DUST OFF YOUR FAVORITE PS2 GUITAR CONTROLLERS! THE ANT COMMANDOS' PLAYSTATION® 2 TO PLAYSTATION® 3 ADAPTER IS NOW AVAILABLE TO REVITALIZE YOUR PS2 GUITAR HERO CONTROLLERS

TAC's Universal Adapter Is The First On The Market That is 100% Compatible With Guitar HeroT 3 & Rock BandT Features

April 28, 2008 - Ontario, CA- The Ant Commandos (TAC), a leading provider of innovative wireless video game music peripherals and accessories, announced today its universal PlayStation 2 to PlayStation 3 adapter for guitar and game controllers is now available at retail for an SRP of $19.99.

This is great news for Guitar Hero and Rock Band fans as they can protect their investment in PS2 guitar controllers and revitalize them for Guitar Hero 3 and Rock Band for PS3. Gamers will no longer have to throw away all of the valuable PS2 hardware they have accumulated over the years. The new PlayStation 2 to PlayStation 3 adapter enables all PS2 controllers, such as PS2 Guitar Hero guitars, to be utilized on
the PlayStation 3. Unlike previous attempts from other companies, TAC's universal adapter is 100% compatible with all of the popular guitar controllers on the market, and is engineered to function
perfectly with every feature in the Guitar Hero 3 and Rock Band games for PS3.
"When consumers purchase a PS2 to PS3 adapter for their favorite PS3 games, they expect everything to be compatible. It is devastating for a player to discover that certain game features such as hammer on,
hammer off don't work with other adapters on the market," said Jesse Manwill, Senior Manager, Product Management at TAC. "The great thing about the new TAC universal adapter is that we take into account every feature that players love in Guitar Hero 3 and Rock Band for PS3, and ensure that every gamer can have an enjoyable experience with their video game peripherals. We spent an incalculable amount of engineering and testing time with almost all guitar controllers in the market to make sure it is compatible."

The new TAC universal adapter is guaranteed to work on all of TAC's PS2 guitar controllers. The adapter is also compatible with regular PS2 controllers, Red Octane's and Activision's SG Controller, the Kramer Wireless, Nyko's PS2 Frontman guitar, the DreamGear Shredster, all React PS2 guitar controllers and all Psyclone PS2 guitar controllers, along with many other brands. Additionally, the TAC adapter features
a Power On Indicator LED, Easy Plug-N-Play installation, and supports multiple PlayStation 2 to PlayStation 3 adapters. The Universal PS2 to PS3 adapter is available now.

New Guitar Hero 2 Song Pack Hits Xbox Live [Shacknews]

Black Friday Ads [BFAds.net, via NeoGAF]

What's not on store shelves? Copies of the PlayStation 3 version of Guitar Hero III, unfortunately, which seems to be back ordered and sold out everywhere.

The Guitar Hero III soundtrack alone will run you $60. Guitar Hero II? $54. Guitar Hero? $43. That's because these aren't honest to goodness soundtracks, but rather a collection of all of the songs in one download list. In other words, you're paying a buck a pop for every song on the list. Kinda cruddy.

Oh, they did create an iTunes Essentials for Guitar Hero... but it's not discounted either. The 25 songs run you $24.75.

Target and E for All are teaming up starting today to host a $3,000 Guitar Hero 2 tourney at the public gaming convention in LA.

The tournaent will run from today through Saturday with the winner taking home more than $3,000 in cash and Target gift cards. Gift cards? Like 2,000 $1.50 cards?

Hit the jump for the full release and the South Hall of E4All to see it in person. Say Hi to McWhertor if you see him hanging about... and then poke him and tell him to get back to work.

WHAT: Calling all self-professed Guitar Hero® experts! E for All attendees are invited to bring their axes to compete as Target presents the first-ever Guitar Hero event at E for All. During the event, hundreds of competitors will showcase their shredding skills at one of the Guitar Hero® II kiosks on the show floor to qualify for the final showdown Saturday on the main stage. Gamers will even get the chance to play Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock before its release on Oct. 28. By out-rocking the competition and impressing the expert judges, the true Guitar Hero will walk away with more than $3,000 in cash and Target gift cards.

