Guitar Hero: Van Halen

Guitar Hero: Van Halen is the third band-specific rhythm video game in the Guitar Hero series. As with the previous games Guitar Hero: Aerosmith and Guitar Hero: Metallica, the game will feature 25 songs from Van Halen along with additional songs from selected artists that inspired and have worked with the group. The game will be released for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii systems in November or December 2009. Neversoft and Budcat Creations will be developing the game, and it will be distributed by Activision. thumb|300px|right

Development

While the game was formally announced by Activision on May 7, 2009, several sources reported earlier that Van Halen was in development. USK, the German software ratings board, posted a content rating for a Van Halen-based game in the series, GameStop temporarily listed the game for pre-order during the month of April, and a list of Xbox 360 Achievements was posted to the Internet in early May. Activision currently will not publicly speak of the game.

Gameplay

Guitar Hero: Van Halen will be similar to the preceding band-centric game, Guitar Hero: Metallica, featuring support for four players in a single band on lead and bass guitar, drums, and vocals. The game will not feature the additions that will be present in Guitar Hero 5, such as drop-in/drop-out play.

Only the current members of the band—Eddie Van Halen, David Lee Roth, Alex Van Halen and Wolfgang Van Halen—are playable avatars in the game for the Van Halen songs; former band members Sammy Hagar, Michael Anthony and Gary Cherone will not be included. The band will be represented by their current looks, but by completing challenges in the game, players can unlock their older appearances, with long hair, etc. User-created characters will be used to play non-Van Halen songs in the game.

Soundtrack

Like the other band-centric games, Guitar Hero: Van Halen will include 25 songs from the band Van Halen, including 3 guitar solos by Eddie Van Halen, in addition to 19 guest acts such as Blink-182, Foo Fighters, The Offspring and Queens of the Stone Age.

The following songs have been confirmed for inclusion in the game:

Van Halen songs

• From the self-titled album (1978):
  • "Runnin' with the Devil"
  • "Eruption" (solo)
  • "You Really Got Me"
  • "Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love"
  • "I'm the One"
  • "Jamie's Cryin"
  • "Atomic Punk"
  • "Feel Your Love Tonight"
  • "Ice Cream Man"

(Only "Little Dreamer" and "On Fire" will be absent.)

• From Van Halen II (1979):
  • "Dance the Night Away"
  • "Somebody Get Me a Doctor"
  • "Spanish Fly" (solo)
  • "Beautiful Girls"

(Absent songs: "You're No Good", "Bottoms Up!", "Outta Love Again", "Light Up the Sky", "D.O.A." and "Women in Love...".)

• From Women and Children First (1980):
  • "And the Cradle Will Rock..."
  • "Everybody Wants Some!!"
  • "Romeo Delight"
  • "Loss Of Control"

(Absent songs: "Fools", "Tora! Tora!", "Take Your Whiskey Home", "Could This Be Magic?" and "In a Simple Rhyme")

• From Fair Warning (1981):
  • "Mean Street"
  • "Hear About It Later"
  • "Unchained"
  • "So This Is Love?"

(Absent songs: "Dirty Movies", "Sinner's Swing!", "Push Comes to Shove", "Sunday Afternoon in the Park" and "One Foot Out the Door".)

• From Diver Down (1982):
  • "Hang 'Em High"
  • "Cathedral" (solo)
  • "(Oh) Pretty Woman"
  • "Little Guitars"

(Absent songs: "Where Have All the Good Times Gone!", "Secrets", "Dancing in the Street", "Big Bad Bill (Is Sweet William Now)", "The Full Bug" and "Happy Trails".)

• From 1984 (1984):
  • "Hot for Teacher"
  • "Jump"
  • "Panama"

(Absent songs: "Top Jimmy", "Drop Dead Legs", "I'll Wait", "Girl Gone Bad" and "House of Pain".)

Guest acts

• "Best Of You" - Foo Fighters (In Your Honor, 2005)
• "Come to Life" - Alter Bridge (Blackbird, 2007)
• "Dope Nose" - Weezer (Maladroit, 2002)
• "Double Vision" - Foreigner (Double Vision, 1978)
• "First Date" - blink-182 (Take Off Your Pants and Jacket, 2001)
• "I Want It All" - Queen (The Miracle, 1988)
• "Master Exploder" - Tenacious D (The Pick of Destiny soundtrack, 2006)
• "Pain" - Jimmy Eat World (Futures, 2004)
• "Painkiller" - Judas Priest (Painkiller, 1990)
• "Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)" - The Offspring (Americana, 1998)
• "Rock and Roll Is Dead" - Lenny Kravitz (Circus, 1995)
• "Safe European Home" - The Clash (Give 'em Enough Rope, 1978)
• "Semi-Charmed Life" - Third Eye Blind (Third Eye Blind, 1997)
• "Sick, Sick, Sick" - Queens of the Stone Age (Era Vulgaris, 2007)
• "Space Truckin'" - Deep Purple (Machine Head, 1972)
• "Stacy's Mom" - Fountains of Wayne (Welcome Interstate Managers, 2003)
• "The End of Heartache" - Killswitch Engage (The End of Heartache, 2004)
• "The Takedown" - Yellowcard (Paper Walls, 2007)
• "White Wedding" - Billy Idol (Billy Idol, 1982)

References

1. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30646432/
2. http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=7908088&style=games&frm=lk_pwradio
3. http://ps3.ign.com/articles/991/991850p1.html
4. http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2009/06/04/guitar-hero-van-halen-trailer-rolls-out-at-e3-expo/
5. http://www.destructoid.com/esrb-confirms-weezer-s-dope-nose-third-eye-blind-for-gh-van-halen-131697.phtml
6. http://www.gamedaily.com/games/guitar-hero-van-halen/wii/game-previews/preview/8838/20708/
7. http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2009/08/05/exclusive-guitar-hero-van-halen-song-list-and-release-date-revealed/