Following the recent announcement of the Rock Band 4 release, Activision and FreeStyleGames premiered a new Guitar Hero game this week, Guitar Hero Live, the first game in the series to be released since 2010. Musicians Pete Wentz (Fall Out Boy) and Gerard Way (My Chemical Romance) attended the event in New York on Tuesday where the first shots of gameplay and a new guitar controller were revealed.
The new guitar controller now features two rows of buttons, six in total, instead of the standard five. Activision says this new design should be more friendly for medium-level players, and mimics chords more realistically than the old Guitar Hero controllers (but before you put your old guitars on eBay, keep in mind that Harmonix has stated the old controllers will be compatible with the upcoming Rock Band game).
Guitar Hero Live totes a new live action mode where the player takes the stage in front of a recorded crowd, rather than animated one. The crowd will react based on how well the player performs, from ecstatic cheers to booing, and even your band mates will give you feedback in their facial expressions. The game also introduces a new feature called GHTV, which takes advantage of the online capabilities of new consoles and gives players constant access to new songs in a frequently updated online library.
Of course, the most important part of a Guitar Hero game is the music. The starting lineup for the initial release of Guitar Hero Live advertises a range of musicians from classic bands such as The Rolling Stones, to modern bands like Fall Out Boy, and even performers like Carrie Underwood and Skrillex. Activision said that the music lineup for the game “takes the approach of the modern music festival” and will feature a variety of genres.
Along with being released on the Xbox One and 360, the Playstation 3 and 4, and the Wii U, Guitar Hero Live will also have full releases on select tablets and mobile devices. Fans who live in Torrance, California or near Union Square in New York City can try out Guitar Hero Live on April 18, 2015 at their local Best Buy.
Are you excited for the return of Guitar Hero? With Rock Band and Guitar Hero both returning around the same time, who do you think is going to win out in this return to rhythm gaming?
