today, Activision announced three, yes three, more games for the Guitar Hero franchise, all of which are coming out this year.

Though there were already 4 confirmed Guitar Hero games in the works for 2009 alone, Activision today confirmed that three more ____ Hero games would be released this fall, namely Band Hero, Guitar Hero V, and DJ Hero. The idea of DJ Hero was leaked a while ago, but Guitar Hero V and Band Hero are news as far as news goes.

According to the press release, Guitar Hero: Van Halen will feature Van Halen’s greatest hits, along with some songs from other artists, selected by Van Halen themselves. Band Hero will be the franchise’s first E10+ game, and will be focused more on a “family-friendly experience”, and DJ Hero will be a scratching game with a turntable controller (as you see above) with which you can remix songs in the game. DJ Hero seems the most interesting to me, but I’d have to see it myself before making any judgement.

Hit the jump for the press release, straight from the horse’s Activision’s mouth.

GUITAR HERO® ANNOUNCES FALL LINEUP FEATURING GROUNDBREAKING
DJ HERO™ TITLE AND NEW GUITAR HERO® 5 AND BAND HERO™ GAMES

Innovative DJ Hero Game Expected To Transform

How Consumers Engage with Music

New Guitar Hero 5, DJ Hero and Band Hero Expand the Category with Fun-to-Play Experiences and Innovative New Technologies and Features

Fall Slate Delivers Largest Variety of Music and Hottest Artists

Santa Monica, CA – May 7, 2009 – Activision Publishing, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) is set to once again revolutionize how consumers interact with music by releasing three new titles this fall – DJ Hero™, Guitar Hero® 5 and Band Hero™ – that will redefine the company’s popular music gaming platform. The slate will transform the way consumers enjoy and engage with music by offering the largest variety of music genres, innovative technologies and new social entertainment experiences for existing fans and millions of new consumers who previously have not joined Guitar Hero’s global community of fans.

· The company’s groundbreaking DJ Hero expands Guitar Hero’s signature social gaming to all-new consumers with the addition of diverse music genres including hip-hop, R&B, Motown, electronica and dance. Introducing an all-new innovative turntable controller, DJ Hero 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.

· Letting fans continue to fulfill their rock fantasies, Guitar Hero 5 features the hottest rock and roll artists today as well as classic rock bands and gives players an unprecedented level of control over the way they play the game with the ability to drop in and out of songs and change band members, instruments and difficulty levels on the fly.

· The franchises’ first E10+ rated console game, Band Hero delivers an exciting music collection featuring top-40 hits designed to expand the experience to a new genre and appeal to a broad family audience who can play together on the guitar, drums, bass and microphone. The game builds upon Guitar Hero’s easy-to-play, difficult-to-master signature gameplay and allows novice players and expert fans to join together on their favorite songs.

“Guitar Hero has made music social again and has become one of the most popular ways to experience music,” said Dan Rosensweig, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Guitar Hero franchise. “Today’s fans enjoy a variety of music and are looking for more ways to engage with their favorite songs, artists and fellow fans. These games will let them listen, participate and socialize with music in ways they have never been able to before.”

I’ve made this point at least three times this year, but if all goes as planned, there will be 20 Guitar Hero games in existence at the end of 2009. Yes, twenty. But since RedOctane and Harmonix sold the series after three games, the other 17 seems to have come straight from Activision, even though they’ve only had the series for two and a half years. And now, with every possible sign, save for an outright announcement, proving the existence of Guitar Hero: Van Halen, it’s pretty safe to assume that this game is coming out. Unfortunately.

It’s no secret that I’m not too fond of Activision’s franchise exploiting, but it could definitely be a lot worse- and we can prove it. We here at Ripten dug deep into Activision’s trash and found a lengthy list of ideas that were cut from their lineup, but for the sake of time, we selected the best five, along with their box arts, and posted them after the jump.

5. Guitar Hero: One-Hit Wonders

THE PITCH: Guitar Hero’s back, with the songs you love from the bands you’ve never heard of! One-hit wonders from the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, and early 2000s take you back to the time when you’d rock out to “Jesse’s Girl” in your bedroom, or when you got kicked off of the bus for playing “Who Let The Dogs Out?” too loudly, or even that time you did the “Macarena” at your 20th birthday party… and no one else did. You can dance if you want to, but all your friends will be lining up to play Guitar Hero: One-Hit Wonders! Be one of the first 99 to preorder, and you’ll recieve a red balloon!

