Activision has just announced more Guitar Hero games… SURPRISE! Building on the success of the series, the company plans to release three more games (and peripheral bundles, no doubt) this coming fall: Guitar Hero 5, Band Hero, and DJ Hero. Prepare for the battle of shelf space to once again ruin bless our shopping experience.
In all fairness, Guitar Hero World Tour had some significant faults. With GH5, Activision looks to fix those issues while introducing new and expanded features. Band members can now drop in or out on the fly, fixing one of the biggest complaints of the previous game in which some “lower skilled” players would bring an entire band into the gutter during a song. The new GH also allows for the changing of difficulty levels and instruments, so if completing a song becomes impossible a quick change can help to finish. This will, undoubtedly, be much better for players who may not be stellar rockers, and perhaps providing for a more fun experience. It may even cut down on the amount of guitars thrown at televisions. No word on if song creation will return, though.
Band Hero is, for all intents and purposes, a Top 40 version of World Tour/GH5. The game is intended as the first family/youth-focused game in the series and will take on Lego Rock band for that segment, sporting an E-10+ rating. The advantage that LRB has is that it incorporates a “schtick” with the Lego license. Can Band Hero compete without one?
DJ Hero is, well… DJ HERO! This is perhaps the game that I am most excited about (personally). As a completely new game in the franchise, DJ Hero will provide for a new experience in the rhythm genre. Well, at least one that hasn’t fully made its way onto consoles in a while. The game allows for original mixes of songs in the dance/rnb/hip hop vein. The turntable controller is included, but sadly glow sticks are not.
Images of DJ Hero controller below and after the break:
Full press release after the break
GUITAR HERO® ANNOUNCES AUTUMN LINEUP FEATURING GROUNDBREAKING DJ HEROTM TITLE AND NEW GUITAR HERO® 5 AND BAND HEROTM 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 * Autumn Slate Delivers Largest Variety of Music and Hottest Artists Thursday 7th May/… Activision Publishing, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) is set to once again revolutionise how consumers interact with music by releasing three new titles this fall – DJ HeroTM, Guitar Hero® 5 and Band HeroTM – 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 favourite 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 favourite 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.”
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