Guitar Hero Live was officially announced today after rumors and speculation leading up to an event by Activision. Guitar Hero was one of the most successful gaming franchises over the last decade and is trying to revitalize their lineup. The new Guitar Hero Live is centered on making the game as realistic as possible. In their press release the CEO of Activision Publishing Inc. Eric Hirshberg said “Our goal was literally to give people stage fright.”
The way that they set out to accomplish that is with a new first person mode, an interactive crowd, local and online multiplayer, and a new guitar configuration.
When playing as the lead guitarist in first person mode players will see fans react to how they play. There’s also a wide variety of venues that users can play in ranging from “the smallest club stage in front of a hundred people, to the massive main stage of an outdoor festival in front of a hundred thousand people.”
One of the biggest changes is a new button configuration for the guitar. Instead of a single row of buttons like every previous version of Guitar Hero, Guitar Hero Live has two rows of three buttons that make beginner mode easier, and expert mode more difficult.
“The new format ensures fun for players of all abilities. For beginners, you can feel like a rock star by mastering play with just the bottom three buttons. Medium-level players don’t have to stretch their fingers down the neck of the guitar controller anymore and can instead skillfully play two-row combinations that mimic real chords. Experienced players have a new challenge in creating complex chord-like shapes and finger combinations that will bring new thrills to veterans. This simple innovation makes it easier for beginners to play and harder for veterans to master.”
They’ve also introduced a new feature, GHTV which is “the world’s first playable music video network.” Expanding on GHTV, it is described as “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.”
Versions of Guitar Hero Live are playable on consoles, tablets, and phones. When it comes to consoles the game will be released on a wide range including the Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, and the Wii U. It seems that having Guitar Hero Live playable anywhere on any device is a big push by Activision.
The next version of Guitar Hero looks like it’s going to provide an innovative experience that’s available across a wide range of devices. The new button configuration and gameplay modes give the game a new spice and angle to the video game band genre.
There’s a large push to advertise the new game including live shows in New York City that will include “Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy and Gerard Way from My Chemical Romance.” Fans that can’t wait to get their hands on the game can also go these Best Buy locations to try it out.
- “April 14, 2015: Best Buy Theatre, New York City, 6pm – 9pm
- April 18, 2015: Best Buy Store, Union Square, New York City, 1pm – 5pm
- April 18, 2015: Best Buy Store, Torrance, CA, 1pm – 5pm”
The game is already available for pre-order and more can be found at the new GuitarHero.com and through various social media outlets including YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Further reading: Guitar Hero, Microsoft, Xbox One