THE SETLIST:
Rick Springfield – Jesse’s Girl
Vanilla Ice – Ice, Ice, Baby
Toni Basil – Mickey
Carl Douglas – Kung Fu Fighting
Men Without Hats – The Safety Dance

THE PROBLEM: It’s simple- it’s a game full of songs that most people either tried to forget, or will soon try to forget once the challenge of drunkenly FC’ing the vocals for a-ha’s Take On Me comes into play. It also doesn’t leave much to the imagination with DLC. Since Activision can’t provide full-disc downloads for a one-hit wonders game, it’ll just be download pack after download pack until people start getting tired of the songs. The biggest problem? No one wants to be the guy at the party that makes everyone play Divinyls’s I Touch Myself.

4. Guitar Hero: Smash Hits: Smash Hits!

THE PITCH: Guitar Hero is back… again! This time, with the best of the best that you personally selected! Guitar Hero: Smash Hits was such a success, now we bring you the smash hits from the smash hits! With such songs as Through The Fire And Flames, Monkey Wrench, Killer Queen, and more, the fun never stops! This time, the hits are even smashier! Preorder early, and you’ll get a downloadable code redeemable for one free downloadable song!

THE SETLIST:
Well, pretty much half of Guitar Hero: Smash Hits. The rest will come in DLC.

THE PROBLEM:
Aside from the fact that the songs are literally recycled from the game that directly preceded it… well, no that’s pretty much the problem. If you look, you’ll notice that this box art has no console-specific label, and that’s because it’s going to every platform they can think of, regardless of generation- Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, Xbox, Gamecube, PS2, DS, PSP, Gizmondo, N-Gage, iPhone, Android phones, TI calculators, iPod minis -even microwave LCDs. Just press the one followed by zeroes in rhythm with Freebird. Ripten cannot be liable for any food that ends up burnt in the process.

3. 8Bit Hero

THE PITCH: Bleep bloop bleep blop bleep! Grab your messenger bags and get ready for 8Bit Hero! With tracks by your favorite chiptunes artists, this game is sure to bring out the indie hipster in you! With the innovative Gameboy controller and 8bit interface, 8Bit Hero is fun for kids of all ages! Preoder now and get the limited edition NES controller for 8Bit Hero!

THE SETLIST:
Chip Hero – Chip Hero
Anamanaguchi – Power Supply
Nullsleep – Supernova Kiss
Nintendo – Mario Bros Theme
Bit.shifter – March of the Nucleotides

THE PROBLEM: First and foremost, this game would never happen. Although it’s mostly awesome, chiptunes aren’t exactly marketable. Especially with songs that most people haven’t heard of. Sure, the “8bit interface” would be done in a way much better than what you see above, but for the most part, it wouldn’t look too well. As for the Gameboy controller- innovative isn’t the word you want to use when you’ve modified someone else’s product a little. In this case, the word would be painful. And speaking of pain…

2. Guitar Hero: Dragonforce DS

THE PITCH: The most popular band from Guitar Hero 3 is back with their own game on the DS! If you’ve ever felt the need for a challenge on the go, the new five-finger Guitar Pack that comes with Guitar Hero: Dragonforce is just for you! Challenge your friends head-to-head over Nintendo WiFi, or play alone! Whether on the bus, or in the doctor’s office, Guitar Hero: Dragonforce DS is a good challenge for everybody! Preorder now and get a free Dragonforce wrist cast!

THE SETLIST:
Every single Dragonforce song ever producded.

THE PROBLEM:
Well it’s not a problem, depending on what perspective you’re looking at it from. From Activision’s position, it’s horrible. Hand cramps will lead to lawsuits, which in turn leads to bankruptcy. From a doctor’s standpoint, it’s fantastic. Not to mention that Dragonforce… kind of sucks.

