Guitar Hero III officially announced @ Gaming Target

Written by John Scalzo on May 23, 2007

News: And wireless guitars for everybody.

After inadvertantly revealing the existence of Guitar Hero III on their website, RedOctane and Activision have officially announced the next title in the popular franchise. As expected, the game will be coming to the PS2, PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii this fall and it will be developed by Neversoft. What is a surprise is the fact that Activision never once refers to the game as Guitar Hero III, so we may be end up with a subtitled game like the upcoming Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s.

The overall total number of tracks is unknown, but an initial list of 11 songs was revealed. Activision also pointed out that this version of Guitar Hero will have more songs by the original artists than ever before. The initial 11 are:

Songs by the Original Artists

Paint It Black (by The Rolling Stones)

Cherub Rock (by Smashing Pumpkins)

Sabotage (by Beastie Boys)

The Metal (by Tenacious D)

My Name is Jonas (by Weezer)

Knights of Cydonia (by Muse)

Cult of Personality (by Living Colour)

Covers

Rock And Roll All Nite (as made famous by Kiss)

School's Out (as made famous by Alice Cooper)

Slow Ride (as made famous by Fog Hat)

Barracuda (as made famous by Heart)

More than a simple update with more songs, Guitar Hero III will sport a ton of new features including a "multiplayer action-inspired battle mode, grueling boss battles, a bevy of exclusive unlockable content and authentic rock venues." These new features will be brought to life online with expanded multiplayer modes. Speaking of online, the game will also eventually receive downloadable content on "multiple platforms" (read: Xbox 360 and PS3 only, although nothing is confirmed).

The guitars in Guitar Hero III will also be going wireless for the first time on all platforms. The next-generation systems will receive a guitar based on Gibson's Les Paul model. This new guitar will feature "removable faceplates and a new button color design that will be integrated for an even greater authentic feel and rock experience."

Don't think the PS2 will be left out in the cold, as it will receive a new guitar option as well. Sony's still going strong system will receive a version of Gibson's Kramer model, which we also assume will be wireless.

УThe development team at Neversoft has been exceptional, and we've been able to incorporate a host of fresh new online and multi-player game play modes, along with exciting content into this version of Guitar Hero that our fans have been asking for. Also, many of the top bands and songs we've tried to get in the past are now on board, and we've definitely got some giant aces in the hole to say the least,Ф said Dusty Welch, head of publishing at RedOctane. УIn addition, offering a new line of Gibson wireless guitars for each platform is going to truly add to the authentic rock star experience like no other.Ф

We'll have more on Guitar Hero III soon.