Guitar Hero: Van Halen comes out on December 22, 2009  but you still have time to pre-order it.  It would probably make a pretty cool present since it sounds like it will be a lot of fun.  There are 25 epic tracks to choose from including hits like “Jump,” “Hot for Teacher” and “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love” as well as three signature Eddie Van Halen solos and 19 guest act tracks. 

Here are some game details from Amazon:

• Live out the excitement of playing as the legendary band Van Halen
• Perform an incredible arena rock set list that includes 25 Van Halen songs, three Eddie Van Halen signature solos and 19 songs from guest acts
• Includes the Van Halen songs And the Cradle Will Rock, Atomic Punk, Beautiful Girls, Cathedral, Eruption, Everybody Wants Some!!, Feel Your Love Tonight and Hang ‘Em High
• Includes the Van Halen songs Hear About It Later, I’m the One, Ice Cream Man, Jamie’s Cryin’, Little Guitars, Loss of Control, Mean Street, Panama and Pretty Woman
• Includes the Van Halen songs Runnin’ with the Devil, So This Is Love?, Somebody Get Me a Doctor, Spanish Fly, Unchained and You Really Got Me

image: Amazon

Post from: EveryJoe

Pre-Order “Guitar Hero: Van Halen”

Band Hero features popular acts like Taylor Swift, No Doubt, Jackson 5, The All-American Rejects and Lily Allen and includes a pretty smoking playlist.

From what I’ve read, I like the flexibility of being able to play with any combination of instruments including four lead singers.  That makes sense to me since some bands do feature more than one lead and not everyone wants to play guitar.

If you’ve got a great library on Guitar Hero: World Tour, you can actually import it, along with GH downloadable content, over to Band Hero.

The game supports 2-4 player local multiplayer in co-op and competitive modes and 2-8 player support online.

Here are some key game features as listed on Amazon:

• Join the Party at any Time – In Party Play mode, you can jump in/jump out of a song at any time with the click of a button.
• Try All-new Sing Along Mode – Sing together karaoke style on any song you choose.
• Create Your Own Band – Your band is as unique as you are. Play with any combination of instruments you want, even with four lead singers.
• Expand Your Music Collection – Import your favorite Guitar Hero World Tour and Guitar Hero downloadable content straight into Band Hero.
• Multiplayer Support – Enjoy 2-4 player local multiplayer support in co-op and competitive modes and 2-8 player support online.
• Roadie Battle Mode – Team up with a partner on a Nintendo DS Lite for an all new level of competition.
• Controller Compatibility – Supports all Guitar Hero instrument controllers within the same gaming platform, as well as other music/rhythm game controllers.

I’m actually going to pick up a copy even though I swore that I wouldn’t.  Now that I’ve learned more about the game, I have to try it.  Will you be playing Band Hero?

images: Amazon

Post from: EveryJoe

“Band Hero” Out Today

Canadian band, Billy Talent, are offering a compromise – fans will have the option of buying a deluxe version of their new album, Billy Talent III, “which includes a second disc of the album’s 11 songs stripped of guitars and the notes for all the tracks, so budding musicians can play along.”

image: Zuma Press

I think that’s a great idea!  Of course, it’s not the same as playing a video game but with so many people interested in learning how to play songs, having stripped down tracks and sheet music is a great alternative.

Band member, D’Sa said: “We thought (the idea) was amazing right away because no one else had done it before.  We’d never had any songs in ‘Guitar Hero,’ so we decided to make our own, in a way.”

What do you think of this idea?  Would you try picking up a real guitar if more bands offered stripped down tracks on their albums?

Post from: EveryJoe

Canadian Band Makes Real-Life “Guitar Hero”

The band kit includes a drum kit with mic, guitar kit and game software.

The sale/price slash is only good till July 12th.

GameStop has also dropped the price on tons of games to below $20. That sale happens from now until August 2nd, so you have a bit more time to take advantage of that one.

Image|pfala

Post from: EveryJoe

$100 Off Guitar Hero World Tour Band Kits

They were doing a press conference for the upcoming documentary, It Might Get Loud, which follows their careers in the music industry when White said: “It’s depressing to have a label come and tell you that ['Guitar Hero'] is how kids are learning about music and experiencing music.”  He said that he wasn’t trying to pass judgment on “which format people should get their music in” but he did say that “if you have to be in a video game to get in front of them, that’s a little sad.”

Page chimed in to the discussion adding:  “You think of the drum part that John Bonham did on Led Zeppelin’s first track on the first album, Good Times Bad Times.  How many drummers in the world can play that part, let alone on Christmas morning?”

