From now through August 18th, when you purchase Guitar Hero II from Circuit City you'll get 1600 Microsoft points for free and free shipping on your online order. This offer is available online and in-store, but you'll have to send in a rebate form to get your money back. Check out the offer here.
True, we have seen a similar free 1600 Microsoft points offer before when GH II released and there was no forms to send in. But if you're willing to send in a rebate and wait for your cash this is definitely a good deal. Or you could just wait for Guitar Hero III or the game X3F is in love with ... Rock Band. Decide and plan your purchase accordingly.
The consumer versus Guitar Hero II downloadable content pricing war rages on with Activision taking the defensive on their pricing strategy. According to Dusty Welch, the head of Red Octane publishing, the downloadable track packs have been a "tremendous success" and that "demand seems to be insatiable" as they're reporting that 300,000 song packs have been purchased since April. Mr. Welch goes on to say that they have been listening to Guitar Hero II customers, but will still be "offering even better music at current price points" due to the success of the previous song packs.
So guys, who's to blame? We know we didn't purchase those overpriced track packs, but know there are a bunch who did. This is just another case of the financial bottom line being more important than the vocal majority, so quit buying the songs already! .... now back to the corner to cry myself to sleep again.
In a slap to their fans' faces, Activision released a new Guitar Hero II music pack to the Marketplace and it's still overpriced. Up for download is the Guitar Hero Track Pack 4 featuring three songs including "I Wanna Be Sedated" by The Ramones, "Smoke on the Water" by Deep Purple, and "You've Got Another Thing Coming" by Judas Priest for the ouch that hurts price of 500 Microsoft points.
We really thought Harmonix and Activision were taking a while to release new content, because they were actively negotiated and reworking their pricing strategy seeing that fans have been very vocal about the pricing of the last three DLC offerings. But our extended wait was for no gain, because the pricing hasn't changed. Try and keep your anger civil fanboys ... or at least pointed towards the guilty parties.
What's better than a pink Master Chief, a replica Guitar Hero II X-plorer guitar, and over 70 sparkly jewels? The answer: nothing! Girly Halo fan bs angel created a jewel encrusted X-plorer guitar for her pink Master Chief spartan to rock out with. The project took around two hours to complete with most of that time dedicated to attaching the little jewels. You can check out more pictures of this pink wonder after the break. Now only if bs angel can hook us up with a few tickets to the pink Master Chief rock concert that's going down this Summer ... our fingers are crossed.
As the promises of loads of downloadable content echo through the empty halls of memory, Red Octane has let out a squeak, nay, the smallest chirp of information regarding the next batch of downloadable songs for Guitar Hero II. According to a forum post by a Red Octane admin by the name of rodth, new downloadable content for Guitar Hero II should drop sometime in July. Specifically, rodth noted, "While nothing's been formally announced, look for something to come down the pipeline around the July timeframe ...."
If you've been keeping track, this would be the second batch of DLC we've seen since April. We're not experts, but we're not sure that qualifies as the most DLC for any 360 game evar.
Back in May, Rock Band forum member (and obsessed Guitar Hero II fan) Bloodlust told of his tragic GHII experience and asked Harmonix to include one of his favorite songs for all the pain he has gone through. You see, Bloodlust not only ended up with a broken 360, a scratched GHII disc, and heartache, but his X-plorer guitar ended up getting peed on. Yes, you read that correctly, his nephew urinated on his guitar controller. And Harmonix, being the kind developers that they are, kindly disregarded such song suggestion and sent him a brand new X-plorer controller signed by the entire team in urine colored yellow Sharpie. Those Harmonix guys are a funny bunch and are now officially included in our book of kickass developers.
You're a Guitar Hero II rockstar god, aren't you? Well, if you think you're good enough and are willing to travel, the Mall of America in the lovely state of Minnesota is holding a Guitar Hero II tournament this Saturday, June 9th. The guitar gaming fun will take place in the mall's rotunda from 10:00AM-4:00PM with prizes including a Guitar Hero II game pack, Fender Squier Strat Pack, and a pair of airline tickets. And if your dress up skills are better then your guitar playing, dress up like your favorite rocker and win prizes for your creativity. Practice a few expert songs, make a trip to the MOA and win a few prizes. Living the life of a rockstar is good.
Thanks to seemingly never ending supply issues, finding a second guitar for Guitar Hero II can be quite a challenge. Now, if you want to spend a little extra scratch, you can find custom guitars on eBay. Put up for auction by sheppyboy2000, the guitar features an original black-on-red paint job. This is actually his second guitar (you can see the first one here). Apparently stickers weren't enough for sheppyboy2000. You'd better really want this puppy, though: the current high bid is $85 with $11 more for shipping. For that price, you could buy a brand new copy of Guitar Hero II and give it to a friend. Still, if you like custom gaming accessories, this one seems pretty nice. Oh, and sheppyboy2000 plans to make more, so keep your eyes peeled if you like what you see.