WHO: Target is giving consumers the chance, courtesy of Activision and RedOctane, to rock at E for All as industry experts judge for scoring, accuracy and performance.

WHEN: Guitar Hero Event
Oct. 18-20, 2007
Finals will take place Saturday on the main stage.

E for All
Oct. 18-21, 2007

WHERE: Guitar Hero Event Area - South Exhibit Hall
Los Angeles Convention Center
1201 S Figueroa St
Los Angeles, CA 90015

NEWS/VISUALS:

- Guitar Hero fanatics on stage dressed the part, rocking out for a large audience.
- Expert judges playing the game and interacting with fans.
- Ultimate Guitar Hero being presented with more than $3,000 cash and Target gift cards.
- Fierce face offs between event finalists on the main stage in South Hall.
- Perfect opportunity for broadcast outlets to film general video game footage in preparation for the holiday season.

"The Guitar Hero II downloadable video game song packs are some of the most popular content on Xbox LIVE and are quickly becoming a very lucrative revenue stream and powerful promotional vehicle for musicians and record labels today."

Guitar Hero II Xbox 360 Video Game Song Packs Hit Multi-Platinum Status with 650,000 Downloads

More Than Two Million Single Songs Accessed Through Xbox LIVE Marketplace® since April Highly Anticipated Sequel Guitar Hero III to Feature Master Tracks, Original Songs and Downloadable Content

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Sep 11, 2007 - Downloadable Xbox 360 video game song packs for Activision, Inc.'s (Nasdaq:ATVI) Guitar HeroTM II hit multi-platinum status with more than 650,000 downloads through Xbox LIVE Marketplace® in less than five months, as defined by the music industry's RIAA. Each downloadable pack contains three individual songs. Individual songs combined have topped the two million mark, making the Guitar Hero II packs some of the most downloaded content on Xbox LIVE Marketplace.

"Activision was the first third-party publisher to offer downloadable content via Xbox LIVE to consumers and as a result, we have tremendous insight into the types of content that consumers want," states Dusty Welch, head of publishing, RedOctane. "The Guitar Hero II downloadable video game song packs are some of the most popular content on Xbox LIVE and are quickly becoming a very lucrative revenue stream and powerful promotional vehicle for musicians and record labels today."

Tim Riley, worldwide executive of music for Activision, added, "Activision has long been a pioneer in recognizing the importance of music in games and has forged unprecedented partnerships with all of the major record labels, music publishers and bands in order to offer Guitar Hero fans unrivaled access to music catalogues."

"We have been working very closely with Activision to make our catalog available for download for the Xbox 360 version of Guitar Hero II. The results we have seen from download sales to date have been very impressive. This partnership is providing EMI Music Publishing and its songwriters with a valuable new source of revenue, and at the same time giving us the opportunity to exploit portions of our catalog that might otherwise not get such high-profile exposure," remarked Rod Kotler, Director of Music Services, EMI Music Publishing.

On August 14, 2007, Activision released a new My Chemical Romance video game song pack which included original recordings of the hit songs Teenagers, Famous Last Words, and This is How I Disappear from the band's latest album "The Black Parade." In its first week of release, over 50,000 downloads of the three-song pack were purchased through Xbox LIVE Marketplace.

Commenting on the success of the My Chemical Romance video game song pack, Brian Schechter, the band's manager, said, "Activision has always had the artists and music culture in mind for their games. Now, the band's fans will be able to enjoy their music in a new way that they truly enjoy. As long as Activision and Guitar Hero keep providing quality products to the world, I would love to have all Riot Squad artist's in business with them."

