We’ve had an email from someone who wants to know if it’s possible to use a Guitar Hero guitar with Rock Band for the Wii. The bad news is that you can’t, which is a shame because we know you can with the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. There have been a number of third party Wii guitar controllers released so we thought we’d compare each instrument and draw up this Wii instrument compatibility matrix which lists each Wii instrument and which titles they are compatible with:-

CONTROLLER AND PRICE		COMPATIBLE TITLES
		Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock	Guitar Hero Aerosmith	Rock Band	Rock Band 2	Guitar Hero World Tour	Guitar Hero Metallica	Guitar Hero Smash Hits
Guitar Hero 3 Les Paul	$59.99	Yes	Yes	-	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Guitar Hero World Tour Guitar	$59.99	Yes	Yes	-	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Rock Band Guitar	$59.99	-	-	Yes	Yes	-	-	-
Rock Band 2 Guitar	$52.99	-	-	Yes	Yes	-	-	-
ezJam Wireless Guitar	$69.99	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Wii Shred Ax Guitar	$25.99	Yes	-	-	-	-	-	-
Frontman Wireless Guitar	$36.95	Yes	-	-	Yes	Yes	-	-
Rock Thunder Guitar	$50.00	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Gene Simmons Axe Guitar	$66.96	Yes	-	-	Yes	-	-	-
Wii Rock Icon Guitar	$39.99	Yes	-	-	-	-	-	-
Dazzle Wireless Guitar Hero Controller	$39.99	Yes	-	-	-	-	-	-
Intec Universal Wireless Guitar	$69.99	Yes	-	Yes	-	-	-	-
Wii Guitar Evolution Wireless Guitar	$49.99	Yes	-	Yes	Yes	-	-	-
Xtreme Wireless Guitar Controller	$47.99	Yes	-	-	-	-	-	-
Guitar Hero World Tour Drums	$79.99	-	-	-	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Rock Band Drums	$99.99	-	-	Yes	Yes	-	-	-
Rock Band 2 Drums	$89.99	-	-	Yes	Yes	-	-	-

Recommended Guitar Controller

If cross-compatibility is critical then the most suitable 3rd party controller we’ve looked at is the $69.99 ezJam Wireless Guitar which works across the board with all titles. Although build quality isn’t up the same standard as the official controllers it isn’t let down by features – strum, tremolo and whammy bars are all covered along with a tilt sensor to take advantage of features found in later versions of Rock Band and Guitar Hero. If you are after something less ‘Nintendo white’ and a little more ‘rock’ with the same compatibility as the ezJam then the glam styled Rock Thunder might be more suitable with a quieter strumming action than the ezJam.

Runner up

If it wasn’t for lack of compatibility with the original Rock Band for the Wii we wouldn’t hesitate in recommending the $59.99 Guitar Hero World Tour Guitar as the axe of choice – these guitars are exceptionally well built compared to every other guitar controller we’ve played and guaranteed to work with all Guitar Hero titles along with Rock Band 2. If you have your heart set on playing tracks from the original Rock Band with there is a workaround. Using the $29.99 Rock Band 2 you can transfer the 55 songs from the original Rock Band disc over to a suitably sized Wii compatible SD card. You’ll then be able to use Rock Band 2 to play your mega library of tracks from the original Rock Band, Rock Band 2 plus any of the 800+ downloadable songs you may have acquired along the way. We’re hoping that Harmonix will implement a similar export key system for transferring tracks from the forthcoming Beatles Rock Band and Lego Rock Band.

Additional accessories

Whilst researching these guitar controllers we came across a must for any serious guitar collector wanting to keep their controllers tidy in the living room – there is a $13.99 Dual Guitar Holder which doubles as a mic stand and a Triple Tree Guitar Stand which holds up to 3 guitars for $29.99.

