But there’s more! From the post:

For three runners-up, I have unsigned PS3 copies of GH: Van Halen, as well as Guitar Hero embroidered hats and a Guitar Hero rechargable battery kit, with an extra battery. These are nifty little USB chargers that plug right into a spare USB port, so you can always have a battery charging while the other one’s in use. Better than killing Mother Nature with endless AAs.

And all you have to do to enter is answer a trivia question by this Friday. Hit the Read link for all the details.

[Read]

G4TV.com: 3/5
“[T]he inability to export the tracks in Guitar Hero: Van Halen to your collection in Guitar Hero: World Tour or Guitar Hero 5 is unacceptable, and raises the larger issue here: this should have been downloadable content packaged with a Van Halen aesthetic.”

GameDaily: 7/10
“The song selection will keep you and your friends happy (just skip Third Eye Blind) and the options are acceptable. Still, with a little more effort, this could’ve been on the same level as GH Metallica. The band deserved better.”

Game Informer: 7.5/10
“Van Halen deserves better.”

GamePro: 2.5/5
“[A]n overall lack of cohesiveness is a common theme throughout the game, and you can’t help but wonder what the point of it all was.”

IGN: 4.9/10
“No effort was put into making it good. It’s a step backwards for the franchise and a totally unnecessary release.”

Official Xbox Magazine: 6/10
“[W]e can’t imagine any non-hardcore Halen fans feeling good about dropping $60 on this half-hearted effort.”

PlayStation: The Official Magazine: 2.5/5
“…a step back for the franchise.”

So you’d rather find out for yourself? That can be arranged. I present to you Amazon links for the different versions of the game:

360 | PS3 | Wii | PS2

The demo features Van Halen’s “Panama” [EDIT: and "Eruption"]…and Weezer’s “Dope Nose,” along with Killswitch Engage’s “The End of Heartache.” Because, you know, what people who download a demo of Guitar Hero: Van Halen really want is to play Weezer.

I haven’t had a chance to try them out myself yet, so if you do, let me know what you think in comments.

UPDATE: I made the same mistake Kotaku did; I fired up the demo with just the controller and headset rather than walking allll the way across the room to grab a guitar. Consequently I missed the instrumental “Eruption.” So now it’s like a bonus! Right? No? OK.

[Read, thanks to murph for the HOT TIP]

It didn’t take long for talk to turn to Guitar Hero: Van Halen. A listener called in to ask why Anthony wasn’t included in the game. His response:

You’d probably have to call Eddie Van Halen and ask him. … It’s not my image on there, but the singing and playing is mine. You’ll just see it coming through Eddie’s kid’s mouth.

Slight cattiness aside, Anthony seems pretty positive about music games in general:

The whole Guitar Hero phenomenon, it’s great. I’ve got two daughters, and their boyfriends come over and play that thing, but I try to pick it up and play it like the [real] instrument, and these guys kick my ass every time. For all these old rock n’ roll bands, it’s kind of rejuvenating everything with all the young people listening to that. A couple years ago, my nephew comes up to me and says, ‘Check out this band, man, they’re so great!’ And it was Led Zeppelin. It’s great exposure.

The Guitar Hero talk begins at the 26:10 mark, and he goes on to dish out a little more snark about the personality conflicts throughout Van Halen’s history, so check out the whole episode at its home — linked below — or at iTunes. (It’s the November 13 episode.)

[Listen, thanks to Scott Vanderburgh for the HOT TIP]

But here’s a quote that struck me a little odd:

It would be tough to pick a major band that is more irrelevant to popular culture today than Van Halen. The band that wowed arenas filled with screaming fans in the ’80s through the virtuoso guitar work of Eddie Van Halen and on-stage antics of David Lee Roth is best known by the youth of today through kitchy references in Adam Sandler and Judd Apatow films. The majority of Van Halen’s catalog has fallen into obscurity by all but the most ardent fans.

I’m most definitely not a Van Halen fan, but I find this statement hard to believe. Eddie Van Halen is almost universally recognized as one of the all-time greats on the electric guitar; I don’t see how the band that carries his name could ever fall into obscurity. Am I wrong here?

I don’t have the game yet — the downside of being sent a copy of Guitar Hero 5 for review rather than buying it at retail was that I didn’t have a receipt to participate in the Van Halen giveaway. So I’d be curious to hear what those of who you have the game think of it.

For contrast, here’s another review from GameDaily. Though it’s also not a glowing recommendation, it is a bit less, ah, ardent in its criticism.

[Read]

Well, if you’re waiting for a PS3 version, I can pretty much guarantee the answer is no. Joystiq reports that PS3 owners have received an e-mail from Activision explaining that the PS3 version is delayed:

“Unfortunately, we made a printing error on the package of Guitar Hero Van Halen,” the email explains. “Fortunately, we caught and remedied the error prior to sending your disc. Our effort to ensure a completely positive customer experience has resulted in a slight delay in shipping your copy of the game.”

Sounds like they’ll begin mailing this week. You PS3 players really are a patient bunch, you know? Give yourselves a pat on the back.

[Read]

And second is a video of EVH performing the solo himself. Eddie does a markedly different version live, of course, but as 5frets points out, for the segments that are similar, Johnson’s playing and hand positioning are remarkably similar to Eddie Van Halen’s. And given that the guy absolutely nails the tune, I’m going to go ahead and say he’s playing the song the way the developers meant it to be played. So it’s kind of a neat example of how closely a Guitar Hero tune can mirror its real-life counterpart.

Take a look at both videos after the break.  Continue reading →

Given that actually signing up for a copy required a fairly complicated process with what I expect was a fairly low participation rate (think mail-in rebate), this is looking more like a daring marketing drive and less like “We need to get these discs out of our warehouses no matter the cost.”

Hit the link for pics of the package and a few in-game shots, and see here for the full Guitar Hero: Van Halen setlist.

[Read, via Kotaku]

According to an exclusive reveal from MTV’s Multiplayer blog, the release date for Guitar Hero: Van Halen is December 22. Yes, three days before Christmas. I can’t say I understand the rationale there, but with so many other high-profile music games hitting the market this fall, perhaps Activision just wanted to push the release as late as possible without missing Christmas altogether.

In any event, there you have it. Oh, but there’s just one more thing: MTV also revealed what appears to be the entire track list for the game. Those clever rascals! I’ve included it after the break.

 Continue reading →