As we're still struggling to crank out perfect scores on Hard difficulty in Guitar Hero II, Activision goes and announces a whole slew of new tracks coming to Guitar Hero III. Seriously, just look at all these damned tracks (which we have politely lifted from Joystiq)!
First thing's first, please recognize the distinction between "by" and "as made famous by" in that list. You'll notice that a full 7 of those tracks appear to be recorded by the artist themselves. That's worth throwing up the horns right there. In some more exciting news, Activision has announced that Guitar Hero III's guitar controller will be modeled after the Gibson Les Paul, and will feature customizable faceplates. Furthermore, there will be wireless controllers available for the game, though it is unclear if said guitars will be included with the game or if they will be separate purchases. There is one troubling note in the press release, though: the new guitars will feature a new "button color design" in order to create a more authentic experience. Hopefully, this doesn't hinder the performance of the (very expensive) guitars we've all purchased for Guitar Hero II.
You know the feeling. You're playing Guitar Hero II, you've got full Star Power and here comes that sweet string of notes that will send your score into the stratosphere. Only one thing to do: tilt that controller and rock like you mean it. But what's this? You tilt the control and nothing happens, or maybe it's a little delayed, or maybe the act of tilting screws up your fingering. Whatever happened, you're stuck with a piddly x2 multiplier and a lot of wasted Star Power. If this sounds familiar to you, you may want to check out the fancy Star Power button mod at GrownUpGamers. As is the case with most mods, this will require you to crack open your X-plorer and do some soldering, so it's not for the timid. The mod also instructs users how to install a "kill switch" which essentially gives you a second strum button, helping you land those wicked solos.
If you're chops are righteous enough for this mod, click the "read" link and check it out.
Harmonix and EA announced that their upcoming rhythm game, Rock Band, will feature a Fender Stratocaster guitar peripheral, and Fender guitars, basses, amps, and other equipment in game. Rock Band will also feature BOSS and Roland in game. CEO of Fender Musical Instruments Corporation Bill Mendello showed great interest and enthusiasm in Harmonix using Fender equipment in the game, commending the developer's ability to capture the essence of rock 'n' roll in digital entertainement. So, since the GH II Gibson X-plorer will play nice with Rock Band, which one are you going to side with? Fender or Gibson?
You know that badass commercial for Guitar Hero II that we first showed you that later came to Marketplace? Yeah, the one that looks strikingly similar to Gorillaz music videos' artistic style? Well, evidently that comparison is with good reason, at it turns out that the credits to the animation go to Peter Candleland, the Gorillaz animation director from Passion Pictures had a hand in the style of the 360 rock title's TV spot, so the similarities are justified. We also hunted down the animator for the piece, Robert Valley, and a lot of his other work is consistent with the feel throughout. Still, the "Woman vs. Meteor" ad is right up there with Mad World in our books, what about you?
Over at GrownUpGamers.com they've posted a helpful tutorial to fix those unreliable Guitar Hero II fret buttons on your X-plorer guitar. Their tutorial is for those of you who experience not so responsive fret buttons when rocking out to your favorite jam. This unresponsive fret button problem occurs when the fret buttons don't fully press down on the contact due to some shifting action. And all you need to fix those buttons is some confidence to open up your guitar, some cardboard, scissors, and tape. And voila! Fret buttons fixed. We're just wondering what type of cardboard would work best. Gushers, Pop-Tarts, Fruit By the Foot, or Cheerios ... oh the choices.
Joystiq reports that Guitar Hero II supply problems are becoming prevalent to gamers in Canada and the UK. This has been confirmed by one of Joystiq's UK bloggers, who states, "I've tried about a dozen retail stores, [it's] harder to find than a Wii." Wow, that is hard to find. When reached for comment, Red Octane told Joystiq that the supply issues were purely a result of an "insane amount of demand" for the title. Furthermore, they note that there are still many retailers in the United States experiencing supply troubles as well.
Red Octane's advice? Buy directly from the Red Octane store. If you just have to have Guitar Hero II (and honestly, you do), ordering from Red Octane may be your only hope. Be warned though, shipping costs are not cheap.
So, the weekend is officially upon us, and at least in the Great White North, the forecast is wet and gloomy, which pretty much means sitting back in a Sumo lounge chair and gaming away. We'll probably try to get some final matches of Shadowrun in before the beta ends Monday night, rock out to Guitar Hero II, or go back to old favorites like Oblivion and Gears of War. But that's us. What of you, fellow fanboy, what are you going to be playing?
From now through August 18th, when you purchase Guitar Hero II from Circuit City you'll get 1600 Microsoft points for free and free shipping on your online order. This offer is available online and in-store, but you'll have to send in a rebate form to get your money back. Check out the offer here.
In a slap to their fans' faces, Activision released a new Guitar Hero II music pack to the Marketplace and it's still overpriced. Up for download is the Guitar Hero Track Pack 4 featuring three songs including "I Wanna Be Sedated" by The Ramones, "Smoke on the Water" by Deep Purple, and "You've Got Another Thing Coming" by Judas Priest for the ouch that hurts price of 500 Microsoft points.