Additionally, Activision's highly anticipated sequel, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock will feature master tracks from some of rock's most legendary bands like the Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, Pearl Jam, Beastie Boys, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Metallica, as well as original songs by such guitarist icons as Slash and Tom Morello. The sequel also will offer a vast array of downloadable content including songs from some of the most popular European bands.

"Having Warner Music Group's master recordings in Guitar Hero III is a fantastic opportunity for everyone. Both our current and catalog artists are being exposed to new audiences through this great game. By selling additional tracks, we don't have to wait for another volume of the game to be released to offer new artists and music to gamers around the world," said Mark Pinkus, SVP Synch Licensing & Strategic Marketing at Rhino Entertainment.

To date, Guitar Hero games have sold more than 5.5 million units, according to The NPD Group, Charttrack and Gfk. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock is scheduled to launch in October on all major console platforms and is rated T for Teen by the ESRB.

Here are the top 8 games sold in the US for the month of June, with the rest of the top 20 following.

1. Mario Party 8 (Wii) - 426,600
2. Wii Play w/ Remote (Wii) - 293,200
3. Pokémon Diamond (DS) - 288,400
4. Pokémon Pearl (DS) - 214,700
5. Forza Motorsport 2 (Xbox 360) - 197,400
6. Guitar Hero II w/ Guitar (PS2) - 197,350
7. Guitar Hero II w/Guitar (Xbox 360) - 177,600
8. Pokémon Battle Revolution (Wii) - 157,900

9. Resident Evil 4 (Wii)
10. The Darkness (Xbox 360)
11. Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 2 (PS2)
12. Transformers: The Game (PS2)
13. Tenchu Z (Xbox 360)
14. New Super Mario Bros. (DS)
15. Tomb Raider: Anniversary (PS2)
16. Super Paper Mario (Wii)
17. Transformers: The Game (Xbox 360)
18. MLB '07: The Show (PS2)
19. Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree (Wii)
20. Dirt (Xbox 360)

Gamers purchased a whopping $543 million worth of software in June, up 22% over June '06, resulting in year-to-date sales of $2.9 billion. Most impressive, you money spending freaks.

For tomorrow's hangover, I'm going to need not only a chili verde burrito to wash away tonight's sins, but seek redemption with a return to Diablo II. My paladin is just about ready to take on Baal, so if anyone wants to meet up for some Battle.net action in Nightmare difficulty, shoot me an e-mail. My chipped gem cup runneth over.

I was a little slow getting to Gunpey and Tomb Raider: Anniversary, as promised last week, but as things wind down, they'll both be getting some attention. Your turn. What are you playing this weekend? Michael McWhertor

Two Connecticut rockers brought down the thunder AND the lighting last week while playing Guitar Hero II on their Playstation 2.

The two teens were knocked to the floor while slamming out Message in a Bottle, The Wilton Villager reports.

Ben and Chris Bergin, ages 19 and 14, respectively, were jamming to "Message in a Bottle" by the Police on their guitar controllers when a bolt of lighting touched down near the house, and the charge found its way into the house's wiring.

"I actually looked over at my brother because I thought he hit me in the chest with something," Chris Bergin said.

While the teens were not injured, both of their faux axes were fried. Brian Crecente

Storm shocks videogame rockers [Wilton Villager, thanks Jared]

The early airing schedule is:

July 29th - Louisville, Kentucky (Event: June 21st-24th)
August 19th - Dallas, Texas (Event: July 5th-8th)
November 17th - Los Angeles, California (Event: October 18th-21st)
December 15th - Jönköping, Sweden Saturday (Event: November 29th-December 2nd)

CBS plans to air footage of WSVG events on its CBS Sports Spectacular program. I know I'll be watching other people play video games instead of actually playing them myself for literally minutes at a time. Michael McWhertor

CBS and WSVG Team Up for 4 TV Shows [WSVG, via 1UP]