1. Guitar Hero: STOMP

THE PITCH: All of the fun from the famous percussion show comes to your living room with Guitar Hero: STOMP! Rattle, shake, and roll your way across 7 different venues with the ingenious STOMP gloves, shoes, and trash-can controller for the best gameplay! With such onomatopoeic hits as “Crash“, “Bang“, and “Floom“, the fun never stops with Guitar Hero: STOMP! Preorder now and get your limited edition STOMP! V-neck!

THE SETLIST:
Boom
Plunk
Zoom
Rattle
Icky Icky Icky Pekang Zooboing Nee Won

THE PROBLEM: You’ve all undoubtedly heard about STOMP, right? I mean, it’s a great show, and if you ever get the chance to see it, by all means- do. But it’s loud. Very boisterous and raucous, and no one that lives in an apartment would ever get the chance to play it without being evicted. Banging your hands and feet against stuff would get boring very quickly, and holding a trash can over your butt won’t make it any funner. Of course, knowing the general public, this thing would sell like hotcakes, and we’d eventually see the sequel with full-fledged multiplayer.

Every week, on CD 101 Columbus, Ohio’s premier Alternative Rock station, I pick which new game release people should buy, and which one they should stay the heck away from.

Guitar Hero Metallica is on the show today, but is it the Winner of the Week or the Loser? Click the link to find out if Metal heads will be eternally pissed off at me

Click here for Winners and Losers of the Week

Activision has announced today that Guitar Hero fans will have a place to rock out and bob their heads in unison in Sony’s online service, PlayStation Home. The Guitar Hero room is called “Backstage with Guitar Hero”.

“Backstage with Guitar Hero” will grant VIP access to both a themed backstage lounge and massive concert venue where they can meet up, hang out, check out videos for upcoming titles on the franchise, and share their rock and roll secrets.

There is yet no word on the release date for the room.

“BACKSTAGE WITH GUITAR HERO®” TO DEBUT IN PLAYSTATION®HOME

SANTA MONICA, CA – March 25, 2009 – Activision Publishing, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) today announced that Guitar Hero® fans will have another virtual destination to join together and rock with the launch of the franchise’s very own space in the PlayStation®Home, the 3D social gaming community that allows users to interact, communicate and share gaming experiences together online for the PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™) computer entertainment system. “Backstage with Guitar Hero®” will give Guitar Hero rock stars around the world exclusive VIP access to both a themed backstage lounge and massive concert venue where they can meet up, hang out, check out videos for upcoming titles on the franchise, and share their rock and roll secrets. “Backstage with Guitar Hero” will continue to evolve over time adding new functionality.

So you’re sitting in front of your TV with your partially unbuttoned dress shirt and your tighty whitey underwear asking yourself “how can my plastic guitar rock experience get any better?”

Well, the first thing you can do is invite a few of your buddies over and recreate the Tony Hawk, Kobe Bryant, A-Rod, and Michael Phelps commercial — and once the emotional high wears off from that, you can thank Activision by downloading their latest “Country Rock” expansion featuring: Rascal Flatts “Me and My Gang,” Brad Paisley’s “Ticks”, and Brooks & Dunn’s “Hillbilly Deluxe.”

This little taste of country can be yours for 440 MS points on XBL and $5.49 on the PSN. Yeeee-Haaaw!!!!

Guitar Hero: Metallica has finally been confirmed, after a series of rumours about the game. The game allows players to play in some “famous settings” with 28 Metallica songs and some Alice in Chains, Foo Fighters, Slayer, Machine Head and Queen ones, too. Also featured is “an all new Expert+ difficulty setting featuring two bass drum kick pedals.” Seems, well, difficult (if One on GHIII is anything to go by). The game is set for release in the first half of 2009, although there is no word on which consoles yet.

As if you didn’t have enough games backtracked to carry you into the New Year, today, at an event hosted by Massive Inc., Activision announced a shitload of new games, though they’re mostly sequels to old titles. Hit the jump for the full details.

As expected, Activision announced yet another game for the Guitar Hero franchise. Whoo. If you haven’t been keeping track, that’s the 9th announced Guitar Hero game from Activision. I mean, jeez, Harmonix only made three in the two years they had the series, and as of Q1 2010 (that’s two and a half years in Activision’s hands) the game will have twelve sequels & spin-offs. The franchise is going to die faster than [some 80's rap star]’s career. Thank you, I’ll be here all night.

