After news leaked to French press earlier today Activision has officially announced it will be rebooting the Guitar Hero series for next gen gaming consoles under the name Guitar Hero Live.
From the new trailer and screenshots we can see that Guitar Hero Live will completely refresh the franchise giving it an edgy new branding and a completely new way to play. Gone is the original version of the guitar-shaped controller, which in its earliest incarnation looked and felt a bit like a toddler’s toy, and it’s replaced by something that looks and probably feels much more realistic.
The re-envisioned guitar comes with a new control layout that appears to be more comfortable and natural to play with when blasting through a lengthy set and it utilises two rows of three buttons instead of the old five button configuration. Many will remember the carpal tunnel syndrome suffered from stretching digits to reach all those colourful keys on the original – an effect which was actually dubbed by many as ‘Guitar Hero Syndrome’.
The game itself also takes a realistic approach too by replacing the cartoonish assortment of band members with video footage of an actual band. Another great twist is that instead of facing the band and watching them play as you strum the night away, you’ll actually be facing the crowd in the first-person view with the highway of notes and chords to be hit streaming towards you as in the classic.
As the trailer declares “You Rock. They React.” and the realistic crowd will respond with cheers and applause to your shredding skills and showmanship or will react with “you suck” chants and trash throwing if your performance truly stinks.
Bands expected to contribute tracks including the likes of The Black Keys, Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, The Killers and Green Day return to the series along with legends The Rolling Stones. A full band and songs list is yet to be revealed before Guitar Hero Live gets real on Xbox One and PS4 this autumn with the game and guitar costing £89.99.