X-Play's All-Access with Guitar Hero: World Tour

Broadcasting from GamesCon 2008 in Leipzig, Germany, X-Play gets an all-access pass to preview Rock Band 2's competitor, Guitar Hero: World Tour.

E308: 360 Guitar Hero: World Tour & Rock Band Instruments Compatible!

GameSpot has reported at the E3 2008 Activision Blizzrd press conference, Neversoft director Brian Bright announced that the company had programmed Guitar Hero: World Tour to recognize and adjust for Rock Band instruments. Bright explains:

"We use a five-channel input, and we've engineered the game to sense when you plug in a Rock Band drum set and switch to a four-channel input. The orange cymbal input in Guitar Hero [World Tour] automatically becomes the green fill or the blue pad on the Rock Band drum set, depending on what works best with the song. You don't even have to think about it."

The developer clearly informed GameSpot that Guitar Hero: World Tour will be compatible with Rock Band instruments. He did not confirm if Rock Band 2 instruments would work with Guitar Hero: World Tour. Furthermore, Bright has stated his comments only apply to the Xbox 360 version of Guitar Hero: World Tour. No word on PlayStation 3 compatibility.

For more details, visit GameSpot's full article here.

Jimi Hendrix Comes to Guitar Hero: World Tour

According to the official website for Rolling Stone magazine, Jimi Hendrix will finally be featured in the Guitar Hero franchise. His sister, Janie Hendrix, who is in charge of his estate has authorized the following master tracks to be featured in RedOctane's upcoming Guitar Hero: World Tour...

• "Little Wing"
• "Foxy Lady"
• "Purple Haze"
  

Janie Hendrix tells Rolling Stone:

“Guitar Hero really was on the ball and and they were biting at the bit to get this out this year, so, we just accommodated them,” Janie Hendrix tells Rolling Stone. “Jimi was a kid at heart — he definitely would have played these games.”

I can't believe it. Purple Haze. Purple. Friggin. Haze.

E308: Upcoming Metallica album as new DLC for Guitar Hero

Red Octane's Kai Huang announced yesterday that new Metallica DLC will be available for Guitar Hero III in celebration of the bands upcoming album, Death Magnetic. On their official site, the band informed fans that the entire album will be available as downloadable content for Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock.

"It's a first in both music and gaming . . . the same day that 'Death Magnetic' hits the streets, you'll be able to download every song from the album for "Guitar Hero III!'"

Metallica has also stated (on their site) that Death Magnetic will be available in Red Octane's upcoming Guitar Hero: World Tour, but no further details have been revealed.

Guitar Hero: World Tour Demo at D6

Here's some highlights of the Guitar Hero: World Tour (aka Guitar Hero IV) demonstration at The Wall Street Journal Executive Conference, D6: All Things Digital. The demo includes a presentation Activision CEO, Robert Kotick.

(And yes, that is Tony Hawk and Paula Abdul.)

Guitar Hero IV Adds Drums & Vocals; Drum Kit Revealed!

According to the forums at NeoGAF, the latest issue of Game Informer has revealed details on RedOctane's Guitar Hero IV. The fourth installment will add drums and vocals. I would assume to compete with rival Harmonix's Rock Band. GH IV will also feature a create-a-song, but no vocals will be allowed in the mode due to copyright issues. For more details check the NeoGAF forums here.

Included in the issue is a shot of the official Guitar Hero IV drum kit (shown right). Instead of having four pads like Rock Band, the kit will feature 3 pads and 2 cymbals. RedOctane claims that their kit will be an improvement over Rock Band's kit, featuring quiter pads...