News: Activision officially announces Guitar Hero 5.
After the game's exclusive debut on the USA Today Game Hunters blog, Activision has announced the first official details of Guitar Hero 5. As previously revealed, the game will be released this Fall on the PlayStation 2 (developed by Budcat), Wii (developed by Vicarious Visions), PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 (developed by Neversoft).
The official announcement covers much of the same ground the USA Today article did including new game modes such as Party Play, RockFest and the duplicating instruments. However, Activision's press release did confirm that Guitar Hero 5 will have 85 tracks (all of them master recordings) when it ships this Fall. That will include 25 artists that have never been featured in a music video game before.
The other big reveal is that all
Guitar Hero: World Tour downloadable tracks will be forward-compatible with Guitar Hero 5. They will also be updated to "include all of the upgrades and enhancements of Guitar Hero 5." However, a "limited number of songs" will not be upgradeable, likely due to rights issues with
Rock Band.
Finally, Activision has said the game will contain an enhanced art style and a redesigned GHMusic Studio, which will "[make] it the most accessible, fun-to-play and authentic experience for seasoned music gamers as well as first-time players." Other new and enhanced modes include Band Moments, "where bands are rewarded for hitting special note streams together" and Song Challenges, "where gamers are tasked to play through a song a specific way."
We'll have more soon.