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Guitar Hero III, 80s Tracks Announced

Posted by Zonk on from the thanks-for-all-you've-shown-us-this-is-how-we-feel dept.

claudia martinez writes "The Guitar Hero franchise is spreading its wings today with the announcement of Guitar Hero III, due to released across four platforms. This time around the title will feature boss battles and a new online multiplayer mode with world-wide leaderboards. Wireless controllers based on the Gibson guitar should be available for all platforms, and some of the titles already slated for the game have been announced. Tracks will include: "Paint It Black" (by The Rolling Stones), "Cherub Rock" (by Smashing Pumpkins), "The Metal" (by Tenacious D), "My Name is Jonas" (by Weezer), "Rock And Roll All Nite" (as made famous by Kiss), "School's Out" (as made famous by Alice Cooper), "Slow Ride" (as made famous by Fog Hat), and "Cult of Personality" (by Living Colour). More tracks from the 80s version of the title have also been announced with Poison, Skid Row, and Billy Squier rounding out the already impressive set list."

109 comments

  1. Maybe they'll continue the trend... by danbert8 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Until we finally get to "Lyre Hero: The Music of Ancient Rome"

    --
    Yes it's an anecdote! Were you expecting original research in a Slashdot comment?
    1. Re:Maybe they'll continue the trend... by cpt+kangarooski · · Score: 1

      So for the very last encore, you get to see the city burn down around you while you play?

      --
      -- This and all my posts are in the public domain. I am a lawyer. I am not your lawyer, and this is not legal advice.
    2. Re:Maybe they'll continue the trend... by rizzo420 · · Score: 2, Funny

      nooo... that's fiddle hero.

      --
      please me, have no regrets.
    3. Re:Maybe they'll continue the trend... by cpt+kangarooski · · Score: 1

      They didn't have fiddles then; that's an anachronism. But back in the day, there was a rumor that Nero sang and played the lyre during the fire of 64.

      --
      -- This and all my posts are in the public domain. I am a lawyer. I am not your lawyer, and this is not legal advice.
    4. Re:Maybe they'll continue the trend... by Lachrymite · · Score: 1

      I'm just happy for all the fans from Norway that they included some Black Metal, Living Colour.

  2. From the list there... by rehtonAesoohC · · Score: 1

    Let me be the first to say:

    Let there be ROCK!!

    1. Re:From the list there... by jonwil · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Unfortunatly the greatest guitar game of all time is missing one of the greatest, if not THE greatest Aussie ever to play the guitar, Angus Young. Come on guys, how can you make such a stupid omission :(

    2. Re:From the list there... by OldeTimeGeek · · Score: 1
      Because:

      1. They couldn't get the rights to AC/DC music

      - or -

      2. It just doesn't work without the kilt and and the thought of middle-age rockers jumping around them grossed out the development team.

    3. Re:From the list there... by poot_rootbeer · · Score: 2, Funny

      Unfortunatly the greatest guitar game of all time is missing one of the greatest, if not THE greatest Aussie ever to play the guitar, Angus Young.

      I hear they tried doing an AC/DC Guitar Hero track where the player performs as Malcom young, but they found that it was too easy to get a perfect score by just going "chunka chunka" on eighth notes for 3 minutes straight.

  3. Personally, by PixieDust · · Score: 1
    I'd like to see some Oingo Boingo, DEVO, Styx. David Bowie (Yes I know he's in the first one). I mean, the 80s gave us SO much tow ork with. Blondie even would be awesome. How about "Guitar Hero IV: One Hit Wonders" That would be fun.

    Too bad MTV isn't going to develop it anymore (idiots for killing a golden franchise).

    1. Re:Personally, by MozillaMike · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Too bad MTV isn't going to develop it anymore (idiots for killing a golden franchise). I firmly agree, but if MTV continued to develop the franchise they might turn it into a hip hop or "reality" show themed version. It would turn into what their TV channels are now, little if any music videos, and a lot of low grade "reality" shows. I can see it now... Real World meets guitar hero, complete with drunk drama, and poor cutscenes.... oh yeah some guitar in there.
      --
      GCS/MU d- s: a--- C++ W+++ w+ M-- PS--- PE++ t+ R+ tv b+ DI++ G e- h! !y
    2. Re:Personally, by Higaran · · Score: 1, Interesting

      I think its awesome that they got a Tenacious D song, but I really would like to see their song Tribute on that list, that would definetly be a face melter.

    3. Re:Personally, by whodunnit · · Score: 1

      Too bad MTV isn't going to develop it anymore (idiots for killing a golden franchise)

      MTV CAN'T make any more Guitar Hero games, since Activision bought publisher red octane that owns the rights to the game. While MTV only bought Harmonix, the original developers of GH.

      So Guitar Hero 3 is in the works, but a different developer(NeverSoft) will be writing it.
    4. Re:Personally, by pragma_x · · Score: 1

      I agree completely.

      Although, since you mentioned DEVO, wouldn't that be better off on "Key-tar Hero" instead?

  4. Request by tomstdenis · · Score: 1

    Make the guitar more realistic, or god forbid use a real guitar and DSP the output to see chords they are playing.

