For the first time in the Guitar Hero franchise, last year's Legends of Rock allowed gamers to play as (or against) likenesses of real-life axe-men. Unfortunately, the lineup of legends was rather slim, consisting of former Guns N' Roses member Slash, ex-Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello, and the devil.

For this year's Guitar Hero World Tour, Activision is expanding the authenticity a bit. The publisher has previously announced such artists as Jimi Hendrix, Ozzy Osbourne, and Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan would be in the game, and today, the publisher added Police singer/bassist Sting to the list. Players will be able to take Sting through the game's vocal Career mode or play alongside him on The Police song "Demolition Man."

While the progressive metal act Tool won't have its members' likenesses in World Tour, the band is contributing a trio of songs to the setlist: "Parabola," "Schism," and "Vicarious." The game will also include an in-game venue designed in conjunction with Tool to reflect the band's signature style, as seen in album art, videos, and more.

Guitar Hero World Tour is being developed by Neversoft for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Vicarious Visions is prepping the Wii edition of the game, while Budcat is handling the PlayStation 2 version.

Posted: Sep 11, 2008 10:51 am