As someone who grew up with family in the music industry, I understand exactly what they are saying.  I agree that it’s unfortunate that too many kids are learning about music through video games but I also think it’s better than them not learning about it at all.  Who knows how many kids put down that fake guitar and pick up a real one.  I know it’s not as organic as stumbling into a love of music through life experiences but I think it’s equally sad that many of today’s youth have no idea what classic rock sounds like.  If a video helps introduce them to that, I have a hard time complaining.

image: Zuma Press

Post from: EveryJoe

White and Page Knock “Guitar Hero”

Activision unveiled the first screenshots from Guitar Hero 5 at E3 2009, and here they are.

Images: Copyright 2009 ©Activision.

Post from: EveryJoe

E3 ‘09: Guitar Hero 5

There’s been speculation about this game for months so I’m very happy that they’ve finally put the rumors to rest.  It’s supposed to be released sometime during the second half of the year and, while there were no specific tracks mentioned as being confirmed for the game, Activision did say that songs from Queen, Weezer, blink-182, The Offspring, Queens of the Stone Age (and others) will be included.

The other games that were announced were DJ Hero, Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero.  I don’t know much about any of these titles except that DJ Hero will work with a single turntable device with three colored buttons.  That sounds like a lot of fun.  I definitely would be willing to try it!  Band Hero sounds an awful lot like Rock Band but I did hear that on GH5, players will be able to drop in and out of games and change the difficulty levels easily.  That sounds good.  I wish they would go back to making the games compatible with the controllers for people who don’t want to play with the guitars.

image: VanHalenStore.com

Post from: EveryJoe

Van Halen Among New “Hero” Games

The song selection looks good too.  The set list includes 28 songs by Metallica along with an additional 21 songs from other artists. The songs “Broken, Beat & Scarred”, “Cyanide”, and “My Apocalypse” from Metallica’s Death Magnetic album will be featured on the versions for the Nintendo Wii and PlayStation 2.  The song “One” will be making a reappearance after being included in the set list on Guitar Hero: Legends of Rock.  Of course, there are also major fan favorites like “Enter Sandman,” “Fade to Black,” “For Whom the Bell Tolls” and “Nothing Else Matters.”

The game will be similar to GHWT in the sense that you’ll be able to play the lead and bass guitar, drums and vocals but I’m hearing that it’s supposed to be pretty tough.  Drummers (not me!) can challenge themselves by adding a second drum pedal in the Expert+ mode.  Gamers will also have the option of using tones from Hetfields’ ESP Truckster guitar and more in the Music Creation mode which is similar to what you will find in World Tour.  The Battle mode will feature influences from Metallica (such as being able to use the “Fade to Black” power-up to completely black out your opponents notes) but will largely be based on what was seen in Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (my favorite GH game!).

Post from: EveryJoe

Guitar Hero: Metallica Out Now!

Image|Newscom.com

It’s the wildly popular follow-up to the Gameboy Advance game-Rhythm Tengoku-and is set to hit American soil on April 5th along with Nintendo’s DSi.

And now, apparently Beyonce is getting in on the gaming action.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Beyonce confesses to being a fan of Guitar Hero [who knew?] and that she “make[s] time” for gaming.

No one can deny the “star power” that Beyonce [and her song] brings to the DSi and Rythym Heaven’s US launch and since Rythym Heaven [I keep wanting to type Rythym Nation!] is a very “Japanese” game, maybe the endorsement of sorts will expose a larger market to funky/cool little game.

Then again, I was hooked after watching a couple of Japanese trailers on YouTube.com. Seriosly. Who can’t love the game after watching someone toss some turnips? Love it!

Post from: EveryJoe

Beyonce Lends Street Cred to Rythym Heaven

Alright… this entry isn’t about an adventure or rpg game… per say… but more an entry about my adventures with a guitar and some music. Oh… and maybe some rythm… but not too much because I’m a white girl who has no… well… music skillz.

The name of the game is called Guitar Hero and that’s bascially what I’ve been playing for the past 2 weeks. My evil brother bought the game and thought it’d be fun to bring it on over so he can show his big sis a thing or two about how to groove and break it down. What he didn’t know is that I’d hit him over the head with a candle stick holder on his way out the door with this new, amazing game that I didn’t want to leave my house.

With my brother unconscious, I could keep the game there indefinitely, because I HAD to achieve rock stardom, or my existance would mean NOTHING. NOTHING I TELL YOU!.

Now, being a rockstar is really hard work. You really have to start out at nothing and build yourself up. Actually, as I sit here typing this entry, I can feel the pain in my arm from having to hold up that magnificant white and black guitar that would play soothing sounds to ease my tormented soul. The pain, however, is well worth it, because I have almost achieve rockstardom. IF ONLY I DIDN’T HAVE A JOB. I COULD SIT AT HOME ALL DAY AND PLAY MY TUNES.

Who needs heroine when you have Guitar Hero?

And you know what the best part is?! After I become a rock hero, within MONTHS there will be a new Guitar Hero (scroll down a little bit… it’s there) out that I can play and best once again. OH, my heart be still.

Rock on, homies.

Post from: EveryJoe

Rock n’ Roll