    I take piano lessons at a studio where a [what looks like] 10 year old kid is learning acoustic guitar. If a 10 yr old can strum and play chords, surely to god the target audience of 20-30 year olds can figure it out too.

    That, or at the very least make the guitar silent, nothing like hearing the song + missed notes + *click* *clack* *click* *clack* as they button mash and strum. Real guitars don't click!!!!

    Tom

    --
    Someday, I'll have a real sig.
    1. Re:Request by Applekid · · Score: 1

      Guitar Hero : Guitar Playing :: A FPS : Target Shooting

      If it were a real guitar the learning curve would be too steep. Only the really dedicated could ever play and... well... if you could really play the guitar, why would you plug it into a console instead of an amplifier?

      The simplified control scheme lets people who just have a good sense of rhythm and basic finger control play the game. If I had to hit some of those chorts in real life and use a real whammy bar instead of the soft one on the controller I'd probably never pick it up after my first couple of tries.

      I wonder if anyone playing it has gotten interested in learning in real life. The first Guitar Hero said, during a loading screen, "At some point you might want to look into a real guitar" or something like that.

      --
      More Twoson than Cupertino
    2. Re:Request by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      A real guitar would be too difficult. It takes a long time and a lot of practice to be able to hit chords with any speed at all. People want to play a game, not spend weeks and months just trying to get the basic stuff going. I also hate the microswitch clicking on that controller.

      It would be cool if they made the controller more complicated though. More buttons on the neck that would at least attempt to simulate real chords better. It would be a lot easier than pushing strings but it could give you a little of the muscle memory necessary for playing a real guitar.

    3. Re:Request by tomstdenis · · Score: 1

      The problem with your comment is that people ALREADY spend months acing songs in GH.

      At the very least the buttons should be across the bar and they should put several rows in. Make the easy songs use the first row, medium songs the first two, etc... Actually you could do that with a real guitar as well though, when you FFT the input just allow them to be off an octave [or whatever it is in guitar terms] when on easy.

      I get that it's supposed to just be a game and all, but it's really looks like a playskule toy and the clicking is really annoying.

      Tom

      --
      Someday, I'll have a real sig.
    4. Re:Request by Knara · · Score: 1

      Every. Goddamn. Time.

      Once again, and I say this as a guitar player (in addition to several other instruments), GH is not a teaching tool for anything except rhythm. Funny that, since it's not intended to be. It's intended to be a *fun* party game. If people wanted to learn to play guitar, THEY WOULD GO FRICKIN LEARN TO PLAY GUITAR.

      Freakin' elitist dickwads.

    5. Re:Request by EMeta · · Score: 1
      Personally, I like Gran Turismo better than Burnout or Need for Speed. But I understand that most gamers don't, and I understand why. They're not playing these games to drive, they're playing them to have fun. And as such an emphasis on damage and jumping is far more important than the effects of a limited slip differential. (I find that nitpickery fascinating, and in that way fun, but it is nitpickery).

      Playing a guitar is hard work. It kills your fingers (yes much more than Guitar Hero makes them cramp up). It takes minimally months of practice to get anything that sounds decent, much less something cool. Byinlarge gamers want shortcuts--this is why they're playing games instead of starting a band.

      Would a more realistic guitar be totally sweet? Yes. Would a market for such games be a small fraction of that for Guitar Hero? Yes. It will come, sooner or later, but not be something you can enjoy like GH, because your friends won't be able to pick it up with you, unless you have extremely similar tastes with most of them.

      In summary, GH is a game. Games are for fun. Fun is good.

    6. Re:Request by tlhIngan · · Score: 4, Interesting

      The simplified control scheme lets people who just have a good sense of rhythm and basic finger control play the game. If I had to hit some of those chorts in real life and use a real whammy bar instead of the soft one on the controller I'd probably never pick it up after my first couple of tries.

      I wonder if anyone playing it has gotten interested in learning in real life. The first Guitar Hero said, during a loading screen, "At some point you might want to look into a real guitar" or something like that.


      I bought Guitar Hero for the 360, and when the owner of a sandwich shop I frequent saw it, he commented on how interested he was in it (he practices with a real guitar at the back when I come in). Next week when I'm getting my sandwich, I find out he's bought it and used it to not only have some fun, but also improve his technique. So I'd say it may help those struggling with some things to relax and try to replicate what happens in GH in real life. Turns out he wasn't strumming properly and thus his whole arm hurt after practicing for real. But with GH, he "learned" to strum better, so he's not hurting so badly after practice.

      So I can say that real-life guitar students might just want to check it out just to see if it might help them. If not, it's a great way to just have some fun playing songs that one wants to play - those practice songs get old quick, and everyone wants to try to play their favorite song one day or another.

      My request - I wish they'd have the Top Gun theme in there. Movie was OK (Cruise, 'nuff said), but have to admit, that theme is fairly distinct and definitely guitar-heavy.
    7. Re:Request by tomstdenis · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      GH is *not* a party game. You have 10 of your friends over and they all watch you play GH? How is that even remotely fun? The thing is really annoying if you're not playing as you can hear all the clicks, missed note sounds, and the badly rendered music. Oh and did I forget to mention that songs are usually 5-6 mins long? if you're doing round robin, even with 2 guitars, you'd have to wait ~20-24 minutes before you get to play next [hint: I've been there.]