Surprisngly, Activision also announced a new Tony Hawk game — one that won’t use the controller and will probably use the rumored skateboard peripheral, along with a new Call of Duty game planned as a sequel to Modern Warfare. The last of Activision’s announcements included a new Bond game, probably based off of the 23rd Bond film in 2010, and an original racing game from Bizarre Creations, which they’ve described as ‘Mario Kart meets Forza.” If it allows me to shoot a blue shell from a Maserati, I’m all for it.

Source: MTV Multiplayer

Neversoft, if you’re going to keep whoring out the Guitar Hero franchise- please, do it like this.

I wish I had more to say about this video, but to put it simply, this stuff is awesome. The amount of work and dedication is must have taken to do this is just astounding. Not to mention the LED programming for handlebars. Some kids with time on their hands road around a track of painted dots with LEDs on their handlebars in order to emulate the Guitar Hero experience, set to The Living End’s Prisoner of Society- on a bike.

It’s surprisingly well done, even with the hand writing and the star power tracks. I don’t have the motivation to ever do something on a scale this large, but I definitely have to applaud their work. Kudos, guys.

You may or may not remember the cringe-worthy Guitar Hero World Tour commercial filled with sportacular beefcake — I personally can’t get the look of shame from Michael Phelps out of my head. It would seem that the powers that be have heard our cries and replaced these talented schmoes with an equally talented set of boobs: Heidi Klum. That’s not to say that all of her talent consists of boobs — she has a nice ass, too. Go now and watch them shake.

Thank you and you’re welcome. Honestly, though, this commercial is just silly. That whole time she’s taking off her shirt she’s missing at least twelve notes, and when she’s thinking of me and writhing in ecstasy on the couch, she’s totally wasting her star power.

And yes, I am a sexist hypocrite, but you can’t fault me for enjoying some boobs a lot more than I do watching four dudes in their underwear, especially when they are in obvious Michael Phelps facial pain (the dudes, not the boobs).

Seriously, who thought four grown men wearing pink dress shirts and white boxers sock sliding across a hardwood floor was a good way to market Guitar Hero: World Tour?

What type of Rock Band Group are Tony Hawk, Alex Rodriguez, Kobe Bryant, and Michael Phelps forming? A sissy band that caps off a long night of underwear performances in their living room with a pillow fight? Maybe they can call their band the “Old News Pretty Boy Ski Lodge Olympic Mike” Band. Why Mike? Who told you to do this commercial?

Activision, please hear my plea. Fire your ad agency. The quadruple piano intro is to testosterone as Kryptonite is to Superman.

Afterthought: Does anyone actually like these commercials? Does this make you want to buy Guitar Hero over Rock Band 2?

DS Fanboy reports that the full tracklist for Guitar Hero On Tour: Decades, the next iteration of the huge Guitar Hero franchise on DS. You might not believe it, but it’s an excellent setlist. Not only is it more independent than last time from its console brother, but the tracks themselves are great too. Despite there only being 28 songs, it’s certainly a promising start for this game, and it includes such hits as “Are you gonna go my way” by Lenny Kravitz, “Buddy Holly” by Weezer, and even the epic “La Bamba” by Los Lobos. Hit the jump for the full tracklist.

* Alien Ant Farm – “Smooth Criminal”
* The All-American Rejects – “Dirty Little Secret”
* Blind Melon – “No Rain”
* Blondie – “One Way Or Another”
* Bon Jovi – “You Give Love A Bad Name”
* Boston – “Rock and Roll Band”
* The Darkness – “I Believe In A Thing Called Love”
* Edgar Winter Group – “Free Ride”
* Fall Out Boy – “The Take Over, The Breaks Over”
* Foo Fighters – “The Pretender”
* Free – “All Right Now”
* Jimmy Eat World – “The Middle”
* Joe Satriani – “Satch Boogie”
* Journey – “Any Way You Want It”
* Lenny Kravitz – “Are You Gonna Go My Way”
* Linkin Park – “One Step Closer”
* Los Lobos – “La Bamba”
* Lynyrd Skynyrd – “Sweet Home Alabama (live)”
* Paramore – “Crushcrushcrush”
* Queen – “We Are The Champions”
* R.E.M. – “The One I Love”
* Red Hot Chili Peppers – “Can’t Stop”
* Sammy Hagar – “I Can’t Drive 55″
* Seether – “Remedy”
* Smashing Pumpkins – “Tarantula”
* Stone Temple Pilots – “Down”
* Veruca Salt – “Volcano Girls”
* Weezer – “Buddy Holly”

