Is this the end for Guitar Hero?

Guitar Hero - a game we love to the bottom of our hearts. Rock Band - a game that could change all that, and tear us away from our former videogame beau like a raven haired seductress peeling away an otherwise committed lover from a... look, we're just excited about this first image of the Rock Band controller, okay?

For this gig, Harmonix has hooked up with Fender, and this gorgeous Stratocaster (wireless, we hope) controller is the result. But what's best is the extra few buttons - perched way up on the neck, in the high notes, where most of Jimi Hendrix's mind-blowing concerts would have taken place.

This promises a two-tier gameplay for Rock Band. We'd expect now to see each song feature a solo section that uses the high-notes, or possibly extra points given for switching to these buttons mid-riff. Whatever happens, our commitment to Guitar Hero is now at risk. On this evidence, we're likely to split as soon as Rock Band 's enticing new controls burst onto the scene...

Above: This image came direct from EBGames, in an email newsletter to subscribers

June 19, 2007

Ben Richardson is a former Staff Writer for Official PlayStation 2 magazine and a former Content Editor of GamesRadar+. In the years since Ben left GR, he has worked as a columnist, communications officer, charity coach, and podcast host – but we still look back to his news stories from time to time, they are a window into a different era of video games.