Digital Trends

Looking suspiciously similar to Rock Band, the next Guitar Hero title will give players a full band experience along with many new gameplay options.

After months of fan speculation that the next iteration in the Guitar Hero franchise would offer a full band experience (ala Rock Band), Activision finally made it official on Thursday. Guitar Hero World Tour, to be released this fall, will add drums and voice to the musical experience, along with a slew of other new features.

All the new controllers, including a reworked guitar that Activision claims has been made even more responsive, will come wireless. The drum set will include three velocity-sensitive drum pads that supposedly deliver “authentic bounce,” two raised cymbals, and a bass kick pedal.

Besides the new hardware, Activision has also loaded World Tour out with a new of new gameplay options. A music studio mode, for instance, will allow players to compose, record, edit and share their own rock and roll anthems, while a “Battle of the Bands” mode will allow up to eight players to musically duke it out. Customization has also been ratcheted up a notch, with more options for tweaking everything from a character’s appearance to a band’s logo.

Although a full listing of music for the new title will almost certainly be forthcoming before its release, for the moment, Activision only dropped a handful of band names to satiate fan appetites, including Van Halen, Linkin Park, The Eagles, and Sublime.