      I'd rather have my friends over taking turns playing Wii sports or other games of that genre. A game like Wii Tennis [single match] can be over in as short as 1-2 minutes, giving other people a chance to get up and play. Smoothmoves is very rapid where most players are only playing for 10-15 seconds at most per turn.

      I think if you're going to spend so much time acing songs with a fisher price toy, you might as well step it up and learn to play a real guitar. And for all intents and purposes it is a "guitar simulator" of sorts. Sure it's a game, but so are flight sims and look how realistic [as best as you can get on a home PC] they are. If you were to spend endless hours perfecting your flying in a flight sim, the flight sim might as well be realistic and react like a real plane would, etc.

      The people saying "it's not supposed to be real, it's a game, blah blah" are just afraid that if they had to actually learn a real skill they wouldn't be "expert rated" so quickly [if at all]. They're basically defending their higher status in the game and trying to avoid change [e.g. to make it better].

      Tom

      --
      Someday, I'll have a real sig.
    8. Re:Request by tomstdenis · · Score: 1

      Yeah, but you could totally scale it down even on a real guitar. Make it so easy uses the first positions, and as it gets harder you use more of the guitar. That's how you learn guitar [and indeed most instruments] anyways.

      Tom

      --
      Someday, I'll have a real sig.
    9. Re:Request by Knara · · Score: 1

      Yes, GH is a party game. You don't all sit and watch one person play. You go over to someone's house, you have two guitar controllers, and while other things go on people rotate through playing as interest dictates. GH songs run about the average length for songs that were singles, so rotation can happen frequently. Sure, if you pick Freebird, it's gonna be a long time, but comeon, use a little common sense.

      Maybe the problem is that your "parties" revolve around everyone doing the same activity.

      GH has *nothing* to do with playing guitar. I've read more than one article where the people who *wrote* the songs originally can't play their own song on GH. Why? Because one has nothing to do with the other.

      You're the one who is describing it as a "guitar simulator", but it isn't marketed as such. GH is a rhythm game - DDR for your hands - so stop setting up strawmen.

    10. Re:Request by the+dark+hero · · Score: 1
      I hear your argument, but remember that adults don't really learn as well as children do. Also, GH has never been about guitar simulation. It's just a game with a novel controller that people find entertaining. Most people don't have the patience to learn guitar and stick with it long enough to learn a song.

      I totally agree about the noise the guitar puts out. they should really find a way to dampen that.

      --
      You constantly struggle for self improvement - and it shows.

      Hooray for bad Engrish on fortune cookies

    11. Re:Request by tomstdenis · · Score: 1

      Well I'm sorry I don't go to parties with a bunch of planned activities. Of course, I'm also not 7. I go to a friends place and we play or do whatever is handy. And when you only have one TV anyways, it isn't like one crowd can play other games while a pair or solo plays GH.

      At anyrate, to each their own. For me, GH looks like fun, but it's not a spectator sport. I don't like watching my friends play because there isn't much to do but sit on your thumbs. Combine that with, as I said earlier the fact that it sounds so annoying and it's not really a good time.

      Tom

      --
      Someday, I'll have a real sig.
    12. Re:Request by KefkaTheMad · · Score: 1

      Guitar Hero does not equal real guitar. My fiance and I both play guitar (we own 3 acoustics and an electric). Nevertheless, she loves Guitar Hero because it's a pick-up-and-play simulation that is much more forgiving than an actual guitar.

      It takes a lot of practice to play guitar well, and she's still not quite a rock star since she's only practiced off and on for the past 8 years. It took me months and months of practice every day to get to the point of playing solos with any bit of decency.

      The mere fact that most people cannot play a real guitar illustrates the amount of dedication it takes to learn it. Most people love the idea of being rock stars, but are unwilling to devote the amount of time necessary to become a real one, which is why an easy, fun game like Guitar Hero is so popular since it gives you much of the same experience while require almost none of the work.

    13. Re:Request by tomstdenis · · Score: 1

      I know that adults learn a bit slower than kids but I should point out that adults can learn too. I used to play piano as a kid, stopped when I was 16, picked it up again when I was nearly 25, and am doing fairly well (finished level 3 in 4 months, zooming through level 4, starting to pick up on the technique and theory side of things, etc).

      My case is a bit different since I played as a kid, but keep in mind the gap between me playing is longer than most kid students have been alive.

      Tom

      --
      Someday, I'll have a real sig.
    14. Re:Request by Knara · · Score: 1

      And when you only have one TV anyways, it isn't like one crowd can play other games while a pair or solo plays GH.

      Or or or, people could do things that aren't videogame related. If you did any more than skim my reply, you'd see that it's not planned activities I referred to, but rather the fact that a a party *people do many different things*. Often at the same time! Try it out!