When I played Buckethead's "Jordan" for the first time in Guitar Hero II, I just assumed the multiple solo portions were a joke. I never expected anyone would take it seriously enough to actually, y'know, attempt to play but this guy did, scoring an impressive 95% on one of the game's infamously insane tracks. What do you think? More or less impressive than that expert level run of Pantera's "Cowboys From Hell" that I posted last year? I'm going with "more". Michael McWhertor

Bricks-and-mortar retailer GameStop is making bank. Profits are up 111 percent, and that's a lot! Why the jump? CEO R. Richard Fontaine explains:

Our first quarter results were driven by the strong growth of next-generation hardware despite both Nintendo products, the Wii and DS Lite, being in short supply throughout the quarter... Not only was this unprecedented, but there is every indication that the Wii and DS Lite titles are attracting a new audience of gamers, while the allure of genre breakthrough titles like Guitar Hero II are expanding the audience for videogame product.

See, thanks to casual gamers, everybody wins! Well, not everybody. Brian Ashcraft

GameStop Sales/Profits Up [Games Industry]

At the time, we had no idea that we'd be attending the industry's final decadent blowout. We'd have taken a moment to pause, to reflect, to appreciate the sights and the stench of a Los Angeles Convention Center packed with 60,000 attendees.

E3 taught us many things. We were horrified to learn the PLAYSTATION 3 was to be priced at $599, yet pleased that it would ship worldwide by November 17th. How naive we were then.

We had just seen the Halo 3 trailer. Witnessed the Super Smash Bros. Brawl reveal. We'd been subjected to "massive damage", "Riiiiiidge Racer!" and Bill Gates paralyzing keynote and we didn't think we could take it anymore.

We relished in our first hands-on experience with the Nintendo Wii remote. We played Super Mario Galaxy, Guitar Hero II, Metroid Prime 3, Elite Beat Agents and Resistance: Fall of Man all for the first time. I recall the horrible bus ride home from the Sony party, ready to vomit into my free Ogio luggage.

With the new, slimmed down E3 still two months away, there's plenty of time to remember the insanity, the sheer pleasure of dozens of game announcements all occuring over the course of five days. Won't you share them with me in the comments? Michael McWhertor

This kid is amazing. Eight years old and he plows through Dead! on Guitar Hero II's expert mode like a pro. He even manages to play a portion near the end with his back to the television while singing along with the words. And he only misses three notes.

As far as I could tell, it looks pretty authentic and if it isn't, the kid gets a major award for learning to pretend to play really, really well. He gets the rock outs in all the right places and although his fingers are flying across that fretboard, he certainly seems to be hitting all the right buttons.

Bravo, Ben, today you are a rock god. Flynn De Marco

[via the bbps]

Fortunately, for bundle-haters, the options aren't that bad. The "Elite Obsidian Bundle" only forces a Wireless Controller, Charge Kit and Rechargeable Battery, all in matching black. The "Elite Rock Bundle" simply packs in a copy of Guitar Hero II with the guitar controller. Shame about that white guitar controller, though.

Thanks again to eagle-eyed reader Dan for the notice. Michael McWhertor

Xbox 360 Elite Pre-order Bundles [GameStop]

Next-gen? Not quite yet. PlayStation 2 title God of War II pwned March by shifting 833,000 units — That's more than double the number two title, Ubisoft's G.R.A.W. for the Xbox 360. Following that were Guitar Hero II for the Xbox 360, Wii Play for the Nintendo Wii and Motorstorm for the PLAYSTATION 3. Glad to see the focus back on actual games and not on pieces of hardware. Brian Ashcraft

GoW II Winner [Reuters]

To help promote Guitar Hero II hitting the Xbox 360 Microsoft put together a cool jam mobile, rigging two moving vans with video screens and copies of the game.

