Wow! Look out Rock Band! Here comes Guitar Hero 4!!

[Steelmaker]

I was reading Game Informer magazine yesterday and noticed an exclusive article about GH-4. If I were Harmonix, I would worry. If Neversoft truly pulls off everything they say they will, this is going to be mother of all music games!

First of all, the package will be much like Rock Band, only better! lt will come with a guitar, WIRELESS drums, a bass (yes, a bass), and a microphone.

The drumset looks killer! It will have 3 drum pads and 2 cymbols that are elevated above the pads. They say that the proto type they tried out was way superior to Rock Band's kit. They said the pads are much quieter and have better "bounce" to them, making things like drumrolls much easier and more natural.

They say the character customization is by far the deepest ever seen in a music game. You will be able to morph your characters features ala Oblivion. You will also be able to age your characters. Of course all of the standard stuff will be in there like clothes, hair, makeup, face paint, tattoos, etc. Also, the guitars will be fully customizable. Not just the paint job but the entire body style. The body, neck, headstock, everything!!

Here's my favorite part. No longer will players be limited to playing existing songs. Your band will now be able to enter into the studio and create, mix, and arrange your own material!!! They didn't go into any great detail but they said this will be what sets GH 4 apart from anything else.

Oh, here's another cool feature. You will now be able to have 2 guitarists. A rythm and a lead player! They said the rythm feature was mainly created for younger players who can't yet master the standard way of playing. They said it's a basic strum feature where they will see a fret bar (like the kick bass line on the drums) and strum along in rythm with it. It's very simple and it will help keep younger players involved in the game without being too overwhelmed.

There a whole lot more that I'm not remembering at this time. I recommend picking up the lastest Game Informer and reading the article. It sounds like it's going to be amazing!!