    15. Re:Request by Knara · · Score: 1

      Yeah. I'd like to be an interstellar elite space warrior, but that takes a lot of work, too. According to some, I should just be working on becoming a REAL interstellar elite space warrior, instead of wasting time playing a game based on the idea. ;)

    16. Re:Request by DavidWeight · · Score: 0

      I think this sums it up... http://www.ctrlaltdel-online.com/comic.php?d=20070 509 [ctrl-alt-delete comics]

    17. Re:Request by broller · · Score: 1

      I consider GH to be a lot like Karaoke. Sitting around watching my friends badly sing pop songs doesn't sound like a lot of fun to me, but it is.

    18. Re:Request by iainl · · Score: 1

      Let me guess, you don't see why anyone would ever buy Ridge Racer when Gran Turismo exists, or choose to play Sensible World Of Soccer instead of Pro Evo?

      Just because a videogame is based on a specific real-world activity, doesn't mean it needs to simulate it in every way.

      --
      "I Know You Are But What Am I?"
    19. Re:Request by tomstdenis · · Score: 1

      If you're going to devote so much time to something that is ever so close to being a real world activity, why not do it for real?

      Especially since a real guitar isn't that expensive [at least a run of the mill kind].

      Racing games, and even most sport games have the penalty of costs. Sure, why don't I drive a 1.3 million dollar car 120 mph the wrong way through Italy, why didn't I think of that.

      Tom

      --
      Someday, I'll have a real sig.
    20. Re:Request by dloose · · Score: 1

      I don't think Guitar Hero is for you.

    21. Re:Request by jdigriz · · Score: 1

      I hear you, what you're saying is we need a more hard-core guitar sim to complement Guitar Hero's "arcade mode". Makes sense to me. Hex-based wargames have a small fraction of the players or interest that realtime strategy games do, but that doesn't mean they are any more or less valid or fun to play for those of us who who enjoy them. The primary difficulty here that I can see is economic. GH doesn't just rely on the idea that a pretend guitar is fun to play, but on the shared cultural legacy of a well-known body of popular music. It's fun to "play" the songs because you know, or at least have heard the songs. Thus, the barrier to a small-market realistic sim is the exorbitant costs of licensing the songs which everybody knows. An Open Source "Guitar Overlord" with only Creative Commons music would not be nearly as enjoyable because by and large the music woulld be unknown to the majority of players, even if it were high quality.

      I've seen this effect in karaoke. Even with the words on the screen, if you've never heard the song before, you'll make a hash of it.

    22. Re:Request by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Playing is a lot easier than you're making it out to be. It's easy enough that I'm surprised when people _can't_ play it.

    23. Re:Request by Mattintosh · · Score: 1

      It takes considerably less practice (IMO) to play piano well (or at least well enough to hear a recognizable tune). And GH is more like playing piano than playing guitar. The only difference is the strum-bar triggering when the note is played rather than playing it when you hit the key. Other than that, those five fret buttons make for a really dinky piano keyboard.

      If someone would invent a keyboard that you play like a guitar (not those dumbass keyboard-guitar things from the 80's, though!) it would probably work about like GH, and it would induce a lot more people to play "a real instrument". Keys on the neck, trigger on the body, pitch-bend (up *and* down would be nice) on the body, and you could even do things like auto-chord, auto-5th, auto-3rd, etc. I'd buy that.

    24. Re:Request by the+dark+hero · · Score: 1

      Agreed. Adults can learn rather well. We're not as capable as children, but that's not what hinders us. It's our lack of patience and drive to learn something completely new or advanced. Many adults give up too easily because they just don't want to spend time, but kids have all the time they need.

      --
      You constantly struggle for self improvement - and it shows.

      Hooray for bad Engrish on fortune cookies

    25. Re:Request by flitty · · Score: 1

      That, or at the very least make the guitar silent, nothing like hearing the song + missed notes + *click* *clack* *click* *clack* as they button mash and strum. Real guitars don't click!!!!

      How would that be condusive to "playing the game"? Users need feedback from the game, or else they'll just get frustrated and say "see! It's not even picking up my strumming!" Would you rather the DDR5extremerushrevolution version of a huge "MISSED" popping up and taking up 76% of the screen? For the last time, it's a video game, meant to be a video game, not playing the guitar. Anyone who wants to play the guitar can, this game is meant to mimic the fun of playing guitar, without the years of practice. Just like FPS are the fun of running and gunning with no real training, Building RTS bases with no knowledge of military strategy, and doing outlandish things that you can't do in real life (like playing the guitar with no practice).
      --
      Whether or not there is some sort of god, I'm not supposed to say/god is a word and the argument ends there-Smog
    26. Re:Request by lazarusdishwasher · · Score: 1

      I totally agree about the noise the guitar puts out. they should really find a way to dampen that.


      Would a set of headphones block out the noise of the guitar enough. If the headphones would help it might be easier to put a headphone jack on the guitar and a set of headphones instead of a more expensive buttons or buttons that would not work as well.
    27. Re:Request by dunkelfalke · · Score: 1

      to be honest i found piano much more difficult because
      1) you have to play with both hands
      2) guitar is more about patterns which are easy to memorise

      --
      Conservatism: The fear that somewhere, somehow, someone you think is your inferior is being treated as your equal.
    28. Re:Request by bigstrat2003 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I do both, and I can easily see why people just want to play Guitar Hero. Guitar Hero is just plain fun, you don't even have to get up to expert level to have a lot of fun with it. Hell, the only reason I'm at expert level is because over the summer, my roommate and I had absolutely nothing better to do than play Guitar Hero constantly. But they really are two different experiences, and just because it's a blast to rock out on Guitar Hero doesn't mean you'd have fun playing a real guitar.