One van hits San Francisco and another Boston this week. Next week the vans will be in Los Angeles and New York. No word on when they're coming to Denver, though my money is on when hell freezes over. Brian Crecente

Microsoft hits the road with 'Guitar Hero' [CNet]

So, it seems that all is not well with the recently released GH II patch for the 360. While many people have reported that the update fixed all their whammy bar issues, I have gotten quite a few emails claiming that the new fix has caused the game to freeze up and in some cases even given them the dreaded red ring of death. No official word from Red Octane yet on the situation, but I'm sure by the time Monday rolls around we'll hear all about it.

Of course, there is no solid proof that this particular patch is the cause of these issues, but it seems pretty likely considering the number of people reporting this problem, all of whom just downloaded the patch. At this point, if you were having whammy bar issues you can try downloading the update, but be warned that it might cause some issues with your system's functions. But, as they say, You rolls the dice, you takes your chances. Flynn De Marco

Good news for xbox 360 Guitar Hero II owners. The folks at Red Octane have posted a thread on their forums addressing the whammy bar response issue that cropped up soon after the game's launch.

A title update for Guitar Hero II for the Xbox 360 will be available on Xbox Live at 4:00 am PDT on Saturday, April 14 that should resolve the situation where input from the whammy bar was not always recognized. Downloading the update should resolve this issue for all Activision Guitar Hero branded guitar models.

So if you were having problems with your whammy, don't go rushing to take it back to the store just yet. I've already gotten a couple emails from readers saying they downloaded the patch and it fixed everything up lickety-split. If the whammy bar was a problem for you, download that update and make sure to come back and let us know if it works for you. That is, if you can tear yourself away from your Living Room Rock God career long enough to do so. Flynn De Marco

UPDATE For Guitar Hero II On The Xbox 360 [Red Octane Forums]

Since it's already April, it's fair to assume that all the Christmas gift cards have either been spent or lost by now and now all that is left to spend is that random 4000-point XBL that was bought recently probably out of curiousity. So what to spend it on?

How about 3 Guitar Hero II song packs chalk full of rock (not to be confused with "rawk") which really only have the power to take you back to a high school dance or two. Songs like Bark at the Moon from Ozzy, Take it Off by the Donnas, and Higher Ground by the Chili Peppers (ok, that one is more like junior high school) are now available at the Xbox Marketplace. At a steep 500 points per song pack, you'd think they could at least give you a song that is college radio worthy. Kim Phu

GH II: Song Packs (3 of 'em) [Major Nelson]

Guitar Hero 3 is coming to the Wii, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 this fall, according to Red Octane.

The eagle eyes over at Cubed3 spotted the information in the site's knowledge base. Doing a little more digging I found a second reference. Unfortunately, neither are dated, so it's hard to tell how up to date the details are.

Here' they are, straight from the knowledge base:

When is Guitar Hero 2 (II) Coming? Will there be GH 2 for Wii, PS3, XBox, Xbox 360, etc?

Guitar Hero 3 for the Playstation 2, PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii are currently scheduled for release in the United States in Fall of 2007.

Will Any RedOctane Products Support XBox 360, Playstation 3, Wii?

Guitar Hero II from RedOctane currently supports PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360. Products for Sony Playstation 3 and Nintendo Wii will be out in Fall of 2007.

I have an email out to Red Octane to get to the bottom of this. Brian Crecente

Guitar Hero III on Wii [Cubed3]

Kotaku reader Ken got an official response from a customer service rep who provides details on the problem.

We have isolated this issue to two model numbers that can be found on the guitar's packaging. The numbers are 95065 and 95055. We are asking that customers who puchased their items from a retailer perform an exchange with that respective store (for a model number other than the defective two listed above). Customer's who purchased through our online story can complete an rma request for their defective item and we will exchange it for a fully function guitar controller. We do apologize for the inconvenience and will [resolve] these matters.

So, write it down, buyer beware, all that. Just don't stop rockin'! Michael McWhertor

The Godfather, Guitar Hero II, Motorstorm, Excite Truck, SSX Blur, Def Jam Icon, we played it all. In fact, last night, one of the Geek Night attendees even busted out a WonderSwan after a round of intense voting on the Everybody Votes Channel. Yeah, we partied that hard.

