FreeStyle Games and Activision announced last month that they are bringing back Guitar Hero after a four-year hiatus, raising questions of whether the companies purposefully waited until all but the most devoted fans of the previous games had thrown away their old controllers to re-launch the franchise. (If so, kudos on making us all buy them again, guys. Very savvy.)
The new game, called Guitar Hero Live, will make a few improvements on the old model—it changes the configuration on the controller from one row of five buttons to two rows of three, for example, in order to more closely mimic a real guitar and eliminate excuses from shamefaced musicians who claim, “This thing is throwing me off.” It will also replace the alterna-Sims who awkwardly swayed along to players’ previous attempts at rock godhood with bandmates and audience members played by human actors, so real people can boo at you when you give up halfway through “Through The Fire And Flames.” If Guitar Hero doesn’t shame you, you’ll never learn, apparently.
Speaking of, Rolling Stone has released an initial list of 24 songs that will be featured on the new game, and while Dragon Force’s notoriously difficult song from Guitar Hero III isn’t on the list, a few returning favorites are—like The Killers’ “When You Were Young,” marking the song’s fourth appearance in a music game. As might be expected, the list reflects the fact that people haven’t stopped making music since 2011, even if a few of the choices (looking at you, Skrillex) are tangentially associated with guitar-playing at best. Of course, Guitar Hero Live will also feature a streaming mode, “Guitar Hero TV,” where players can play along with music videos of their choice, which is good news for people who refuse to pretend their plastic ax is actually a plastic banjo in order to play The Lumineers.
Guitar Hero Live initial set list
The Black Keys – “Gold On The Ceiling”
Blitz Kids – “Sometimes”
Ed Sheeran – “Sing”
Fall Out Boy – “My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up)”
Gary Clark, Jr. – “Don’t Owe You A Thang”
Green Day – “Nuclear Family”
The Killers – “When You Were Young”
The Lumineers – “Ho Hey”
My Chemical Romance – “Na Na Na”
Pierce The Veil – “King For A Day (feat. Kellin Quinn)“
The Rolling Stones – “Paint It Black”
Skrillex – “Bangarang”
The War On Drugs – “Under The Pressure”
Black Veil Brides – “In The End”
Rage Against The Machine – “Guerrilla Radio”
Judas Priest – “Breaking The Law”
Pantera – “Cowboys From Hell”
Sleigh Bells – “Bitter Rivals”
System Of A Down – “Chop Suey!”
Alter Bridge – “Cry Of Achilles”
Alt-J – “Left Hand Free”
Broken Bells – “Leave It Alone”
Red Hot Chili Peppers – “Higher Ground”
The Pretty Reckless – “Going To Hell”