Activision Publishing Inc.’s Guitar Hero is the first console videogame franchise to surpass 1 million Facebook fans demonstrating the global appeal and passion for the brand that is quickly becoming the next platform for experiencing music and social interaction.

Clark Kent says: But did you know that there was something before Guitar Hero and Rock Band? You didn’t?! Click here to get informed!

VIA PR:

Guitar Hero is the #1 best-selling third party video game franchise in North America and Europe calendar year to date. Since its release, the franchise has sold more than 38 million units worldwide, including more than 7 million units in calendar 2009 alone, according to The NPD Group, Charttrack and GfK.

Guitar Hero 5 was released on Sept. 1 to critical acclaim for its music variety, innovative gameplay and empowering fans to rock anyway they want with all-new features that make it the most social and interactive Guitar Hero game ever. Official Xbox Magazine said, “This is the Guitar Hero game to own” while AOL GameDaily said, “Guitar Hero 5 feels just fresh as it did when the series debuted on the PlayStation 2.”

Guitar Hero’s Facebook community can come together at the social networking site to get the latest information on Guitar Hero games and the artists in the games, as well as share their favorite artists, songs, and Guitar Hero experiences. Facebook fans also gain access to exclusive information and content on past, current and future games.

Living room legends can now rock any way they want to a variety of iconic rock music in Guitar Hero 5. The entire set list is at players’ fingertips from the start, featuring genre-defining hits from some of the biggest rock artists and bands of all time, including The Rolling Stones, The White Stripes, Kings of Leon, Tom Petty, Bob Dylan and Vampire Weekend. Players take complete control as Guitar Hero 5 allows gamers to personalize and customize how they experience music by being able to play with any controller combination — multiple vocalists, guitarists, bassists and drummers, in any game mode. With the game’s all-new Party Play Mode, getting the band back together has never been easier. Players can now jump in or drop out of gameplay seamlessly, without interrupting their jam session. Elevating the Guitar Hero series to new heights with unmatched social gameplay, an enhanced style, new in-game artists and more rock legends, Guitar Hero 5 features new surprises and challenges that will fire-up long-time fret board fanatics and create a new generation of addicts.

Clark Kent says: I will be posting up the reviews that are featured in GIANT Magazine. Activision’s DJ Hero is up next. How did it fare? Read after the jump.

Do you love hip-hop but aren’t talented enough to be a part of the culture? Well, Activision – the publisher responsible for Guitar Hero – has heard your cries and strives to unlock your inner X-ecutioner with its latest music-based game, DJ Hero. An improved take on Konami’s Beatmania, DJ Hero ups the value of a music-based game by including an original set list, retooling the controls and updating the peripherals with a unique look and feel.

Emulating Guitar Hero’s intuitive design, the game gives players a chance to play spin doctor on a fully customizable turntable. Three colored surface buttons laid into the vinyl make up the body of the controller, with a side extension containing a cross-fader, a euphoria button that acts as “star power” and a small panel-covered inset that holds the traditional directional-pad controls.

Overall, DJ Hero is inherently fun. On the lowest level of difficulty, it allows the player to chop the beats, while harder settings display arrows to indicate specific scratch directions. Want to show off how much of a DJ you are? DJ Hero has a free-flowing sample section, where blending, scratching and mixing are all interwoven elements. Certain sections can even be distorted and manipulated via the effects dial, proving that DJ Hero is as much rock as it is rap.

With a diverse lineup of over 100 songs from artists such as Jay-Z and Eminem and mash-ups from paired artists such as The Gorillaz and Marvin Gaye, you’ll be able to capture the feel of a true mixmaster playing against turntable legends like DJ Shadow, the late DJ AM and Grandmaster Flash. And though you probably won’t win any DJ battles just by playing DJ Hero, you’ll have a new appreciation for the art and science behind the sounds the next time you’re at a club.

