Activision and FreeStyleGames have announced the eagerly anticipated return of their popular Guitar Hero franchise with a new game that they’ve titled Guitar Hero Live and it is unlike anything fans have seen before.
In fact, it’s unlike anything gamers have seen before. As Consequence of Sound reports, the franchise’s first title in half a decade comes with several major changes. Most notably, the series’ famous graphic avatars and crowds are gone.
Instead, Guitar Hero Live is live. The game presents a first-person perspective where you play alongside real, live-action band members and real crowds who react to your every bum note or deftly executed solo.
Each round of gaming starts backstage with pre-show rituals as your bandmates display nervousness or excitement. As you make your way backstage, you get winks from band aids and interact with roadies, before walking out to real cheering fans.
Play well and the crowd goes crazy as your bandmates cheer you on. Mess up, and face booing, jeering, and even projectiles from the unhappy crowd, as your bandmates begin to shoot you nasty looks and mock you.
The developers have seemingly thought of everything to make this a realistic live experience. As your character moves about the stage, the sound will change. Step backwards and you’ll be closer to the drums, step towards the stage and you’ll hear cheers right in your face.
That’s not all that sets Guitar Hero Live apart from previous instalments, however. Live will also see the introduction of GHTV, which Activision is calling “the world’s first playable music video network”.
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The 24-hour channel will play music videos from various genres and allow players to play along, either solo or against people around the world. Yes, Guitar Hero Live will have its own version of MTV with online multiplayer capability.
As for the music featured in the game and on GHTV, creators are promising a wide range of titles, including tracks from The Black Keys, My Chemical Romance, Gary Clark, Jr., Green Day, Ed Sheeran, The War on Drugs, Skrillex, The Rolling Stones, and The Lumineers.
The game’s famous controller has also changed. Instead of the cartoony, multi-coloured fretboard of old, the new controller will have two rows of three buttons stacked on top of each other, which will allow advanced players to form “chords” using two rows simultaneously.
Activision are reportedly aiming for a US fall release date on Xbox One and 360, Playstation 3 and 4, Nintendo Wii U, and even mobile devices, with a price of US$99. The news comes a month after game-makers Harmonix announced a new Rock Band game was in the works.
