In less than a month, Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s will be coming out and this will be Harmonix’s last version of their franchise since they’ve handed over GH3 to Neversoft. What’s coming out in July probably didn’t take much work because the virtual band is the same, the guitarists you choose are also the characters from GH2 just with different retro-themed costumes and an assortment of Eighties tunes thrown in. It worked for Grand Theft Auto; I think the gap between GTA3 and Vice City‘s release were as short.
Now Harmonix’s next big thing will be out for Christmas, Rock Band. I saw a picture of the new guitar, they cut a deal with Fender instead of Gibson for this. Nothing on the other controller-instruments (bass, drums and microphone) has surfaced outside of complaining; the whining on the Web about the game possibly costing $200 due to the peripherals. Sounds a bit steep at first yet I’ve seen gamers drop that much on lesser things and $200 is equal to three new XBox 360 or PS3 games.
Even if you have no interest in the game, go to this site to vote for four possible songs. I tried to make mine diverse and capable of getting everyone’s adrenalin pumping. The other considerations were songs all four players can participate in, nobody wants to be the bassist or drummer who just keeps time (see the White Stripes):
- “…And the Cradle Will Rock” by Van Halen
- “Ride a White Horse” by Goldfrapp
- “Rusty Cage” by Soundgarden
- “Speed of Sound” by Coldplay
I’m not sure if they put a cookie in the browser to restrict how many times one can vote. I’ll wait a week before I throw in another four of my choosing.