In 1981, the philosopher poet Samuel R. Hagar declared that there was only one way to rock. But apparently that isn’t true when it comes to videogames, because we’ll soon have BandFuse: Rock Legends, an upcoming music game that, like PowerGig and Rocksmith before it, has you using a real guitar to play such tunes as Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama” and Judas Priest’s “Breaking the Law.”

“It’s time for the next level,” declares Steve Gomes, the obviously coached CEO of Realta Entertainment. “We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Guitar Hero and Rock Band, but our goal is getting people from plastic controllers to real instruments. This is the next evolution.”

It’s a sentiment echoed by Slash, the former Guns N’ Roses guitarist/current Velvet Revolver six-stringer and solo artist who demoed the game by playing the song “Back From Cali” from his eponymous 2010 solo album. “The thing that excited me about Guitar Hero was that it had a great catalog of music,” he says. “But this is ten steps ahead of that because you’re using a real guitar and you can really use it to learn how to play guitar. Though it’s presented in such a way that it’s a hell of a lot of fun, so you don’t realize the amount of work you’re putting into it at all. It’s the next logical step from Guitar Hero.”

While, like all guitar games, BandFuse has you following along with on-screen notes, it switches things up by having the fretboard move sideways – like you’re reading sheet music. Each note also has a number that indicates which fret you’re supposed to hold down. They’ve even made the likeness and thickness of the strings reflect those of a real guitar. 

Such realism also extends to how the songs are mapped out. “All the notes are in place,” Slash confirms. “All the positions, all the fingering. It’s pretty cool.” They’ve even, according to Gomes, “inked a partnership with Fender Guitars for bundling and other things.” 

BandFuse also uses real music videos, not animated ones, as evidenced by the clip of Slash really playing while, well, Slash really played. “We’re in the process of licensing the videos now,” Gomes explains. “We started with the songs, and we have a very strong list of songs, but now we’re working on the videos.”

There will also be in-game tutorials on guitar basics taught by Slash…though, it seems the game may not just be about guitars. During the demo, lyrics from Slash’s song came up on the top of the screen, with the next lines appearing faintly below the ones being sung. Which would explain why, when asked whether the game would also include singing, Gomes would only say, “Not that you saw today” with a seriously sly grin. 

The irony of all this is that the BandFuse event was held on the same street in Santa Monica, California that Guitar Hero publisher Activision calls home. But while the specter of Hero (and Rock Band and PowerGig and Rocksmith) is hanging over BandFuse, Gomes remains unfazed. “I’m very clear on this,” he says. “Those games did a fantastic job, but were limited by their technology. But we’re able, through our technology, to take it to that final level, to use real instruments, and deliver what people are looking for. Because of that, we not only expect people who already play music will want to play this game, but so will people who played Guitar Hero and Rock Band.” If only, to paraphrase one of Slash’s songs, it was so easy.

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PUBLISHER: Mastiff Games  •  DEVELOPER:  Realta Entertainment  •  MULTIPLAYER: TBD  •  RELEASE DATE: TBD 2012  •  FOR FANS OF: Rocksmith, Rock Band 3, PowerGig: Rise of the Six String