Above you see the first look at the upcoming "Create Your Own Song" feature of the fourth iteration of the Guitar Hero series, officially being called Guitar Hero: On Tour. The game is set to include the ability for full-on band play, with a microphone and drums, and all those extra drum pads are going to cost you. Gamestop is listing the bundle for $189.99 for the Xbox 360 and PS3 and $179 for PS2 which is 20 bucks more than the Rock Band bundle is going for. I am wondering if this will even sell of if the whole Guitar Hero fad has kind of peaked at this point. Check out a new trailer for the drums and more screenshots after the jump… (more…)

The above commercial has already been posted online of the new Guitar Hero game, which is seemingly going to be titled Guitar Hero On Tour . As we've previously reported , GH IV will not only have drums, but bass and microphone as well. The first bands to be featured in the game which are VAN HALEN, THE EAGLES, LINKIN PARK and SUBLIME. Going by the commercial, its safe to say LENNY KRAVITZ will be featured in the game as well.

Somebody over at the Destructiod blogs managed to scan in the first image of the new Guitar Hero drums expected in the fourth iteration of the game. As we've previously reported, GH IV will not only have drums, but bass and microphone as well. After seeing this photo, its safe to say that your Rock Band drums will not be compatible with the Guitar Hero series (which is pretty lame). Also revealed recently, were the first bands to be featured in the game which are VAN HALEN, THE EAGLES, LINKIN PARK and SUBLIME.

It's been a solid few months since we posted anything about GUITAR HERO. The franchise has been kind of weak lately, recently releasing a AEROSMITH compilation and treating it like a new version of the game, except nobody cared!

Now, news is beginning to trickle through the cracks about the next iteration of the game. According to the June issue of Game Informer, the new version of the game will take after Rock Band and feature other instruments including a bass guitar, a microphone, and (topping Rock Band) a 6 piece drum kit, featuring 2 cymbals, and presumably 4 drum pads and the kick trigger.

Also, don't expect any Gibson replicas in the next iteration of the game. Due to a falling out, Guitar Hero will not be licensing the controller out to any guitar maker but instead design their own controller which allegedly will have a feature that will “directly impact the way you play Guitar Hero in the future.”

A feature that sounds like it could be tons of fun, is the new Guitar Hero Tunes service, which will allow gamers to create their own songs and share them with other players online, but these tracks will be devoid of vocals. Additionally, users will be able to create custom musicians, album art, and instruments.

The game will be released by years end on all major next-gen gaming consoles. I'm getting a little excited.

UPDATE - We can also confirm that VAN HALEN, THE EAGLES, LINKIN PARK and SUBLIME have been confirmed for the game.

[ Game Informer via Primo Technology ]

So Rolling Stone has this "first look" preview about the new Aerosmith-only Guitar Hero coming out, and I don't think I could be less excited. Why? Because the things that the RS article gets excited about are incredibly lame:

The band’s fingerprints are all over Guitar Hero: Aerosmith: Steven Tyler did all of his own motion capture work (he even let them capture his facial and lip movements; the close-ups are uncannily awesome) and every guitar in the game is a digital version of an instrument the band actually uses (the Joe Perry character has a different guitar for each song in the game). Even the menu pages are based around the rooms at the band’s studio/clubhouse Vindaloo, complete with candles and Tyler’s scarves.

SCARVES?!?! Holy crap, where is the pre-order link. The ultimate downer is that there are 45 songs, and 60% of them are Aerosmith songs and the rest are songs from bands that toured with them. The only bright light is a Kinks song (All Day and All Night) but seriously, did Guitar Hero forget who their demographic was? Most of the Guitar Hero afficianados weren't even born when Aerosmith was making their Walk This Way comeback. WHO CARES?? WHERE IS THE METAL ONLY PACK? GET ON IT GUITAR HERO!!!

But I digress…

Its no secret that the we here at Metal Injection headquarters are all huge Guitar Hero fans. When the news came out that they were developing a version for the portable Nintendo DS, I was a bit intrigued. Now, IGN has revealed what the game would look like. At first, it seems kind of interesting, but then I watched the video of the commercial they are doing to shill the product:

Um, seriously? I know people say even playing a plastic guitar is ridiculous, but this..looks…FUCKING…ridiculous! The Guitar Hero marketing machine has officially jumped the shark.

Ok, really? The makers of GUITAR HERO are set to announce that a new version of their popular franchise will be coming out this year with what is likely an all-AEROSMITH video game. The game will start with Aerosmith’s fist ever gig and take you all the way through their aging career to today. Really? Last time I checked, Aersomith have stopped being relevant like 20 years ago. Seriously, are they just trying to have the game appeal to the parents of all the kids who play this, because I can't really see a 9 year old kid thinking Oh I just can't wait to beat 'I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing' on expert.

