The last title in the bloated series of Guitar Hero games may have landed some five years ago, with the franchise fading away slowly over its lifespan, that’s all about to change with the series roaring back to life like the reunion tour from a band you never knew you wanted to see until it was announced.
Publishing company Activision has revealed the first trailer for the upcoming Guitar Hero Live, which is due for a release in the back half of 2015. Developer FreeStyleGames is handling the production of the title, having previously worked on DJ Hero and DJ Hero 2 for the franchise.
Guitar Hero Live differs slightly from previous instalments of the game, offering players two separate and distinct modes of play – either Guitar Hero Live, or GHTV.
Live mode switches things up from previous versions of the game, using real footage of audiences and switching to a first person perspective from the view of the guitar player on stage. Crowds and bandmates alike react according to how good or bad you play. On the other hand, GHTV opens up a constantly expanding library of music videos for you to play along with.
And for those of you thinking you’ll simply be able to get away with blowing the dust off your old guitar controllers, think again. The controller itself has apparently received an overhaul of design, shifting the fret buttons into two rows of three, moving away from the “traditional” design of five coloured buttons.
Editorial aside, the previous games do still maintain a fairly solid level of joy to them, and operate remarkably well as party games. Whether this new title lives up to the reputation remains to be seen – as does the possibility of the First Person view making you feel a bit sick (though, that said, pair this with an Oculus Rift and it’d be totally rad).
Either way, prepare to have that one super annoying mate start harping on again about how it’s not real guitar and how he can play all the songs on a real musical instrument and give you that really freaking annoying self-satisfied smug grin.
Don’t be that guy. No one likes that guy.