Clark Kent says: DJ Hero will be in stores on October 27th. They threw a pretty dope party last Thursday. Click here to see what you missed out on!

Clark Kent says: If you missed my Madden 2010 review, please click here! Guitar Hero 5 is out now, kiddos, and all of you would-be rockers aren’t in for too many changes. But you are definitely in for a treat nonetheless!

GOOD: Activision and Neversoft have held the Guitar Hero reigns since its third installment and have expanded it to a full band [World Tour] and offered enough spin-offs to make everyone happy. The game’s navigation is easier making the game more enjoyable. The learning curve is easy enough for parents and kids alike to figure out how to get into the game. It’s that smooth functionality that make Guitar Hero 5 such a beaut! If a song catches your ear – as it will in Party Play mode – all you have to do is pick up an instrument and start playing. Me, equipped with my trusty guitar, found myself strumming David Bowie and Bob Dylan right from the menu.

BAD: Guitar Hero 5′s track list IS a little bit too broad. This is not a game where folks are learning actual chords and notes on how to play instruments – meaning that IT’S STILL A GAME! Hardcore music nerds – like myself – will find the appeal in playing Coldplay or Blink-182. But newcomers and vets alike may find it a tough pill to swallow having to play Peter Frampton or Kings of Leon – meaning that some songs will get no playing time at all.

UGLY: Me… playing the guitar to David Bowie’s “Fame,” no… really! …Guitar Hero 5 is in stores now… GO COP IT IMMEDGIATELY!

In another example of how Guitar Hero 5 allows gamers to rock any way they want, leading instrument, equipment and footwear brands are lending their virtual products to bring more customization and authenticity to players’ in-game characters. Gamers can score in-game gear from some of rock ‘n roll’s most noteworthy products.

VIA A:

Such names like Ahead, Ampeg, Audio-Technica, BC and Rockfield Pickups, Daisy Rock Girl Guitars, Duncan (Seymour Duncan), EMG Pickups, Ernie Ball, ESP, Guitar Center, Ibanez, Krank, Line 6, Mackie, Marshall Amplification, McSwain Guitars, Music Man, Pork Pie, PRS, Regal Tip, Schecter, , Tama, VOX Amplification, Zildjian as well as shoes from Converse, Dr. Martens and Vans are available as you create your rocker, take the stage, and jam out with Guitar Hero 5 starting September 1, 2009.

This September, living room legends will rock any way they want in Guitar Hero 5. The entire set list is at players’ finger tips from the start, featuring genre-defining hits from more than 80 of the biggest rock artists and bands of all time, including The Rolling Stones, The White Stripes, Kings of Leon, Tom Petty, Bob Dylan and Vampire Weekend, plus more than 25 artists from a variety of music genres that will be making their music video game debuts. Players take complete control as Guitar Hero 5 allows gamers to personalize and customize how they experience music by being able to play with any in-game instrument combination — multiple vocalists, guitarists, bassists and drummers, in any game mode. With the game’s all-new Party Play Mode, players can now jump in or drop out of gameplay seamlessly, without interrupting their jam session.

Clark Kent says: Check back here later today for my Guitar Hero 5 review!

My boy Quibian just got word about Activision’s announcement about the entire tracklist for Guitar Hero 5 which ships on September 1, 2009. So without further ado, these are the songs you will be getting with Guitar Hero 5…

VIA Examiner:

