What's to come for Guitar Hero in 2008: Part One

In the rest of 2008, many things are coming for the Guitar Hero franchise. And by many things, what can I mean besides video games?? That's right, three more games will be added to the lineup of Guitar Hero games this year.

Remember that game for the Nintendo DS called Jam Sessions?? Well, this first game brings a much better guitar experience to the DS. It is Guitar Hero: On Tour, which comes out in exactly a week from now, on June 22nd, 2008. But wait, how can Guitar Hero get onto the DS?? How would you hit frets?? Well, the game comes with an accessory called the Guitar Grip. This grip fits into the GBA slot of the DS and has you sliding your hand into it and then hitting the four frets on it. Oh, by the way, note that the DS would be in book mode while playing this. So, to play on the DS, you hit frets on the Guitar Grip, strum using the touch screen, and look when to press frets and strum on the display screen. What about Star Power?? Well, to activate Star Power, all you have to do is blow or yell through the microphone on the DS.

Guitar Hero: On Tour has 25 different songs, with over 85% of them being master recordings!!! Along with that, 5 of the songs in the game are from Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. Besides those, the playlist has quite a number of recent songs for any Guitar Hero game!! By this, I mean songs such as This Love (Maroon 5), Are You Gonna Be My Girl (Jet), All Star (Smashmouth), and All The Small Things (Blink-182)!! The career mode is split up into five tiers, each including five songs. Also, the career mode lets you choose from six different characters. Four of these characters are ones from previous Guitar Hero games, while two are all-new to the Guitar Hero series. As you proceed through the Career mode, you unlock new venues and new looks for the characters.

Along with the Career mode, Guitar Hero: On Tour has Cooperative and Competitive play, thanks to the DS's local wireless capabilities. One mode in Competitive play is called Guitar Duel, in which you throw obstacles at your opponent, similar to Guitar Hero III's battle mode. These obstacles include having to blow out a virtual fire on your guitar, having to sign autographs, and having to fix a string on your guitar. People who have tested this game have said that this is their favorite mode. Speaking of autographs, Along with the game being sold separately, On Tour will be sold in two different DS bundles with the Guitar Hero insignia on the DS. So, that's Guitar Hero: On Tour for you!!

The next game doesn't really introduce new concepts, like On Tour. I am talking about another side game in the Guitar Hero franchise, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, which comes out June 29th, 2008 for PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, and PS2. Guitar Hero: Aerosmith is basically the same as Guitar Hero III when it comes to gameplay (except for modifications on Hammer-On's and Pull-Offs). Although, when it comes to everything else, it is totally different. The game's career mode follows the history of Aerosmith, starting from high school to their Super Bowl performance in 2001. And to go along with that, this game has mostly tracks from Aerosmith, but also tracks from artist having to do with Aerosmith, like Run-D.M.C. and Joan Jett. Also, the venues are one's that are vital in the history of Aerosmith. All of the tracks in this game are master recordings, by the way. And if that wasn't enough, Aerosmith used motion capture to literally "put themselves into the game". Guitar Hero: Aerosmith will be released in a bundle pack, as well as a single game. And that is all for this game.


Now, there is one more new Guitar Hero game coming out in 2008, but I'll talk to you about it tomorrow. See ya then!!