We’ve also found a specially designed storage box for holding Rock Band accessories – once your kit is tucked up inside your visitors won’t know you are a secret plastic rocker. Amazon have shaved around 50% off so if you are in the market for some new furniture and want somewhere to hide a pair of guitars, a set of drums and a mic then have something to put your feet up on after a heavy rocking session then this is a great space saving idea.

For those of you wanting to play a Wii music game without the need for instruments then we recommend a look at Disneys multiplayer Ultimate Band which uses strumming and drumming actions on the Wiimote and Nunchuck to play – watch our review of Ultimate Band to see what you think.

Buy from Amazon.com:

• Guitar Hero 3 Les Paul – $59.99
• Guitar Hero World Tour Guitar – $59.99
• Guitar Hero World Tour Drums – $79.99
• Rock Band Guitar – $59.99
• Rock Band 2 Guitar – $52.99
• Rock Band Drums – $99.99
• Rock Band 2 Drums – $89.99
• ezJam Wireless Guitar – $69.99
• Wii Shred Ax Guitar – $25.99
• Frontman Wireless Guitar – $36.95
• Rock Thunder Guitar – $50.00
• Gene Simmons Axe Guitar – $66.96
• Wii Rock Icon Guitar – $39.99
• Dazzle Wireless Guitar Hero Controller – $39.99
• Intec Universal Wireless Guitar – $69.99
• Wii Guitar Evolution Wireless Guitar – $49.99
• Xtreme Wireless Guitar Controller – $47.99

Related Wii music articles:

• Guitar Hero 2 review
• Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock review
• Guitar Hero World Tour review
• Guitar Hero Aerosmith review
• Guitar Hero Mii support
• Rock Band review
• Rock Band 2 review
• Rock Revolution review
• Wii Christmas party games
• Samba De Amigo review

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Tags: Wii, Wii Guitar Hero controller, Rock Band

Konami has released the official soundtrack to its best-selling Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots title for the PS3. Scored by long-term Metal Gear associate and Hollywood artist, Harry Gregson-Williams, the 16-track CD features melodious, stirring tracks written for the blockbuster stealth-action title. No doubt it will take less time to listen to the soundtrack than watch the game.

Buy Guns Of The Patriots Sountrack now
New: Buy Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns Of The Patriots Sountrack from Amazon.com

Tags: Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots soundtrack, soundtrack

The limited Galactic Edition of the highly-anticipated game from the creators of The Sims has just been announced today. This special box will contain the ‘Making of Spore’ DVD, ‘The Art of Spore‘ hardback mini-book, a fold-out Spore poster, and a premium 100-page Galactic Handbook. The Galactic Edition will also feature a DVD documentary from the National Geographic Channel called ‘How to Build a Better Being‘.

Related: Spore official site

Tags: spore

Thanks for the response to my blog post Calling all TNA Impact fans where we had a good number of questions supplied by our readers to go to Samoa Joe and AJ Styles. We plucked out the best ones and put them forward to the TNA Impact wrestlers when they came to the UK last week, the video interview can be downloaded on episode 53 of Gamesweasel.

Related: YouTube TNA Impact interview with Samoa Joe and AJ Styles, Calling all TNA Impact fans

Tags: TNA Impact interview with Samoa Joe and AJ Styles, , Samoa Joe, AJ Styles, TNA Impact, Interview, video

Log into the PlayStation store on June 26th and you can download an encyclopaedia for Metal Gear Solid 4. If all those long cut scenes confused you, you can read everything about the game and Snake’s history from 1987 to the present day at your leisure for free! The easy to use system allows users to search via three central hubs: GENE (a glossary), MEME (which maps the relationships between characters in the series), and SCENE (a timeline for the series). Users can jump from page to page using specific keywords, with the relevant information appearing instantly. All information relating to Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, however, can only be accessed when the software detects a save data file created when the game has been completed, as to avoid spoiling the final adventure.

Related: Metal Gear Solid 4 Xbox 360 version

Tags: Metal Gear Solid 4