      --
      "16MB (fuck off, MiB fascists)" - The Mighty Buzzard
    29. Re:Request by tomstdenis · · Score: 1

      As someone who plays the piano [royal conservatory series] I find your comments a bit misleading. Sure it's not hard to pick up pop or rock tunes, but most of them are not very hard anyways (re: coldplay). Mostly just a question of rhythm.

      Real piano is fairly hard, and takes serious theoretical and plain experience to do well. For example, I'm playing level 4 pieces now, sure I can read the notes, and after several weeks play the pieces hands together with some dynamics, but a lot of the finishing touches that make them sound musical are things you won't learn from just reading notes on a page. You learn them from musical theory (e.g. what makes songs "make sense") and experience (having your instructor point things out).

      Tom

      --
      Someday, I'll have a real sig.
    30. Re:Request by Short+Circuit · · Score: 1

      Only the really dedicated could ever play and... well... if you could really play the guitar, why would you plug it into a console instead of an amplifier? Ever hear of this game?
      --
      tasks(723) drafts(105) languages(484) examples(29106)
    31. Re:Request by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But if you're not playing the chords to the song, it's going to sound pretty bad. Unless you turn up the volume really high to drown out the sound of the strings themselves.

    32. Re:Request by jZnat · · Score: 1

      I don't know about your experiences, but in mine, some songs *coughCarryMeHomecough* are harder to play on expert in Guitar Hero than on an actual guitar! This is why I love this game; it's a rhythm game that resembles playing guitar, but is actually more challenging when compared to the same song on guitar.

      --
      'Yes, firefox is indeed greater than women. Can women block pops up for you? No. Can Firefox show you naked women? Yes.'
    33. Re:Request by poot_rootbeer · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Sure it's a game, but so are flight sims and look how realistic [as best as you can get on a home PC] they are.

      I don't find realistic simulations to be all that much fun, myself. The learning curve is too steep and the activity often too mundane.

      I would rather play a game like Afterburner than MS Flight Simulator; who cares about boring details like checking altimeters and retracting the landing gear after takeoff, I just want to get in a firefight with some Russian MiGs already, goddammit.

      The same approach is the difference between learning to play guitar and playing Guitar Hero. Enjoying the latter has no effect on whether I should or do enjoy the former.

    34. Re:Request by poot_rootbeer · · Score: 1

      Racing games, and even most sport games have the penalty of costs. Sure, why don't I drive a 1.3 million dollar car 120 mph the wrong way through Italy, why didn't I think of that.

      Whereas a $300 electric guitar and a $60 guitar-shaped game controller actually cost the same amount...?

    35. Re:Request by Mattintosh · · Score: 1

      I took 3 years of piano lessons when I was in my early teens. Much of that was music theory training and a weekly practice regimen. I've been out of that routine for so long, I guess I've started to take the music theory stuff for granted (I've used it for far more than just playing piano).

      It's worthwhile to note, also, that I can't read notes in real-time. Reading notes is a pain in the ass, honestly. Just play what you feel and you'll be happier. That's mostly why I gave up on piano lessons. That, and I preferred to spend my free time playing games on my Super Nintendo. (Yeah, it's been a while...)

    36. Re:Request by tomstdenis · · Score: 1

      I found even with the 9 year gap that I could still read music but the co-ordination took a while to get back into. When I stopped playing I was level 7 RCM, I started in December of 2006 at level 3. Now I'm more on the ball but still wrestling with the finer elements of phrasing and dynamics hehehe.

      Tom

      --
      Someday, I'll have a real sig.
    37. Re:Request by gad_zuki! · · Score: 1

      I cant imagine how a 1/3rd size "guitar" with no strings and no frets can help anyone. Thats like saying a super-soaker helps soldiers shoot more accurately. Two very different beasts here. The basis of learning guitar (in the beginning) has a lot more to do with holding down chord "shapes" well, listening for muted strings, and changing between chords with your left hand. GH does none of this, nor should it.

      Real guitar students should spend that 90 dollars on a decent teacher who can help them with the fundamentals, which are difficult to get from just a book or website. Sounds like your friend could really benefit from a weekly session with a teacher.

    38. Re:Request by tomstdenis · · Score: 1

      I dunno about you but I can tell when I miss a note in GH by not having the note light up as it does when you hit it. I don't need a huge 72pt font message saying "YOU ARE TEH MISS!" The click-clack of the plastic guitar provides zero useful feedback. You can tell when you strum the guitar by the fact you pushed the switch down or up.

      Maybe if you paid more attention you'd see there are plenty of cues as to what's going on already.