It’s always nice to hear mainstream media reference the video game industry positively, but Fox News took it a step further when Alexis Glick affectionately cited Guitar Hero’s projected profits as proof of an economically healthy holiday buying season. Click through for the video.

Earlier in the segment, Glick was discussing how the coming drop in gas prices may make people feel better about the state of the economy and more willing to spend on holiday gifts like Guitar Hero, which would help produce the 40% increase Activision Blizzard is predicting over the game’s previous year end sales.

Regardless of whether Guitar Hero pulls in that much paper (1.4 billion! omg), it feels good to see an industry expert using an example from the gaming industry as evidence of why we can still have hope for our economy.

It may not be a surprise to hear that the king of guitar is getting some DLC, him being a big part of the game, but a selection of tracks from Jack White’s band The Raconteurs is certainly welcome. It’s good to see more and more bands signing on to have their music in these games; the more of a selection there is, the better the games will be.

The three songs from Hendrix are “If 6 was 9,” “Little Wing,” and a live version of the classic “Fire”. The lineup for fans of The Raconteurs is “Salute Your Solution,” “Hold Up” and “Consoler of the Lonely”. Let’s hope there’s more to come in the future, eh?

The Hendrix pack releases on November 13, and The Raconteurs’ pack releases on November 20, 2008. Both packs will be available on the Xbox Live Marketplace for 440 Points and the Playstation Store for $5.49. The three tracks from The Raconteurs will be released on their own for 160 Microsoft Points, $1.99 on the PS Store and even 200 Wii Points on the Wii. Rawk out!

In an interview with Joystiq, Brian Bright, project director of Guitar Hero: World Tour, confirmed that Activision are working on DJ Hero. From Joystiq:

JS: Didn’t you say you’re already working on another music game?

BB: Activision’s doing a DJ Hero game, and I can’t comment on what we’re doing. But… we’re working on the future and next gen.

After some convincing rumours, it’s good to hear that the market will eventually have music games that don’t involve instruments from rock bands. It’s certainly a good descision for Activision; surely the only market that hasn’t been taken over by Guitar Hero is those people who don’t enjoy rock music? With DJ Hero, Activision will most likely become richer than Richie Rich on payday who has also just found a $700 billion cheque on the street. Anyway, what do you think? Good or bad idea? Do people want to keep buying more plastic instruments? Let us know in the comments.

The latest in the long line of James Bond actors, Daniel Craig, is secretly a huge gaming fanatic.  He’s actually passionate enough about videogames (secretly) that he wouldn’t sign on with Treyarch to make the upcoming Quantum of Solace game until he got a chance to evaluate it himself.

In an interview with Daily Star, Treyarch’s Adam Gascoine had the following to say about Daniel Craig and his secret gaming lifestyle:

“Daniel Craig is a gamer. The impression I got is that he spends a lot of time playing games even though his other half is constantly telling him not to.

He was quite reserved about doing our game at first because he didn’t want to be involved in a shoddy product. We had to show it to him three times before he would sign up. When we went to Pinewood Studios, we were held up for half an hour because he was playing Guitar Hero.

They were about half way through making Quantum Of Solace and he got to play some levels of the game that related to scenes he was actually filming at the time. The fact that he was evaluating our game made it very high stakes for us. It was quite tense, but the end result made it a much better game.

Craig is very serious about his roles. You can’t just go in there joking and laughing. You have to establish you are there to do business. If he says he doesn’t like it, you have to listen. He’s also built like a brick shithouse so you don’t argue with him.”

I have nothing else to say except that this news is both awesome and strangely humorous.

Activision announced today that Sting and Tool will be added to the lineup for Guitar Hero World Tour. In addition to their music, Sting will be contributing his voice and likeness to an in-game character, and Tool will be adding their creative input on the design of a new venue.