So, tonight, after work is done, the dishes are washed, Grindhouse has been viewed, and we've imbibed into a near coma as is our wont, we'll probably just snuggle up with some Dragon Quest Heroes Rocket Slime and dream of tank battles. What about you? What are you playing this weekend? Michael McWhertor

Until the Gods bestowed upon Man the grace of the Guitar Hero games, we were condemned to a legacy of producing faux music with air alone. (Or, alternatively, not producing any music at all with a real guitar sitting in our corner/closet/attic). Life was meaningless and dark.

But some time after the original revelation when Guitar Hero II was released for the PS2, many of us were still hesitant to pick it up. Because what if...just if...something Greater could exist? What if Guitar Hero II for the Xbox 360 was even better if we could only wait a little bit longer? Rewarding our GHII virginity with better graphics, sound, and even the Possibilities of online play....

So hit the jump to read our Frankenreview—the one review you need to read ever (for this one game this one time).

Advanced Media Network
The Xbox 360 guitar controller is based off of the Gibson X-plorer, and in addition to looking better than its PS2 counterpart it feels a lot more solid as well. The strum button doesn't feel as loose as it did on the PS2 models of the guitar and the neck buttons stand slightly higher above the frets and feel stiffer. The Xbox 360 guide button sits alongside a d-pad on the base of the guitar and gives players the ability to navigate the dashboard without switching to a standard controller... When all is said and done...[it's] easily the highest quality third-party peripheral available for the Xbox 360.

Team Xbox
[Graphics don't] really push the Xbox 360 hardware, but at the same time GHII isn't a game that needs extravagant visuals. The graphics show a marked improvement over the PS2 games—as you'd expect—definitely flexing the console's better muscles with particle effects and more detailed 3-D models, but the animations overall are still clunky and repetitive.


Videogame Talk
360 owners, prepare to have your eardrums blown, because this version offers remixed versions of the songs that have greater separation between the guitar, the vocals, and the rest of the band, as well as a greater sense of the audience (whose reactions tell you how you're doing if you're not inclined to look at the rock meter). The sound is truly immersing and makes you want to revisit your favorite songs again and again.


Game Almighty
A new feature for the 360 version is the ability to play a song from three different modes, including bass, rhythm and lead, as well as co-op play with a partner, assuming you've invested in a second guitar. All of these modes just further Hero's appeal, giving you more options and longevity. It's all great and nearly perfect.


Official Xbox Mag
The only negative we can think off is that you currently can't face-off against friends over Xbox Live, but rumour is a future patch may resolve that one niggling issue. And even though the Xbox 360 version is late coming to the party (the PS2 version was released last year), at the encore it'll be Microsoft's machine that'll be playing out the crowd.
So how many of you abstained, waiting for the 360 version? And how many PS2 GHII owners didn't but are planning on buying the game again? Mark Wilson

A staffer over on the official Rock Band website reports that contrary to what IGN was reporting, Rock Band will be compatible with the guitar for the Xbox 360's Guitar Hero II.

Unfortunately, the folks over the site haven't responded to any of the obvious questions like, what about the PS2 version of the controllers, will they work with the PS3 version of the game? My guess is no.

They do go on to say that the Rock Band guitar controllers will have new features, but they said we'd have to "wait to hear about that." Brian Crecente

Guitar Compatibility [Rock Band]

Mr. Simmons will be fake-rocking onstage with the Xbox 360 version of Guitar Hero II alongside one of five expert-level plastic guitar shredders.

From Xbox.com:

Gene Simmons of the legendary rock band KISS, along with five of the top Guitar Hero II gamers in the country, will rock out in a Guitar Hero II JamFest. The player with the best song—and highest score on the Xbox Live Leaderboard—will play the signature KISS song "Strutter," one of the popular game's classic rock tracks, with Simmons.

