Red Octane founder Kai Huang took the stage today at Microsoft's E3 2008 presser to toss out a few pertinent Guitar Hero related tidbits. First up, REM DLC is coming, and Xbox 360 owners will get first shot at it when it drops. Then Huang revealed that Van Halen and The Eagles will be completely exclusive to Guitar Hero: World Tour. No Hot For Teacher for Rock Band? Not fair.

Finally, Metallica is coming to Guitar Hero in a big way, with DLC being readied to release alongside their new album, Death Magnetic, which is guaranteed to completely make up for Saint Sinner...as if any album could actually contain such power.

While I was busy checking out Guitar Hero: On Tour on the DS last week, on the other side of the hall I could hear everyone rocking out to the strains of Aerosmith. Being somewhat of a classic rock fan myself, I headed over to see what the hub bub was all about. Clearly it would be folly to try and explain the ins and outs of the workings of Guitar Hero at this point. If you haven't played it or at least watched it being played live or via videos, you must be living under a rock. Instead I will endeavor to cover all the new features that this particular iteration includes.

As the title implies, Aerosmith band members have been added to the roster of playable characters. Joe Perry, Brad Whitford and Tom Hamilton are all available for your use with singer Steve Perry and drummer Joey Kramer appearing when needed for full Aerosmith action. As an added bonus, Aerosmith coverer DMC will also be around to join in the hijinks as a playable character.

A slew of Aerosmith hits are available on the 41 song set list (a partial list resides after the jump) which is comprised of about 60% of original Aerosmith material. The remaining 40% are songs by "opening acts" and include hits such as Mott the Hoople's All the Young Dudes (cover) and The Cult's She Sells Sanctuary just to name a few. new venues are also a feature and include not only the site of Areosmith's first concert, Nipmuc High School but many others including: Max's Kansas City, The Orpheum Theater, the Superbowl Half Time Show and Moscow.

By now I'm sure most of you are familiar with the seemingly odd transition of Guitar Hero from consoles to handhelds, namely the DS. When Guitar Hero: On Tour was announced a few months ago it left many of us scratching our heads wondering how they would pull it off. Even with the addition of pictures of the add-on peripheral it was still hard to imagine exactly what it would be like trying to play. I finally got my chance to check it out for myself a few days ago and despite former misgivings I actually found it quite fun.

The first thing I took a look at upon arriving was the "guitar grip" peripheral. It was a pretty sturdy little piece of a equipment that fits snugly into the GBA slot of the DS. The clear plastic cover is removable and the logo can be pulled out so you can customize the look of it. The strap is likewise customizable, no doubt providing plenty of opportunity for merchandising. As you may know, there are only four buttons in this iteration of the game and while some players may find this disconcerting, there is actually a good reason for it. With the DS literally strapped to your hand, it would make it impossible for you to be able to slide your hand to reach the fifth button. Then of course there is the space issue. After looking at it close up, it seems the addition of the fifth button would make it a bit crowded.

Guitar Hero IV To Feature A Slew Of Instruments

Conde Nast Portfolio magazine isn't generally our number one source for gaming news, but Activision CEO Bobby Kotick has told the publication that Guitar Hero IV will...well...we'll just let him say it.

It's not just about guitars. We'll include a lot of other instruments, vocals. It will help us expand internationally. It's the first game we've had in which we can use local content and local bands.

Guitar Hero IV Branching Out [IGN via Maxconsole][image]

Pro Wrestling Has Discovered Guitar Hero

Yes, this TNA Wrestling clip is from way back in January, but after MTV spotted it and we hit the play button, it was truly one of those magical gaming sights that one simply can't unsee. Two 250+ pound men running around a ring while pretending to play fake, plastic guitars in front of thousands of fans is such a sight.

Pro Wrestlers Torn Between Love Of 'Rock Band,' Love Of 'Guitar Hero' [MTV Multiplayer]

Guitar Hero Carabiner Rocks Little

Guitar Hero Vs. Open Mic Night

Guitar Hero tournies have been floating around bars since the game's inception, and the trend has only grown since. But not everyone is so happy about the popularity of drunks pretending to be rockstars on stage—namely musicians. And while these comments were just from one guy who liked to jam at one bar, we have a feeling that he speaks for a multitude of others.

Yea, it's fun. Yea, it's cool and difficult to master (nowhere near on the level of a real musical instrument), and yea it's an escape from your miserable existance [sic] but it's not something I want to see LIVE ONSTAGE in a venue that should have a REAL musician Performing! Anyone who has even the slightest bit of culture and refinement would agree. GUITAR HERO belongs in the home, at house parties or in a Frathouse basement but it DOES NOT BELONG AT HUMPY'S GREAT ALASKAN ALEHOUSE, REPLACING OPEN MIC MONDAYS!!!!!

Since Guitar Hero III's launch back in October, I have been on a quest for standalone wireless guitar controllers. Having purchased the game by itself thinking I would be satisfied playing while tethered to my Xbox 360, the videos of GH fans jumping off furniture soon swayed me to the wireless cause. My quest hit a snag when I realized the wireless controllers weren't out yet, but Activision promised they would be on the shelves in early 2008, and now they may be delivering on said promise. According to a source over at Primotech March is the month in which retailers will begin receiving shiny new standalone wireless guitar controllers for Guitar Hero III, with the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions running $69, and the Wiimote-embedded Wii version $10 cheaper at $59. Then shortly after we all run out to snag ours, Activision will no doubt reveal all new guitars for GHIV that will make us feel like idiots for buying these. Woot!