This is a nice step forward by Activision. The announcements of new tracks can get a bit old, but the addition of twists like this definitely help in my opinion.

Afterthought: What say you? Do in-game characters and band inspired venues matter to you, or would you just rather a more in-depth track selection?

Full press release and in-game screens available after the jump.

In-game Sting Character Model

In-game Tool Venue Screen

MULTI-GRAMMY AWARD-WINNING ARTISTS STING AND TOOL TO ROCK IN GUITAR HERO® WORLD TOUR

Police Frontman/Bassist Sting to Lend Voice and Likeness; Rockers Tool Bring Three Popular Tracks and Band-Designed Venue to the Game

Santa Monica, CA – September 5, 2008 – Rock and roll legend Sting and progressive metal pioneers Tool are making their video game debuts, contributing more than just music, in Activision Publishing, Inc.’s (Nasdaq: ATVI) Guitar Hero® World Tour.

In what will be the largest collection of artists ever to appear in a Guitar Hero game, singer-songwriter, actor, author, activist and lead singer/bassist of The Police, Sting will add his voice and likeness as an in-game character. Aspiring frontmen can take the stage as Sting throughout their vocal career or play alongside him as he performs one of The Police classics, “Demolition Man.”

Hugely popular alternative metal band Tool, known for their epic, intense musical arrangements and killer visual arts, will also soon be known for their contribution to the upcoming Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitar Hero fans from all over the world will be able to rock out to “Parabola” and Grammy-award winning “Schism” from Tool’s critically-acclaimed 2001 album Lateralus in addition to “Vicarious” from their 2006 Grammy-award winning album 10,000 Days. The game will also feature an all-new venue designed in collaboration with the band and highlighting the art style that has become a staple in their music videos, live shows and album artwork.

When the house lights go down this fall, a new generation of guitarists, drummers and fearless frontmen will come together and rock with Guitar Hero World Tour. The latest installment in the #1 best-selling video game franchise of 2007, Guitar Hero World Tour transforms music gaming by expanding Guitar Hero’s signature guitar gameplay into a cooperative band experience that combines the most advanced wireless controllers with new revolutionary online* and offline gameplay modes including Band Career and 8-player “Battle of the Bands,” which allows two full bands to compete head-to-head online for the first time ever. The game features a slick newly redesigned guitar controller, drum kit controller and a microphone, as well as an innovative Music Studio music creator that lets players compose, record, edit and share their own rock ‘n’ roll anthems. Music creators will also be able to share their recordings with their friends online through GHTunesSM where other gamers can download and play an endless supply of unique creations.

Guitar Hero World Tour is being developed by Neversoft Entertainment for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system. The Wii™ version is being developed by Vicarious Visions. The PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system version is being developed by Budcat. The game is rated “T” for Teen by the ESRB. For more information on Guitar Hero World Tour, please visit www.guitarhero.com.

Harmonix, Neversoft, Konami, and Activision have all signed an agreement with Microsoft and Sony that guaranteed that all of the new peripherals coming out for the newest batch of music games would all be compatible with each other.

What this means is that any fake guitar, drum set, and microphone that you may purchase along with Rock Band 2, Guitar Hero: World Tour, or Rock Revolution would work in any of those games. You only need to buy one set of instruments to enjoy any and all of these pretend rock experiences.

Sony is supposedly working to get SingStar microphones to also be compatible, as well as getting the current Guitar Hero 3 and Rock Band guitars to play nice together.

Source: Gamasutra via Gamerscore Blog

In an interview with MTV News, director Brett Ratner, expressed his interest in making a film based on Activision’s extremely successful Guitar Hero franchise.

“I love Guitar Hero and I think it’s a part of pop culture … I would love to do a Guitar Hero movie, if Activision would ever let me. I’m trying to convince them, but why would you have a movie screw up such a huge franchise? Not that I would make a bad movie. So that would be cool, to do a Guitar Hero movie.”

“It could be about a kid from a small town who dreams of being a rock star and he wins the Guitar Hero competition … One of those dreams-[come-true] kind of concepts.”

Shall I barf now or later? Do we really need another “dream come true” film, and how on earth is wanting to become a rock star and ending up holding a fucking plastic guitar a dream come true? That’s like a girl heading to Hollywood to become an actress and ending up a fluff girl on a porno set.

