Activision have officially announced the two latest instalments into the Guitar Hero franchise. The first, which will be released for the PlayStation 2, 3, Nintendo Wii, and the Xbox 360 is Guitar Hero: Greatest Hits (which is a working title only, at this stage).

The second game is Guitar Hero: Modern Hits, which will be released on the Nintendo DS. If you haven't already had enough of Guitar Hero, we've got some initial details on both titles, along with some screenshots and a trailer.

Let's begin with Guitar Hero: Greatest Hits, which will see the return of classics from the Guitar Hero back-catalogue, with the forty-eight master recordings of the "most famous AND infamous" tracks from previous games in the series. The main draw card to the title is the ability to play a select number of songs from the perspective of each instrument, instead of just the guitar.

The game will also see "updated note-tracks" and a number features that saw their debut in Guitar Hero: World Tour.

Download Guitar Hero: Greatest Hits Teaser Trailer


The thirty-four second teaser trailer doesn't reveal much other than an anticipated release date of June. The fact sheet, which has been provided to us by Activision, does reveal some tasty nuggets of information regarding Guitar Hero: Greatest Hits:

Guitar Hero’s Greatest Hits – Play alone or as a full band and rock out to 48 of some of the hottest fan-favourite tracks from Guitar Hero’s original guitar-centric games: Guitar Hero, Guitar Hero II, Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s and Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. I’m With the Band – Video game fanatics can expand to full band and for the first time ever strum, drum and belt out some of their favourite Guitar Hero songs as master tracks on all gaming systems as they jam along to updated note tracks and all-new gameplay for the drum controller and microphone. A Setlist that Guarantees “Nothin But A Good Time” – Guitar Hero Greatest Hits features the most memorable songs from Guitar Hero games together in one epic setlist, comprised of all master recordings including, “Them Bones” by Alice in Chains, Queen’s “Killer Queen,” “Nothin’ But A Good Time” by Poison, Rage Against The Machine’s “Killing in the Name,” “I Wanna Rock” by Twisted Sister, Joan Jett and The Blackhearts’ “I Love Rock N Roll,” Heart’s “Barracuda” and Guitar Hero III favourite Dragonforce’s “Through the Fire and Flames.” Discover the Spirit of Rock, All Around the World – Rock through fantastic locations with Guitar Hero favourites and play at eight new venues based on wonders of the world, including the Amazon, Polar Ice Caps and the Grand Canyon. Create, Customise and Share – Guitar Hero Greatest Hits features the Music Studio, GHTunes and the Rock Star Creator first made famous in Guitar Hero World Tour. Create your own hits in Music Studio, share them online with GHTunes and watch your created superstar shred and drum to your soon-to-be breakout hit. With difficulty levels ranging from “Beginner” mode, introduced in Guitar Hero World Tour to the difficult-to-master “Expert+” mode first seen in Guitar Hero Metallica, Guitar Hero Greatest Hits is accessible for all players.

The second title that is planned for the Guitar Hero return to the Nintendo DS in Guitar Hero: Modern Hits, which is scheduled for release "later this year". Guitar Hero: Modern Hits will utilise the same Guitar group that featured in previous Nintendo DS Guitar Hero games, and will (obviously) not be compatbile with the Nintendo DSi due to the lack of a GBA slot on the new iteration of the handheld.

Guitar Hero: Modern Hits is described as:

Guitar Hero: Modern Hits is a compilation of of the new millennium's hottest bands, including Tenacious D., Fall Out Boy, Coldplay, Weezer, and more. THe game includes the feature "Fan Request", which allows players to win new fan and unlock different challenges, as well as a multiplayer mode that is compatible with Guitar Hero: On Tour and Decades.

Guitar Hero: Greatest Hits is due to hit in June, and will feature an Expert+ difficulty like the as-yet unreleased Guitar Hero: Metallica, which is due for release in June. We will keep you informed as we learn more and more about the seemingly endless barrage of Guitar Hero games from Activision.