Guitar Hero Returns in a Big Way with Guitar Hero Live!

Photo Credit: Activision; Roger Reuver

I don't know about you, but Guitar Hero had to have been one of my favorite games as an early teen. To hear after 5 years, that it is returning with a new experience and a true innovation, brings back all the fun I initially had with the game. Jamie Jackson, creative director at Guitar Hero Live developer FreeStyleGames, who previously worked on Sing Party and the DJ Hero series, seems to think that they have done something new and exciting with the game and have created a whole new experience based on some recent interviews.

Guitar Hero Live has you play as an up-and-coming guitarist in a fictitious band. Instead of playing along with computer-generated characters on screen, you will see a first-person view of their band mates and audiences portrayed by human actors.The virtual crowd will still boo or cheer if you're hitting the right notes and your band will also offer either praise or ridicule based on your performance.

Photo Credit: Giant Bomb

Despite featuring music from such artists as the Rolling Stones, Ed Sheeran and Green Day, Guitar Hero Live will have actors portraying phony band members resembling real musicians. I believe having the real musicians from the actual bands in the video game could help promote the new game more because it could draw the attention of people that would want to play as their favorite bands and it would just be super neat. Realistically though, that would be impossible for many reasons... but a guy can dream, right?

FreeStyleGames' also changed the top of the guitar's neck by adding another row of buttons.Gone are the days of the five multicolored buttons that fans are used to. The new guitar has 6 buttons layered in a 2-by-3 grid. This is to allow gamers to pull off chords easier and adds a new level of complexity to the game. On the screen the color-coded circles are gone too, replaced with guitar picks that are either solid or transparent depending on which set of buttons you need to hit.

Photo Credit: Activision

What makes this announcement even more interesting is the fact that Harmonix recently announced Rock Band 4. I don't think it's a coincidence that a new Guitar Hero was announced right around the corner from a new Rock Band announcement. Nevertheless, the concept of the new Guitar Hero is definitely interesting. The new guitar layout mixed with the live concert venues could be exactly what the game needs to attract both new and old fans back to something that has been nothing more than a memory for half a decade. Check out the sweet reveal trailer for the game below!

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