Looking at the five Guitar Heroes and Heroines makes me think Gene is seriously going to push to get either Kelly Law-Yone or Felicia Williams to rock out with him. It's just a gut feeling.

The whens and wheres are at the official announcement. Michael McWhertor

Guitar Heroes to Take on Gene Simmons [Xbox.com]

So, who's picking up Guitar Hero, can I get a show of hands?

• Guitar Hero II (X360) Be a rock star in your living room. Now with downloadable content!
• Prince of Persia Rival Swords (WII, PSP)
  The Prince is back in this port of Two Thrones.
• Enchanted Arms (PS3)
  Get schooled in magic.
• Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales (DS)
  Everyone's favorite Final Fantasy chicken thing gets his own game.
• Rapala Trophies (X360)
  Go fish!
• SingStar Pop (PS2)
  If you can't be a rock star you might as well be a sing star.
• The Sims 2: Celebration Stuff (PC)
  Even more activities for your god complex.
• Cake Mania (DS)
  Run a busy bakery and cater to cranky customers.
• Pimp My Ride (PSP)
  Jazz up your virtual car with virtual car things

This weekend, I don't think I'll be doing much more than firing up my Tekken 5 download from the PlayStation Store. We're officially departing for GDC on Sunday night, so the only other thing I have on my list is to obsessively complete Castlevania Portrait of Ruin before I move on to Dragon Quest Rocket Slime for the DS.

What pre-GDC video gaming goodness do you have ready to fire up this weekend? We'd appreciate you letting us know in the comments. Michael McWhertor

Gamestop is currently listing the Xbox 360 Guitar Hero II bundle for a cool $89.99 USD with a bonus $5 extra shipping charge. Xbox 360 fans fresh to paying through the nose for a single game (which just happens to be totally worth it) ought to sock away an extra Hamilton to prepare for electronic rocking out. Michael McWhertor

Guitar Hero II with Guitar [Gamestop]

One of the posters at the ScoreHero forums put the finishing touches on a handy guide for playing authentic songs from AC/DC, Metallica or other oft-requested bands in Guitar Hero II. He calls it "idiot proof" but that doesn't mean it won't take up some of your precious time.

In addition to a half-dozen or so freeware programs required, you'll also need a PS2 capable of playing burned discs. And that's for you to figure out. Michael McWhertor

Idiot Proof Guide to playing custom made songs in GH2 [ScoreHero Forums via Waxy]

Oh, right. I'm also about to work my way through expert mode on Guitar Hero II, much to the dismay of my left hand, while I dream of the Xbox 360 version, the Nyko PS2 to PS3 USB adapter and future Guitar Hero song packs. Good times.

So what's on the gaming calendar this weekend? Any geek throwdowns planned? Let us know in the comments, please. Michael McWhertor

Eddie there joins Yngwie Malmsteen as solo achievement names, with popular duos like Keef & Mick, Joan & Lita, and Page & Plant making up some of the co-op titles. There's even an award for buying all the songs, which I think they should take away when new downloadable songs come out until you do your civic duty.

Xbox360Achievements.Org has the full list posted, so go check it out and then get practicing. There's a long road ahead indeed. Michael Fahey

Guitar Hero II Achievements [Xbox360Achievements.Org - Thanks Walter!]

At about 30 minutes deep into my Games For Windows and Vista meeting, I heard a familiar riff coming from the next room. Cheap Trick's "Surrender" shook me almost awake (no coffee at this point) as I realized the Xbox 360 version of Guitar Hero II was being played less than ten feet from me. While the Uno demo via Live was certainly interesting from a technical standpoint, all I could think about was when I'd get to try out that new white guitar controller and try out some new tracks.

Following my brief meeting with Peter Moore and Aaron Greenberg—more about that later—I was given the opportunity to play some games. What did I want to play? Lost Planet? No. Crackdown? Maybe later. Blue Dragon? Pass.

I needed to see Guitar Hero II in HD and click-click my way through some fresh songs.