      --
      Someday, I'll have a real sig.
    39. Re:Request by batkiwi · · Score: 1

      Many (most?) "pickup" guitar players, the ones who just picked it up and jam with the radio, have HORRIBLE rythm. Ask them to keep a beat and many GOOD "jammers" can't do so. This game teaches precision rythm if nothing else.

    40. Re:Request by NeilTheStupidHead · · Score: 1

      You drink beer when it's not your turn.

      --
      Lose: misplace or fail || Loose: not bound together
    41. Re:Request by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > So I can say that real-life guitar students might just want to check it out just to see if it
      > might help them.

      Real-life guitar player here. Guitar Hero pisses me off to no end. (In a good way of course.)
      If there is one thing you'll improve while playing that game it is your timing.

      Playing guitar is very organic. Your timing is off a tad? Go with it, fake it or ignore it.
      Playing GH is very mechanical. You'd BETTER nail that note or you can kiss your five stars goodbye.

      There's nothing like playing out every weekend but still having your ass handed to you every time you play your twelve year old nephew who's never touched a real guitar. :P

    42. Re:Request by iainl · · Score: 1

      Personally, I think the reasonable cost of an actual, genuine electric guitar is a very good reason why Guitar Hero _shouldn't_ go down the route of being too realistic, but instead search for fun in a vaguely guitar-like experience.

      --
      "I Know You Are But What Am I?"
    43. Re:Request by CRiMSON · · Score: 1

      Awesome let's play GRAW2 tonight, or R6: Vegas.. oh right.. you can't.

      --
      oogly boogly!
    44. Re:Request by scabb · · Score: 1

      That's exactly it. I've been playing guitar for around six months now, whereas my friend has played french horn in a large band for several years. It's all about the rhythm.

  5. Best Guitar Hero tune by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Ace of Spades by Motorhead

  6. Funny fact by savage1r · · Score: 2, Funny

    99% of the people playing this game STILL can't really play a guitar

    1. Re:Funny fact by grub · · Score: 5, Funny


      99% of the people playing this game STILL can't really play a guitar

      99% of the people playing Quake STILL can't fire a rocket launcher...

      --
      Trolling is a art,
    2. Re:Funny fact by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      99% of people playing flight sims can't fly an airplane either, what's your point?

    3. Re:Funny fact by jae471 · · Score: 1
      I can play a real guitar, just not guitar hero.

      I'm sure I'm not the only one.

    4. Re:Funny fact by Sciros · · Score: 1

      The thing is, though, that playing a real guitar is also fun and well within reach for anyone who can afford a 360 and the game. You can't even liken it to a racing game, because driving fast IRL is a usually illegal, and Ferraris are pricey. Forget about the rocket launcher :-P

      To be fair, Guitar Hero isn't really about guitar playing at all. It's about pressing buttons on command. Much like DDR isn't about dancing at all. They're "music games" and anyway nobody who plays Guitar Hero or DDR pretends they're Van Halen or Tony Dovolani or anything.

      --
      I like basketball!!1!
    5. Re:Funny fact by ari_j · · Score: 1

      DDR has much more in common with dancing than Guitar Hero does with playing guitar. However, I agree with the gist here: if you enjoy Guitar Hero, then play it.

    6. Re:Funny fact by shinma · · Score: 1

      Have you seen someone actually playing DDR on hard or so?

      There's nothing dancelike about it... Epileptic, maybe. :P

      --
      Shinma
    7. Re:Funny fact by MrNezzer · · Score: 1

      This is just a minor observation I have made; It's a GAME! If there is one person that has bought GH thinking that it was going to come with a real guitar or that they would actually learn how to play guitar, they need to be informed that society has no further use for them. It's a game, it's fun, end of story.

    8. Re:Funny fact by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, they may pretend, but they should know it's just pretend. If you weren't meant to pretend you playing guitar, they wouldn't have needed the guitar prop as a controller, they could have used buttons on the standard controller and flick the analog stick to strum.

    9. Re:Funny fact by yanos · · Score: 2, Insightful

      99% of the people who didn't played this game yet are STILL unable to see that this is a GAME we're talking about.

    10. Re:Funny fact by Is0m0rph · · Score: 1

      And watch out for that freakin 1% that can fire a rocket launcher!

    11. Re:Funny fact by Mathonwy · · Score: 1

      Yeah, um, that's pretty much what games are for.

      Pretending to do something that you don't normally get much of a chance to do. Like be a counterterrorism agent, alien supersoldier, or rock star giving a concert at stonehenge.

    12. Re:Funny fact by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Right, I was just disputing that no one who plays GH is pretending they're Eddie Van Halan. I'm sure people are, but there's no harm in that.

    13. Re:Funny fact by asninn · · Score: 1

      Oh, FIRING one is probably easy... it's doing it in a way that allows you to do it again in the future that's difficult.

      --
      butter the donkey
    14. Re:Funny fact by sehryan · · Score: 1

      But it isn't just about playing guitar. Its about playing guitar with a bad ass band behind you. And that certainly isn't easily obtainable, nor really that fun once you get bad ass.

      --
      The world moves for love. It kneels before it in awe.
    15. Re:Funny fact by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      99% of the people playing Quake STILL can't fire a rocket launcher...