•    3 Doors Down – “Kryptonite”
•    Arctic Monkeys – “Brianstorm”
•    Blink-182 – “The Rock Show”
•    Dire Straits – “Sultans Of Swing”
•    Jimmy Eat World – “Bleed American”
•    Johnny Cash – “Ring Of Fire”
•    Megadeth – “Sweating Bullets”
•    Mötley Crüe – “Looks That Kill”
•    Muse – “Plug In Baby”
•    Nirvana – “Smells Like Teen Spirit”
•    Queen & David Bowie – “Under Pressure”
•    Stevie Wonder – “Superstition”
•    The Killers – “All The Pretty Faces”
•    The Raconteurs – “Steady As She Goes”
•    TV On The Radio – “Wolf Like Me”
•    A Perfect Circle – “Judith”
•    AFI – “Medicate”
•    Attack! Attack! UK – “You And Me”
•    Band Of Horses – “Cigarettes, Wedding Bands”
•    Beastie Boys – “Gratitude”
•    Beck – “Gamma Ray”
•    Billy Idol – “Dancing With Myself”
•    Billy Squier – “Lonely Is The Night”
•    Blur – “Song 2”
•    Bob Dylan – “All Along The Watchtower”
•    Bon Jovi – “You Give Love A Bad Name”
•    Brand New – “Sowing Season (Yeah)”
•    The Bronx – “Six Days A Week”
•    Bush – “Comedown”
•    Children Of Bodom – “Done With Everything, Die For Nothing”
•    Coldplay – “In My Place”
•    Darker My Love – “Blue Day”
•    Darkest Hour – “Demon(s)”
•    David Bowie – “Fame”
•    Deep Purple – “Woman From Tokyo (’99 Remix)”
•    The Derek Trucks Band – “Younk Funk”
•    The Duke Spirit – “Send A Little Love Token”
•    Duran Duran – “Hungry Like The Wolf”
•    Eagles Of Death Metal – “Wannabe In L.A.”
•    Elliott Smith – “L.A.”
•    Elton John – “Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting)”
•    Face To Face – “Disconnected”
•    Garbage – “Only Happy When It Rains”
•    Gorillaz – “Feel Good Inc.”
•    Gov’t Mule – “Streamline Woman”
•    Grand Funk Railroad – “We’re An American Band”
•    Iggy Pop – “Lust For Life (Live)”
•    Iron Maiden – “2 Minutes To Midnight”
•    Jeff Beck – “Scatterbrain (Live)”
•    John Mellencamp – “Hurts So Good”
•    Kaiser Chiefs – “Never Miss A Beat”
•    King Crimson – “21st Century Schizoid Man”
•    Kings Of Leon – “Sex On Fire”
•    Kiss – “Shout It Out Loud”
•    Love and Rockets – “Mirror People”
•    My Morning Jacket – “One Big Holiday”
•    Nirvana – “Lithium (Live)”
•    No Doubt – “Ex-Girlfriend”
•    Peter Frampton – “Do You Feel Like We Do? (Live)”
•    The Police – “So Lonely”
•    Public Enemy Featuring Zakk Wylde – “Bring the Noise 20XX”
•    Queens Of The Stone Age – “Make It Wit Chu”
•    Rammstein – “Du Hast”
•    The Rolling Stones – “Sympathy For The Devil”
•    Rose Hill Drive – “Sneak Out”
•    Rush – “The Spirit Of Radio (Live)”
•    Santana – “No One To Depend On (Live)”
•    Scars On Broadway – “They Say”
•    Screaming Trees – “Nearly Lost You”
•    Smashing Pumpkins – “Bullet With Butterfly Wings”
•    Sonic Youth – “Incinerate”
•    Spacehog – “In The Meantime”
•    Sublime – “What I Got”
•    Sunny Day Real Estate – “Seven”
•    T. Rex – “20th Century Boy”
•    The Sword – “Maiden, Mother & Crone”
•    Thin Lizzy – “Jailbreak”
•    Thrice – “Deadbolt”
•    Tom Petty – “Runnin’ Down A Dream”
•    Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – “American Girl”
•    Vampire Weekend – “A-Punk”
•    Weezer – “Why Bother?”
•    The White Stripes – “Blue Orchid”
•    Wild Cherry – “Play That Funky Music”
•    Wolfmother – “Back Round”

Clark Kent says: No Prince, no Parliament Funkadelic, no Bad Brains?! Come on Guitar Hero, step it up!