Incredibly Sexy Update: Joystiq is reporting that there is a rumor that players of GH: Aerosmith may be able to play as the other members of the band, notably on the drums and on the mic. Hey Guitar Hero, now who copied who?

I’m not going to lie; I saw this coming. Guitar Hero: Aerosmith has been rumored to have been in the workings for a while now, and Activision finally decided to announce the game this morning. Why Aerosmith? Aerosmith is one of the defining bands of a generation; the only thing few bands that would be more appropriate to name a Guitar Hero game after would be Led Zeppelin or perhaps Jimi Hendrix. (Why haven’t we seen those yet, Neversoft?)

Not only that, but this weekend Activision is releasing Aerosmith’s hit “Dream On” free to Guitar Hero III owners.

Anyway, I, for one, am pleased with Activision’s choice as to who would front the next Guitar Hero game. Don’t like Aerosmith and want another one of your favorite bands to front the next Guitar Hero game? Dream on.

Hit the jump for the full press release.

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You may have heard how disappointed I was with the last two tiers of Guitar Hero III. In an obvious attempt to please me, Neversoft and Activision have teamed up to release two packs of three songs as downloadable content for the Xbox 360. Both the Velvet Revolver pack (which includes “She Builds Quick Machines,” “Slither,” and “Messages”) and Foo Fighters pack (which includes “The Pretender,” “All My Life,” and “This is a Call”) will retail for 500 MS points each, and are now available for download right now.

At $2 per song, I’m still very hesitant to pick these song packs up. It just seems like too much money to pay for a couple of measley songs that I am not absolutely in love with. Activision had this problem with Guitar Hero II, as you may remember, releasing mediocre songs at exorbitant prices. I had hoped that they would clean up their act and get some sort of bargain going, and only charge a dollar per song, but I guess not.

For now, though, I’m boycotting Guitar Hero III downloadable content. Activision, come back when you bring some Zeppelin or Hendrix.

UPDATE: I think it may just be the booze kicking in, but apparently we’re also getting the boss battle songs up for download free of charge in later November.

- Grande gracias to kagatoasuka (aka “The Love Machine”)

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Dear revered and all-holy Neversoft,

This is not alright. And by this, I mean the seventh and eighth tiers of your newly released blockbuster, Guitar Hero III. When I first booted up the game, only hours after its release, I was surprised to find how much I loved the game. And I mean loved it. Sure, I’ve been a fan of the series since the release of Guitar Hero II on the Xbox 360, but my initial feelings with the third game man me a true Guitar Hero fanboy. After playing through half of Expert, and finding myself stumped at the boss battle with Slash, I decided to turn down the difficulty and try and beat Hard first. Suffice it to say, the initial love that I had felt for the game was dismantled within seconds after hitting the seventh tier.

With the exception of a select few songs, these last two tiers of the game have proven themselves to almost wreck the game for me. Throughout the beginning, and progressing through the tracks, the songs seemed to keep building, with better and more fun songs in every tier. Then I came to the seventh tier. Slipknot? Disturbed? Queens of the Stone Age? Why did Neversoft decide to go grunge/shit-on-our-faces all of a sudden? After completing this tier, and boy was it more of a task than anything else, I thought that the game would redeem itself in the final tier. With songs like Freebird and the Beast and the Harlot in Guitar Hero II’s last tier, I was assured that Neversoft had saved the best for last.

Boy, was I wrong again. With the exception of the great Eric Johnson song, Cliffs of Dover, the last tier is absolutely awful. Slayer, now there’s a band that I’ve never had the inkling to go listen to. Thanks, Neversoft, for forcing me to sit through it a few times due to the absolutely ridiculous solo that consistently made me fail. Oh and One. A real great song to end the game on, really. With an upbeat rhthym and stellar note pattern, One was horrid. Then there’s Number of the Beast. Don’t get me wrong, I love Iron Maiden, probably more than the next hair metal fan. However, this was an awful choice for the game. When you have to repeat the same 10 note pattern for 20% of the song in the beginning and another 20% at the end, you know that you’ve made a quality choice for the last tier in an epic game. Really, I love jamming ridiculous notes in a row and having my hands feel like they’re going to fall off. Really, I do.

For now, Neversoft, we are not alright with one another. Maybe if you release some sort of extra downloadable content (Foo Fighters anyone?) for a reasonable price, I might consider being friends once again. But until then, I’m always going to have a special dark spot in my soul reserved for tiers seven and eight.

Sincerely,

Will “backflip” DeGirolamo

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Xbox Live user Ethaneeze has managed to get Guitar Hero III early, and he’s taken some pictures off his screen to show everyone else what they’re missing. Apparently he got it at Toys ‘R’ Us, so other people might be able to get it early too…if anyone manages to find it at Toys ‘R’ Us or another store make sure to post here so we can be jealous of you too.

UPDATE: I found out that he did not get it at Toys ‘R’ Us, although he says he did get it legally, so it’s most likely from someone inside Activision. Sorry if I got anyone’s hopes up.

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It was announced a while ago that a demo for the Xbox 360 version of Guitar Hero III was going to be included with the newest Tony Hawk game, but if you’re not planning on buying that there’s now another way to sample the game. This month’s Official Xbox Magazine comes with the same demo, so if you already have a guitar from Guitar Hero II and want to see what’s new go pick it up. However, if you want a taste of the game without having to get the demo, here are videos of all the songs you’re missing:

Priestess - “Lay Down”

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I’m really so glad that RedOctane and Harmonix are still focusing on releasing relatively unknown songs and relatively ridiculous prices for Guitar Hero II on Xbox 360. Really, the last update of My Chemical Romance songs was just so … abysmal. Yes, abysmal. Anyway, the two companies plan to release yet another DLC song pack on the Xbox Live Marketplace tonight at 5am EST for a sell-your-spleen-on-eBay price of 500 MS Points. The pack includes the following songs:

Detonation by Trivium
Right Side of the Bed by Atreyu
Bury the Hatchet by Protest the Hero

Never heard of any of those songs, and I sure as hell wouldn’t spend over $2 each for them. But, if these tracks float your boat, check them out later tonight or tomorrow morning.

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Art Guitar has actually crafted a Guitar Hero controller for the PlayStation 2 out of a real guitar. Yep, real Peavey guitar has been modified all over to work with all PlayStation 2 Guitar Hero games. To quote the release:

The neck, crafted from natural rosewood, displays five colorful buttons located amongst original frets and position markers on a genuine fingerboard. The solid strum bar is strategically positioned above the pickup while the whammy bar features a durable spring for lasting play. The guitar strings have been removed, but the headstock still includes real tuning pegs for an added visual appeal.

The guitar is life size and will showcase many rock bands, such as KISS (pictured above). Other bands that will be featured will be announced in the near future. This Art Guitar Guitar Hero controller will be available for Holiday 2007.

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RedOctane is offering about $70 worth of Guitar Hero goodies for only $10 more when you pre-order Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock on their official website. That’s $99.99 for the Wii, and $109.99 for the PS3 and Xbox 360. Everything included in this pre-order special is a “gig bag,” for carrying your Guitar Hero guitar, a keychain, a sticker pack, and custom guitar faceplate and strap, and a Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock t-shirt.

There’s also an “Extreme Bundle,” pre-order, which costs the price as the regular guitar and game, and still includes a gig bag, the customized strap, and keychain. RedOctane offering free shipping when you use the coupon code “freeground” when ordering.

[Via 1Up]

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