Nintendo Wii Fanboy

Well now, it looks like the June 2008 issue of Game Informer has a little surprise up its sleeve. You got it, this is none other than the drum kit that will be utilized in Guitar Hero IV. Looks kind of weird, if you ask us. But, hey, maybe the thing looks goofy, yet has a great feel to it? We'll have to wait and see.

As you can tell, it's different from the Rock Band drum kit in several ways. For one, it would appear the kit only has 3 face drums, with two weird high hat-looking things above the main drums, along with the requisite bass pedal. Will this be an easier drum kit to manage than the one bundled with Rock Band?

Update: Whoops, fixed some oversight on our part. Sorry for the mistake.

[Via Joystiq]

The June edition of Game Informer features a lengthy preview of Guitar Hero 4, and one thing is immediately clear: Activision is desperate to out-Rock Band Rock Band. This is most obvious in Guitar Hero 4's adoption of other instruments; as recent rumors suggested, the next installment of Activision's faux-guitar extravaganza will include drums, bass, and vocals.

As well as this expanded line-up, you'll be able to create your own tracks (though this doesn't extend to vocals, reportedly due to storage and copyright issues) and design album art. The game will let you upload five of your tracks to 'GH Tunes' (and ten when you achieve certain grades), and it will be possible to share songs in the Wii version. If you're horribly uncreative like us, you'll be able to strum your axe to one of the game's licensed songs, all of which are master tracks, and include the likes of Van Halen, The Eagles, Sublime and angst-mongers Linkin Park.

Some big changes, then, but there is a hint dropped by Game Informer that sharing songs in the Wii version of Guitar Hero 4 is "unlikely to be as robust as the PS3 and 360 versions." The magazine doesn't expand on this comment, but it's enough to set alarm bells off in our heads, especially after the gimped Rock Band fiasco.

There are rumors abound that Activision will be adding new instrument peripherals and a microphone to Guitar Hero IV, because of statements made by Activision's CEO Bobby Kotick in a recent interview with Conde Nast Portfolio. Should these bode true, though, we think this is a questionable move by the company. Although Rock Band is widely hailed as the better game, it seems lazy for Activision to turn its franchise into exactly (or at least, almost exactly) the same thing.

Let's think of the other negatives. Since Guitar Hero and Rock Band guitars are incompatible with the competing game (thanks to Activision), we can assume that if drums become a part of the GHIV experience, they will be, too. This means that people who want to own both will not only have to deal with a mountain of guitars (supposing they enjoy a good bout of local multiplayer), but also two drum sets cluttering up their homes. Moreover, this blogger has come to think of Guitar Hero as "the poor man's Rock Band," meaning that you don't have to pay an arm and a leg (just an arm) to get it. It's not cheap, but it's cheaper. Should the series turn into Rock Band, however, that will take away its economic edge.

Now, there could be good things about this rumored change. If Activision added some unique instruments (maybe a keyboard?), the game could offer something that Rock Band can't. Should it turn into nothing but a clone, though, we can't say we support that.

Kotick also mentioned that the game will include a feature that utilizes local bands, but what the CEO meant by this has yet to be clarified.

[Via Joystiq]