Today Activision announced the new installment to their Guitar Hero franchise, Guitar Hero Live.
The company wanted to make sure that after a 5 year hiatus the game would reflect what’s happening in music and console systems today. Developed by FreeStyleGames, the studio that was behind the critically-acclaimed DJ Hero and DJ Hero 2, Guitar Hero Live introduces two powerful and cool ways to play. The first new feature is called GH Live, a first-person point of view where you are up on stage as the star of the show. GH Live is a live-action experience that also gives players the feel of being backstage and performing in a real band, in front of real crowds, who will tell you how well you are doing in real-time, fans will hold up signs saying “You Suck”, or will cheer you on every time you hit the right notes. Players will play in different venues, and play a variety of music genres.
The second and new feature in Guitar Hero Live is called GHTV, the world’s first playable live music video network. GHTV is a 24-hour mode that lets fans play along to a continually-updated collection of official music videos – across a wide variety of genres – from the newest releases to favorite hits. Players will be able to pick from multiple channels as well as themed shows, and discovering new songs as they play, you can also choose songs to play on-demand. While playing GHTV, players will be able to challenge their friends in the same room and against players from around the world to see who has the highest score on a given song, while completing challenges along the way.
Guitar Hero Live is not only for console systems, but players will also be able to play on the go on their tablets, and mobile phones. More details will be announced in the coming months.
The game is not the only thing that has been revamped, the Guitar itself has had a make-over. No more colorful keys. The new layout has two rows instead of one, with three buttons on both rows. This gives the player a natural feel while playing throughout the game.
During the presentation Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy and Gerard Way from My Chemical Romance joined Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg and Jamie Jackson, Creative Director and Co-Head of FreeStyleGames, on-stage at the Best Buy Theatre to showcase their songs featured in Guitar Hero Live and celebrate the reveal of the game. Some of the artists that will have music featured in the game are; The Black Keys, Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, Gary Clark, Jr., Green Day, Ed Sheeran, The War on Drugs, The Killers, Skrillex, The Rolling Stones, The Lumineers, Carrie Underwood, Pierce the Veil and Blitz Kids, with many more bands to be announced in the coming months.
Fans who can’t wait to get their hands on the game will be able to try Guitar Hero Live at these dates and places:
April 18, 2015: Best Buy Store, Union Square, New York City, 1pm – 5pm
April 18, 2015: Best Buy Store, Torrance, CA, 1pm – 5pm
Check out the trailer:
Guitar Hero Live will be available Fall 2015 on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, the Wii U console and select mobile devices to be announced soon.