Some hardcore gamers at the ScoreHero forums got their hands on March's issue of OXM which reveled next month's Rock Band song downloads. At the Gates and The Haunted make their Rock Band debut and we get more tracks from Nine Inch Nails, Lynard Skynard and Fuel by Metallic (Really? Fuel?? Come on!) Here is the complete lineup:

Week of March 4th - Thrash Three Pack
"Blinded by Fear" by At The Gates
"Thrasher" by Evile
"Shadow World" by Haunted

Week of March 11th
"Shooting Star" as made famous by Bad Company*
"Simple Man" by Lynyrd Skynyrd
"Message in A Bottle" by Police

Week of March 18th - NIN Three Pack
"March of the Pigs" by Nine Inch Nails
"The Collector" by Nine Inch Nails
"The Perfect Drug" by Nine Inch Nails

Week of March 25th - Metal Three Pack
"Wrathchild" as made famous by Iron Maiden*
"Supernaut" as made famous by Black Sabbath*
"Fuel" by Metallica

* asterisk denotes cover song

Feel like your Guitar Hero gaming experience just isn't real enough? Enter peripheral game maker React who are introducing the above foot pedal for the PS2.

Tired of all the time wasted and notes missed tilting your guitar to active star power? Well then this pedal is definitely for you, as that is its primary purpose. The pedal is selling for $25 at Best Buy.

[ via Joystiq ]

WTF is a stage kit you ask? Details are sketchy at this point, but it seems the makers of Rock Band are releasing an add-on pack to make your band feel more legit. According to a pre-order page on GameStop, this will transform your average game play into an "interactive light and smoke stage show" (the site has since removed the image and description). You'll have plenty of time to save up those dollars, as this accessory isn't released until June. Worthless? Highly likely.

In case you've been under a rock, or are just over television…the Hollywood writers have been on strike for 2 months now. Yes, that explains why you are seeing just a few more crappy reality shows than usual. On Wednsday, all the late night talks shows came back on the air (most sans-writers) and on Late Night, METAL Injection's favorite late-night personality, Conan O'Brien discussed how he's been keeping busy the last 2 months of the strike and discusses how he's been playing guitar over Rock Band to pass the time.

You're fingers may be hurting from trying to get past 5% playing DragonForce on expert in the new Guitar Hero game, but you may have forgotten, that ROCK BAND, the game made by the people who originally created Guitar Hero, is coming out next week.
We've already revealed the complete track listing for the game, and now GameSpot has gotten the scoop on the game's downloadable content. The game markers will offer those 3 packs we've come to expect from Guitar Hero, but for a cheaper $5.99 asking price (compared to GH's $6.49) and will also make single tracks available for download for $1.99. Game developers, Harmoix, have said future songs will be sold individually for as little as $.99, and as much as $2.99. The schedule of songs to be released looks something like this:

Week of November 20, 2007: (*–asterisk denotes a cover version)
Metallica Pack
"Ride the Lightning"–Metallica
"Blackened"–Metallica
"And Justice for All"–Metallica
[Editor's Note:  :::droooool::::: ]

The Police Pack
"Can't Stand Losing You"–The Police
"Synchronicity II"–The Police
"Roxanne"–The Police

Queens of the Stone Age Pack
"3's and 7's"–Queens of the Stone Age
"Little Sister"–Queens of the Stone Age
"Sick Sick Sick"–Queens of the Stone Age

Individual Tracks
"Fortunate Son" as made famous by Creedence Clearwater Revival *
"Juke Box Hero" as made famous by Foreigner *
"Bang a Gong (Get It On)" as made famous by T-Rex *
"My Sharona" as made famous by The Knack *
"Cherry Bomb" as made famous by The Runaways *
"Joker & The Thief"–Wolfmother
Week of November 27, 2007
David Bowie Pack
"Moonage Daydream"–David Bowie
"Heroes" as made famous by David Bowie *
"Queen Bitch" as made famous by David Bowie *

Week of December 4, 2007
Black Sabbath Pack
"N.I.B." as made famous by Black Sabbath *
"Sweet Leaf" as made famous by Black Sabbath *
"War Pigs" as made famous by Black Sabbath *

Week of December 11, 2007
Punk Pack:
"Rockaway Beach"–Ramones
"I Fought the Law"–The Clash
"Ever Fallen In Love" as made famous by Buzzcocks *

Week of December 18, 2007
Individual Tracks
"My Iron Lung"–Radiohead
"Buddy Holly"–Weezer
"Brass in Pocket" as made famous by The Pretenders *

If you missed South Park this week, you were probably trying to score 5 stars on Metallica's "One" in Guitar Hero III. In which case, check out the above clip where Matt & Trey totally pwn you!

Guitar Hero III grossed more than $100 million in its first seven days on sale  Activision revealed the figures on Monday (November 5), making the game the second biggest title of the year after Halo 3, which hauled in $170 million in its first day alone.

Not too shabby for the bands either. The hardest game in the song, DRAGONFORCE's "Through the Fire and Flames" has claimed the #1 spot for digital single sales amongst other tracks included in the game.  The single saw an impressive 183% increase over the prior weeks single sales, beating out THE KILLERS, THE ROLLING STONES, METALLICA and GUNS N' ROSES among others. DRAGONFORCE also ranked #3 in album sales among other bands with tracks featured in the game.

METALLICA should be happy about those sales as well. The band was approached to be in previous versions of the game, but only agreed if they were granted royalties per game sold as opposed to a flat fee, the first band to be granted such a request.