Activision Makes 'Guitar Hero: Van Halen' Official
artist: guitar hero	date: 05/08/2009	category: upcoming releases

The beat goes on for Guitar Hero and its musical cousins.

Activision today announced its scheduled music game releases for the rest of 2009. Due in the second half of 2009 is Guitar Hero Van Halen. And coming this fall are Guitar Hero 5, DJ Hero and Band Hero.

GH Van Halen will include some of Van Halen’s greatest hits - no word on whether that includes the Sammy Hagar-fronted version - as well as tunes from guest acts such as Queen, Weezer, Blink-182, The Offspring and Queens Of The Stone Age.

Guitar Hero 5 carries on the $1 billion-and-rocking franchise with new features that let players drop in and out of performances - and change instruments and difficulty levels - without re-starting songs.

Band Hero is the publisher's first E10+-rated console game - the previous games have been rated "T" as suitable for Teens 13-up - has a collection of Top 40 hits that aims to bring full band play (guitar, bass, microphone and drums) to families.

"Guitar Hero has made music social again and has become one of the most popular ways to experience music," said Activision's president and CEO Dan Rosensweig in the press announcement. "Today’s fans enjoy a variety of music and are looking for more ways to engage with their favorite songs, artists and fellow fans," he said. "These games will let them listen, participate and socialize with music in ways they have never been able to before."

Thanks for the report to USA Today.com.