Guitar Hero 3 Standalone Guitars Priced, Dated, Pictured [Primotech]

Update: Activision reminds us that they have not actually officially announced anything about new wireless guitars but have confirmed that this information isn't accurate.

Build A Guitar Hero Auto Whammy Barless Bar

While most of this circuit soldering fun is over our heads, for those interested, you can modify your Guitar Hero (or Rock Band, we're assuming) controllers to automatically whammy through entire songs at inhumanly fast theoretical maximums by replacing the whammy output with a 555 timer circuit. Essentially this circuit automatically alternates proper voltage to build up your star power fast.

Also of note, this mod requires no external power (like batteries) and it can be toggled on and off for the times when you don't want to be an evil awful horrible cheater.

HOWTO Hack Your Guitar Hero Whammy Bar [Gogglemarks via MAKE]

RedOctane Wants You To Play Music

The story doesn't seem like a big deal: RedOctane partners with NAMM (the giant International Music Products Association) to promote music awareness and creation in the "Wanna Play?" campaign. Big whoop, right? But when you realize that RedOctane is NAMM's first ever video game industry partner, the story's significance shifts a bit. In partnering for cross promotional events and kiosks, not only is NAMM acknowledging RedOctane's ability to recruit youngsters to play music (and buy real instruments), they are also publicly acknowledging RedOctane's (and Guitar Hero's) legitimate seat at the giant table that is the musical world. It's like they're holding hands in public or something and NAMM is totally cool with it.

RedOctane Adds GHIII Backing To Music-Making Campaign [gamasutra]

While the rest of creation has since moved on to Guitar Hero III or Rock Band, there are still some Xbox 360 owners out there who prefer the great taste of Guitar Hero II, and to you Red Octane is sending out some love. The Indie Label Pack has just gone up on Xbox Live, featuring three songs from artists whose names are only vaguely familiar to me. . For the standard Guitar Hero DLC price of 500 Microsoft points, you'll get "State of Massachusetts" by Dropkick Murphys, "You Should Be Ashamed of Myself" by The Bled, and "Memories of the Grove" by Maylene & The Sons of Disaster. Of the three, Dropkick Murphys is the most vaguely familiar, and so they get a nice giant picture atop the article. The other two must try harder, and maybe next time you'll make it!

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

This Thursday, November 22nd, Microsoft, Neversoft, Bungie, Activision and Red Octane will give thanks to Guitar Hero III owners with a bonus freebie song, the Halo theme (MJOLNIR Mix), via Xbox Live Marketplace. The song, penned and performed by Martin O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori, features a guitar track perform on a three or four-necked guitar, I assume, by rocker Steve Vai.

Guess that rumor about the Halo theme appearing in Guitar Hero II as downloadable content wasn't wrong, just a tad premature. Hit the jump for the news release.

We're not sure how this news slipped by us, but we wanted to let potential PS2 Guitar Hero III buyers know about yet another exclusive GHIII bundle on the market. While Wal-mart may be offering GHIII with a wired controller, Target is offering a Dueling Axe Pack version packaged with not one but two SG controllers for $110 (or $100 this week). While the guitars are wired, tethering you to your PS2 like a rocker on a heroin drip, it's not a bad deal if you haven't owned a Guitar Hero game before and wanted the option to play with a buddy. Yes, we did just say heroin and buddy within the same breath.

Exclusive Target Guitar Hero III Bundle With Two Wired Guitars [gamelife]

Red Octane Has No Plans For Xbox 360 DDR Pads

With Konami's second DDR game coming to Xbox 360, a lot of us have still been waiting patiently for the announcement of a better Xbox 360 dance pad—you know, a non-plastic version that won't cause us to get permanently injured and subsequently permanently need to lie about the cause of said injury. While MadCatz produces a few better-than-stock pads, you can't find metal pads anywhere. And hardcore DDR players are left unable to really enjoy the newest DDR titles on the 360.

So we asked Red Octane—formerly huge commercial supporters of DDR—if they had any plans to expand their offerings. But we got nothing but bad news:

For all you Guitar Hero III rockers who are ready to shred with those fancy wireless guitars, Red Octane is releasing their first party Guitar Hero Recharge Kit. The kit, available only on Red Octane's website, will recharge the batteries on your 360 or PS3 wireless GH guitar so you can keep on rockin' all through the night (Sorry Wii, no recharge for you). It is available for pre-order now and will begin shipping Oct. 30. Look for the sub standard Mad Catz version soon at a store near you.

Guitar Hero III Single Recharge Kit [Red Octane]

While the PS3 uses the superb wireless Bluetooth standard offering open compatibility, free love and unicorn rides, Red Octane's Guitar Hero III controllers will not play so nice. Apparently they are working on a non-Bluetooth wireless standard requiring USB dongles that hang out the front of your PS3 like skinny mutant phalli.

It's not the end of the world, by any means. But I'm a gear guy and stuff like this makes me tear up a bit, even if the receiver is in the shape of a guitar pick.

Pics: Guitar Hero III's PS3 Dongle Dangles [gamelife]