The demo was two-player co-op. I took guitar, my guide took bass, and we burned through "Life Wasted" (as made famous) by Pearl Jam. Near the top of the set list, it was almost too easy on Hard. But since I've not heard a new Pearl Jam track in about five years, the newness of it gave me a bit more challenge.

I also started to notice the graphics. They've added some nice bloom lighting. Depth of field. Higher res menus and interface. For a game that's known more for its solid gameplay than its graphics, this game was starting to look damn good. No one will hem and haw when asked whether it trounces Gears of War graphically, but it definitely looks like an upgrade.

We only had time to make our way through a few other tracks. "Sweet Child O' Mine" just for fun. "Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo" (as made famous) by Rick Derringer and "Hush" by Deep Purple because they were brand-spankin' new.

The new guitar controller feels good, with the fret buttons feeling just a bit more solid than the PS2 version. I'm not sure if this was a design change or just a guitar that hadn't been broken in, but the Microsoft rep agreed. They felt just slightly different. Hammer ons and pull offs were just a bit easier for me, which I came to know intimately during my bass duty on "Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo". I also noticed that kicking on my Star Power was iffy, not unlike the controller that came with my copy of GHII.

The demo on the show floor also features Rancid's "Salvation" and The Toadies' "Possum Kingdom", but the following tracks were just confirmed by a Microsoft PR person.

Other tracks I didn't get a chance to try out included "Hush" by Deep Purple, "Dead!" (emphasis theirs) from My Chemical Romance and "Billion Dollar Babies" by Alice Cooper. That's a fairly solid line-up, with some tracks still to be revealed.

As I told the MS reps, I'm going to have a very easy time justifying re-buying Guitar Hero II and two controllers. Michael McWhertor

Sorry, still no release date on this one. Michael McWhertor

I'm also planning to fired up Marvel Ultimate Alliance for some in-house multiplayer action, some Guitar Hero II expert level play and a few hours with the Sega Ages Gunstar Heroes Treasure Box. I'm trying my best to be a well-rounded gamer.

So what's on your agenda this New Year's Eve weekend? Don't be shy about dropping us info on your NYE plans, too. I will probably be hitting up the Flaming Lips/Gnarls Barkely show on the 31st, followed by some heavy drinking to ring in 2007. Michael McWhertor

5. Guitar Hero II

4. Elite Beat Agents

3. Grandia III

2. Kingdom Hearts 2

1. Prey - Don't Fear the Reaper

So that's my list of the best gaming songs of 2006, complete with visual aids to help you along. Completely arbitrary of course, so feel free to add your own to the list. Share your favorites with us! I'll be sure to check them out if I manage to survive this weekend's festivities. Until then, Happy New Year! Michael Fahey

This guy really gives "burning up the fretboard" a whole new meaning. Norwegian game reviewer, Stefan Ogden of news website, Dagbladet, put together this video to accompany his review of Guitar Hero II. In an attempt to emulate his favorite Guitar Hero characters, he actually bursts into flames while playing Monkey Wrench. This is obviously edited together to create a more dramatic effect, but damn... dude is ON FIRE!

Her er verdens mest harry spill-video [Dagbladet Thanks, Mr.P]

This whole next-generation launch passing me by... it's not such a big deal. Save for this MacBook Pro I work on, the technology I have access to at this point isn't drastically different from your ordinary Amish citizen. You get used to it. I'm perfectly content living sans television. [Editor's note - :( ]

Don't you worry, Kotaku citizens, I'll be swimming in cords and consoles come December 1st, at which point I'll re-join you in playing Guitar Hero II, Final Fantasy XII, and God Hand. Hell, maybe even a little Wii Sports, some Gears of War, or a bit of Resistance: Fall of Man if I'm lucky.

But for now, my vow of gaming portability is still in effect. I'll be enrolling in Big Brain Academy and on the hunt for a copy of Final Fantasy V Advance. How about you? Any good gaming plans this weekend? Michael McWhertor