      Not so loud, Jack Thompson might hear!

    16. Re:Funny fact by ari_j · · Score: 1

      There are plenty of dance styles that are similar to DDR on its higher levels. It's just that the music you are "dancing" that way to with DDR is worlds apart from the kind that goes along with the actual dancing.

  7. Why? by Otis2222222 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Realism does not necessarily equate to "fun". They found a fun formula and it works. It is impressive to see someone ace a song on Expert setting, but not in the same way as watching someone play a real guitar well. Both are impressive, but in different ways and for different reasons.

    1. Re:Why? by tomstdenis · · Score: 0

      I dunno, I'm impressed by people who play music well [especially the piano and violin, but that's just my personal prefs]. If one of my friends got up and jammed on a real guitar that'd be pretty cool in my books.

      Watching my friend sit on his ass and button mash a fisherprice lookalike is fun for the first bit but lame after that. It's just not a spectator sport.

      Tom

      --
      Someday, I'll have a real sig.
    2. Re:Why? by SquareVoid · · Score: 1

      You are right, it isn't a spectator sport, its an interactive game where people mess around and have fun with eachother without requiring any level of musical inclination. Its kind of the same reason why so many find the wii controller fun too.

    3. Re:Why? by batkiwi · · Score: 1

      Slashdot reader doesn't like game others do like, news at 11!

  8. PC version planned? by kevinroyalty · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Is there a PC version of the GH franchise planned? Anyone know? Kevin

    1. Re:PC version planned? by Schuler · · Score: 3, Informative

      I don't think there's a PC version planned but you should really check out Frets on Fire. It's a guitar hero clone for the computer. It says it is also compatible with the actually guitar controller although I can't verify this myself.

      If you run a search for "frets on fire song pack" you'll also find links to torrents on some songs to download. They even have the Guitar 1 and 2 songs.

      I've been playing with it the past couple days and it seems pretty good.

      Wiki Link

    2. Re:PC version planned? by garett_spencley · · Score: 0, Troll

      Yes, it's called MIDI guitar + MIDI usb interface (or equivalent) + Cubase. :P

    3. Re:PC version planned? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There is, sort of. It's called Frets on Fire (http://fretsonfire.sourceforge.net/), it's multi platform, will rip the tracks from a GH or GH2 album, can be played with a keyboard or guitar through an PS2->PC adapter or something similar, and does a pretty good job. It's a bit slow because it's all done in a scripting environment with OpenGL, and there is no 3D rendered concert in the back ground. Overall it's a lot of fun. Give it a shot.

    4. Re:PC version planned? by Aleanil · · Score: 1

      I don't know about an official Guitar Hero for PC, but you can check out Frets on Fire. http://fretsonfire.sourceforge.net/ It's nicely open source for Windows and Linux.

    5. Re:PC version planned? by kevinroyalty · · Score: 1

      Thanks everyone! I'm definitely checking these out.

    6. Re:PC version planned? by Walpurgiss · · Score: 2, Informative

      With a USB adapter, like the one redoctane themselves sell for PS2 controller to USB, you can use the GH I & II controllers with fretsonfire. And it can rip the GH I songs (maybe GHII) right off the ps2 disc. On top of that, you can create your own songs using whatever mp3s you have and laying down the button sequences and combos on a scale looking thing. Its kind of hard at first though. Gameplay is somewhat difficult though, fretsonfire is much less forgiving in terms of timing and ho/po.

    7. Re:PC version planned? by Beefysworld · · Score: 1

      With the Xbox 360 guitar, being a USB controller you can simply plug it into the PC and it'll work. I've used it for Frets and it seems to be OK.

  9. Insensitive Clods!! by bckrispi · · Score: 1

    Where's fuckin' SLAYER!!!!!!

    --
    Xenon, where's my money? -Borno
  10. Bring us Piano hero! by jacobw · · Score: 1

    As another adult who took piano lessons as a kid but then gave them up... I really wish somebody would come up with Guitar-Hero-style music game that used an actual keyboard and actual notes, thereby teaching you piano while you played. I've played a lot of DDR and Guitar Hero, and reading the "notes" on them is now second nature to me. I wish I still had that sight-reading capacity at the piano.

    And before you say the piano is too complicated to teach in this way... Like a lot of people I know, I learned touch typing from a video game. Admittedly, a piano has 88 keys while a typing tutor only teaches you to use a 26-key device--but a piano simulator that restricted you to 26 keys would still give you a three-octave range.

    True, there's nothing stopping me from buying a MIDI and practicing an hour a day until I relearn the piano on my own. But videogames are engineered to be addictive, and to give you sensory rewards for every improvement you make to your skills. I'd love to have that feedback loop applied to my dream of re-learning the piano.

    --
    Arr! Read The Government Manual for New Pirates!
  11. New controller required? by PadRacerExtreme · · Score: 1

    There's also a "new button color design" to confuse anyone thinking about sticking to their old axe.

    So, those of us that bought 2 guitars for the PS2 (or 360) are going to need to shell out another $80 - $160 for new guitars? This is going to become and expensive hobby.....