Afterthought: What do you think? Should Activision give him the green light on this? Maybe they should allow him to film two movies back to back — one for the full version, and then another based on a different kid from a small town who has a dream to play the harmonica. That kid can end up winning a Guitar Hero DS competition. Feel good story of the year material right there. I am holding back the tears.

Source: multiplayerblog.mtv.com (via: escapistmagazine.com)

Might wanna soften up your palms, because they’re about to hit your face at record speed.

Blake Peebles, a sixteen-year-old kid in Raleigh, North Carolina, has, through a combination of Jedi mind tricks and voodoo magic, convinced his parents to let him drop out of high school so that he can focus on the number one priority of every high-schooler– Guitar Hero.

“We couldn’t take the complaining anymore,” says [his mother]. “He always told me that he thought school was a waste of time.”

Rather than forcing him to suck it up and stay in school, his parents promptly removed him from his high school and hired some private tutors to teach him between Guitar Hero sessions.

Peebles convinced his parents that he could indeed make a living off of the game by playing at MLG tournaments, and winning prizes which include gift certificates, gaming equipment, and chicken sandwiches. I wish I had made that up, but it’s dead serious. The kid is set for life if he can win himself a chicken sammich by perfecting Mauvais Garcon on expert.

When I first read this article, I could have sworn it was from The Onion. Unfortunately, its not, and it will just be more fuel for the “games are addictive” fire. To me, it seems like more fuel for the “parents just don’t understand” fire, but I’m no expert on parenting. Fortunately.

Source: Kotaku

Not content with the plastic miniature guitar you’re forced to use when you pretend rock out? Well, if you’re a PS2 or 3 owner with an extra $180 lying around, you can pick up this new wooden guitar that works with Rock Band and all of the Guitar Hero games.

Dubbed the Starpex and created by Peak Products, this third-party peripheral is the first ever full-sized fake guitar for use with consoles. Somehow, that isn’t a huge surprise.  Let’s take a look at the features in a nice bulleted format:

• Instrument-quality, high-gloss lacquered finish
• Hardwood body, neck, and headstock handcrafted by a leading guitar manufacturer
• Compatible with Guitar Hero/Rock Band games on PS2/PS3
• Star Power/Overdrive button provides the fastest most accurate access to improving your score
• Ten Fret Button Design features improved button feel, reduced fatigue, and option to play solo-style at the base of the neck
• Enhanced Strum Bar gives the perfect balance of tactile and audible feedback
• Connect wired for maximum scoring potential or wirelessly (2.4Ghz)
• Modular design allows users to separate electronic components from the body of the guitar allowing for further future customization including new guitar bodies, pick guards, and more

The guitar will be available this August via the Peak Products website and Circuit City.

In other video game related news, private military company Blackwater USA is currently developing an entertainment package to be air-dropped to US troops that includes the popular rhythm game.

In a story reported by the Associated Press, Blackwater recruiter James Overton is creating the entertainment package to help servicemen and women adjust to life in the field.

The kit will include an Xbox 360, TV, Guitar Hero, and a modem.

The entertainment package can be seen as a recruiting tactic that the PMC is trying to employ to engender good will among US servicemen and women, who Blackwater regularly recruits from. Most Blackwater contractors are former US military personnel.

Source: Associated Press

When will the long line of lovely ladies willing to throw themselves ass first in front of a camera, while they fiddle with gaming related paraphernalia, ever end — and do we really ever want it to?

First Wii Fit Girl, and now we present to you, Bikini-Clad Guitar Hero Girl. The screen appears gray and choppy for the first 10 seconds or so, but rest assured, a very nice female figure adorned in dental floss appears shortly thereafter.

Enjoy.  Oh, and this is so not safe for work.

Source: N4G

Konami has filed a lawsuit against Harmonix, MTV Networks, and their parent company Viacom over alleged infringement in the Rock Band videogame.

Konami is claiming that Rock Band violates patents it filed way back in 2002 and 2003 that cover simulated musical instruments and a “musical-rhythm matching game”.

