This week a review copy of Guitar Hero Live arrived at my home. I’m pretty good with video games, timing and understanding how to play a game. With this new Guitar Hero game I was fumbling like crazy and the crowds booed me more often than not. But I had so much fun playing!

Guitar Hero Live is the very latest in the Guitar Hero Series and things have been stepped up dramatically. Our review copy was for the Wii U and with it a whole new guitar. No longer do you have to shove a Wiimote into a guitar shell. Now the whole guitar is its own controller. It is powered by two AA batteries, I would have loved seeing a rechargeable guitar but it is still a step in the right direction.

You can play the game a couple of ways. You can go the LIVE route and play as a member of a band with a stadium full of fans. When you rock then you rock and the crowd lets you know. But when you suck they let you know even quicker and your bandmates do as well. I had one of my bandmates throw a Styrofoam cup at me because I was doing so poorly. I had to get used to the new way the guitar has the keys set up. At the top of the neck of the guitar there are six buttons. Set up in a 3 X 2 pattern. So you can click the top or the bottom key or hold them both down when you need to. I suppose that you need only use your middle three fingers to play this part of the guitar but it was hard remembering where each key was. This is something that will come in time.

So, after crashing and burning in the Live section I went to the GHTV section and played along with a bunch of music videos. There are a ton of songs to choose from. I actually played along to All the Small Things by Blink-182, a song I hadn’t heard in a while. But there were so many songs, many I didn’t know but many I did. Eva even got into the game and tried playing. I think we have to do more work with her to get her more into the game. Maybe put it on a less challenging setting. I know that I could use that. Maybe if I didn’t get so distracted by all the videos I remembered and concentrated on playing the game I would have done better.

It looks like new music will be released often for the GHTV portion of the game and that is great news. It keeps the game fresh and fun.

NEW MUSIC ROLLOUT FOR GUITAR HERO LIVE BEGINS TODAY

Live concert footage from Black Veil Brides and music videos from Blink-182, George Ezra and more playable this week Activision celebrates new content with GHTV All Access Weekend

November 4, 2015 – Following the launch of Guitar Hero Live, players have rocked out to over 200 songs in GHTV, the world’s first playable music video network. Today, Activision and FreeStyleGames kick off a regular series of GHTV content additions that will be accessible to players who purchased the game free of charge, growing the already extensive library with new music on a regular basis. By the end of the year, over 70 new songs will be added to the platform and accessible by all players. In celebration of the new content, Activision is giving all Guitar Hero Live players free on-demand access to the entire GHTV catalogue throughout the whole weekend, starting Friday at 4am PT.

This week in GHTV, Guitar Hero Live introduces the following:

• Black Veil Brides Premium Show, which includes playable footage from the band’s live concert DVD “Alive and Burning,” will be live on Friday. The DVD chronicles the band’s first ever recorded live performance during their successful Black Mass Tour in November 2014 at the legendary Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles. Three of the songs from the DVD will be playable in GHTV, including “Heart of Fire (Live)”, “Fallen Angels (Live)” and “In the End (Live).”
• Legendary Headliners Premium Show, including “Monster” by Paramore, “Sugar, We’re Goin Down” by Fall Out Boy and “First Date” by Blink-182 is live now.
• Pop Goes GHTV Premium Show, featuring “Chocolate” by The 1975, “Believer” by American Authors and “Budapest” by George Ezra is live now.

In the coming weeks, fans can look forward to even more music, including playable concert footage and music videos from Judas Priest, Iggy Pop, Bully, Leon Bridges, Biffy Clyro, Weezer, Rival Sons, St. Vincent, Alice in Chains, System of a Down, Bring Me the Horizon and many more.

In general, new playable music will arrive in GHTV first as Premium Shows. To access most Premium Shows, players can complete the in-game challenge of achieving at least three stars on three different tracks in the GHTV channels or in the catalogue. And, by playing a Premium Show, players have the chance to earn in-game prizes such as status and coin boosts, unique player cards or note highways to show off their rockstar status online. Generally, after a Premium Show ends, the songs will be added to the on-demand catalogue, and then they will enter the regular channel rotation.

Players should be on the lookout for ongoing GHTV news to stay on top of all the latest music being added to Guitar Hero Live by visiting www.guitarhero.com, www.facebook.com/GuitarHero, www.youtube.com/guitarhero, or by following @guitarhero on Twitter and Instagram.

Guitar Hero Live is available now on PlayStation®4 and PlayStation®3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Wii U™ console as well as iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.

About Activision Publishing
Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Publishing, Inc. is a leading global producer and publisher of interactive entertainment. Activision maintains operations throughout the world and is a division of Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), an S&P 500 company. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company’s website, www.activision.com or by following @Activision.