'Guitar Hero' Starts Battle of the Bands

“Guitar Hero World Tour” will include the ability for two groups of four people each to compete online, as well as let players compose and play their own music, Activision said Thursday.

The game will feature songs from bands such as Van Halen, the Eagles, Linkin Park and Sublime, with every song being an original master track, unlike past games where many of the songs were cover versions.

Due in the fall, the game will mark a new direction for the “Guitar Hero” franchise, in which players push colored buttons on a plastic guitar-shaped controller to match notes on the screen.