The publisher is seeking cash compensation and an order to block Viacom and Harmonix from using any of the peripherals included in the game, according to the complaint, which was filed in federal court in Marshall, Texas.

Before Harmonix’s success with Guitar Hero and Rock Band, Konami had it’s own guitar-themed game called Guitar Freaks, which first appeared in arcades in 1999 and also made its way onto the Playstation and Playstation 2.

There apparently is a patent on rocking out. Who knew?

Konami’s Digital Entertainment unit has recently announced Rock Revolution, another music-based videogame.

Viacom has yet to receive the complaint, so has not made any comments on the situation.

Sounds like a stretch to me, but it might just be some stunt by Konami to work its new Rock Revolution game into the mix of things. We’ll have an update when more information becomes available.

Source: Bloomberg.com

Not a bad week for game releases, well, that is for every console but the PSP. Sadly, no PSP releases this week, but DS fans will be happy to hear that they’ve got a few options to choose from with Trauma Center: Under the Knife 2, Journey to the Center of the Earth, 1 vs. 100, AMF Bowling Pinbusters and Ducati Racing.

Guitar Hero: Aerosmith hits all the home consoles and Hail to the Chimp hits both the Xbox 360 and PS3. Gears of War Refresh also comes out this week, just in time to get gamers ready for the sequel this fall. Check out the full list on the next page.

Xbox 360

• Gears of War Refresh
• Guitar Hero: Aerosmith
• Hail to the Chimp

PS3

• Guitar Hero: Aerosmith
• Hail to the Chimp

Wii

• Guitar Hero: Aerosmith
• Purr Pals

PS2

• Guitar Hero: Aerosmith

PC

• Elements
• The Immortals of Terra
• Roogoo

Nintendo DS

• 1 vs. 100
• AMF Bowling Pinbusters
• Ducati Racing
• Journey to the Center of the Earth
• Trauma Center: Under the Knife 2

Activision CEO: “We need a Guitar Hero game on the DS.”

Activision Dev: “I don’t know how that is going to work…”

Activision CEO: “Make it happen.”

And thus sprung forth the abomination that is Guitar Hero: On Tour for the Nintendo DS.

The in-game presentation, note tracking and audio quality are all there, but Guitar Hero for the DS lacks two major factors from the Guitar Hero franchise: fun-to-play songs and seamless controller integration.

With about half the amount of songs of other Guitar Hero games, On Tour should have made it up with the quality of songs available. With On Tour, I felt less like a rock star and more like the composer of a Shrek movie soundtrack. Smash Mouth made the cut? Seriously? Even though I dislike the set list, I can’t deny that the sound quality coming through the DS speakers or headphones is exceptional.

Can’t get enough of you, baby

Regardless of how nice the songs sound, the disconnect I found with the “guitar” peripheral negates all fun from the experience. The beauty of other Guitar Hero games is the fact that the player is holding a fake guitar to connect them to the actions on screen. The guitar controller brings the player into the game and on the stage rocking out as a rock star should.

The bundled peripheral with On Tour is a device made from Satan himself. In my experience, the adjustable strap for the device was itchy, the buttons were too close together, and it kept popping out of the GBA slot during play, thus stopping my game to the point of a hard reset.

I should not have to struggle with the peripheral to have a good time. It should be easy to use, durable, and seamlessly integrated with the gameplay. This game could have had the finest set list of all the Guitar Heroes, and this “guitar” peripheral would have still ruined the experience.

Graphically, the game looks fine on the DS, with fluid animation. However, it still carries the awful character design of Guitar Hero III. Additionally, because of the awkward peripheral, I had to tilt the DS to get comfortable, in turn tilting my head to a position it shouldn’t be in to play a game.

For a series made for everyone, I am not sure what kind of gamer Activision is trying to reach with Guitar Hero: On Tour. Hey now, I’m not a rock star. I’m a gamer, and my wrist hurts.

What does this score mean? Check out our review scoring breakdown.

The song was introduced at the 2005 Blizzcon by Blizzard Entertainment’s house band, Level 70 Elite Tauren Chieftain, and is quite catchy, even for someone such as myself, who hasn’t played WoW in a while.

Too bad it’s not on Rock Band so we could cover those tasty vocals! Hit the jump for the youtube music video.