    --
    Just remember - if the world didn't suck, we would all fall off.
    1. Re:New controller required? by fuocoZERO · · Score: 1

      Yeah... they are going back to a 3 button design with red, green and blue buttons...

  12. Since when is Weezer 80s? by wicks0r · · Score: 1

    Will there be a separate 80s version? I can't see the following as fitting the hair metal genre... "Cherub Rock" (by Smashing Pumpkins) "Sabotage" (by Beastie Boys) "The Metal" (by Tenacious D) "My Name is Jonas" (by Weezer) "Knights of Cydonia" (by Muse)

    1. Re:Since when is Weezer 80s? by yanos · · Score: 1

      That's GH3. You're talking about the 80s version (witch I think is just GH2 with new songs). Yes, they found a real cow cash.

  13. I'm gong to pass and get Rock Band instead by Plekto · · Score: 1

    I'll buy the one being made by Harmonix and not the junk Sony is foisting off on us.

    http://www.harmonixmusic.com/
    Rock Band is the real deal, folks. Harmonix, MTV, and EA games - it's going to be edgy, fun, and loud as hell. Just what we want.

    http://www.rockband.com/ - online play, three parts, all the goodies - it's like they stuffed a Karaoke game, Guitar Hero, and a rhythm/bass game all into one. And they have a massive forum set up for people to give feedback and suggest songs.

    DDR-Hero III is going to be a joke - old songs, poor execution - typical half-baked effort. Plus, I don't like how Sony gave Harmonix the shaft after making the hottest game of the year, no less.

    1. Re:I'm gong to pass and get Rock Band instead by tcc3 · · Score: 1


      Sony has little to nothing to do with any of this. Neither GH nor Rock Band is made by Sony.

      Lets see how GHIII is before we pass judgement. I have high hopes for Rock Band too, but Ea isnt exactly a bastion of quality you know.

  14. I hope not by edawstwin · · Score: 1

    I really hope this is not the case. If it is, then the 80s edition will be the last dollar they get from me. It's ridiculous to make people pay for a new game and a new controller just because. There is no reason that the current controllers shouldn't work with Guitar Hero 3. I will buy new packs of songs all day long, but I won't buy another controller. In fact, if they don't find a way to make the current GH controller work with Rock Band, I won't be buying that, either.

    --
    I don't want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve it by not dying. - Woody Allen
  15. What is Konami doing??? by fuocoZERO · · Score: 1

    Guitar Hero is obviously a knock-off of the much loved Guitar Freaks (and Drum Mania). When I Konami going to finally put out a US version of Guitar Freaks? They started the treand and are now missing out. I much prefer Konami's version (even more partial to the second half of the series, Drum Mania).

  16. Actually, that would be... by LKM · · Score: 2, Funny

    GUITAR NERO!

  17. Troll ? by garett_spencley · · Score: 1

    Usually I don't get uptight about moderations but it WAS A JOKE... Hence the ":P" at the end.

    I guess I should have put a disclaimer :\

    -1 Redundant @ this post

  18. Good Line-Up Thus Far... by morari · · Score: 1

    ...Save for Weezer and KISS. It's definitely shaping up to be better than the 80's version *vomits a bit in her own mouth*

    --
    "He who can destroy a thing, controls a thing." --Paul Atreides, Dune
  19. MOD PARENT UP by AragornSonOfArathorn · · Score: 1

    You drink beer when it's not your turn. Guitar Hero is the ultimate sitting-around-knocking-back-some-cold-ones-with-y our-friends game.
    --
    sudo eat my shorts
  20. As made famous by? by bjb · · Score: 1
    When I see the "as made famous by" versus "by XXXX", I assume that you mean that the band didn't write it, they only covered it. For example, "What's So Funny About Peace Love and Understanding" is not written "by" Elvis Costello, but he certainly is the one who made it famous.

    • Rock And Roll All Nite: written by Stanley and Simmons (two main writers of Kiss)
    • School's Out: written by Alice Cooper
    • Slow Ride: written by Dave Peverett (member of Foghat)

    OK, I'm done ranting now >grin<

    --
    Never hit your grandmother with a shovel, for it leaves a bad impression on her mind...
    1. Re:As made famous by? by Beefysworld · · Score: 1

      In the Guitar Hero games, the 'as made famous by' line shows that the song used in the actual game is a cover produced for the game. The songs that simply say 'by xxx' use master tracks, so it'll be the proper recording.

      Most of the covers in the first two games weren't too bad. Some of the voices weren't the best, but for the most part it was good. It helps fit in with the 'you're in a cover band' feel to the game.

      In the case of your examples, they'll usually pick the most popular version of the song to use. That's why you'll see 'Higher Ground' in GH1 using the Red Hot Chilli Peppers version and instead of the original by Stevie Wonder and 'You Really Got Me' done by Van Halen instead of The Kinks.

    2. Re:As made famous by? by scabb · · Score: 1

      I think it's more to do with the fact that the covers are much more guitar-driven. Playing the Kinks version of "You Really Got Me" (which is arguably more popular) would be somewhat repetitive with a simple solo, and playing Stevie Wonder's version of Higher Ground would be a daft choice for obvious reasons.