Earlier this year, Activision effectively killed off Guitar Hero and DJ Hero. We can’t say we didn’t see it coming. The franchise had not sold as well as it had in the past, and people were just getting tired of hoarding plastic peripherals every time Activision got a bright idea for a new gameplay feature. You may be surprised to know that Activision isn’t done with Guitar Hero yet. It’s coming back, but it will be different.

The Hero franchise is not going down without a fight. Following Activision’s announcement that said the Guitar Hero business unit was disbanded, it seemed both Guitar Hero and DJ Hero had reached their inevitable end. All hope was seemingly squashed when Activision said neither game would receive downloadable songs after February. Well, you just can’t keep a good game down. Fans of both franchises came out of the woodwork to support the games they thought would be gone forever. Through their efforts, Guitar Hero and DJ Hero will be around for a little while longer.

7 Studios (that’s the studio’s name) is the latest victim of Activision’s severe cutbacks. As we’ve reported yesterday, Activision has put an end to the music games it publishes. Guitar Hero is done, DJ Hero is done and around 500 people have been let go as a result. Yesterday, the Twitter accounts of 7 Studios’ staff members confirmed Activision closed their studio completely.

This week’s downloadable PlayStation 3 game is Crescent Pale Mist for $5.99. In this side-scrolling fighter, players control a sorceress named Yunou who happens to be the only magic user able to use a deadly magic known as Pale Mist who must stop the toxic pale mist from leaking into the outside world as well as deal with the ones responsible for the leak — her former comrades. Check out Crescent Pale Mist:…

This week’s downloadable PlayStation 3 game is actually special bonus content and one bonus pack price drop for the game MAG. This week’s PlayStation Portable Download is No Heroes Allowed. Also check out our big list of price updates, new games, demos, avatar goodies and more…

This week’s downloadable PlayStation 3 game is Joe Danger for $14.99. In this game players take on the role of Joe Danger, a stuntman who lives to entertain the audience with various stunts, as he competes with his rival “Team Nasty.” The allows players to create new levels to race on and edit as you play by freezing the game and making adjustments such as adding a ramp or obstacles, then unfreeze to continue the race.

This week’s downloadable PlayStation 3 game is Blue Toad Murder Files: The Mysteries of Little Riddle for $14.99 for the entire bundle or $7.49 per episode. Currently only Episodes one through three are available with three more releasing April 29, 2010. In this game players take on the role of one of four detectives investigating a murder in the village of Little Riddle, players must gather clues and solve puzzles to try and find the murder. Check out Blue Toad Murder Files: The Mysteries of Little Riddle…

Attention virtual DJ’s – a serious dose of star power is coming to the excellent, under appreciated DJ Hero next week. According to MTV, an $8 track pack featuring Jay-Z and Eminem is coming on March 18th for the 360 and March 25 on the PlayStation Network.

Activision is involved with MIDEM 2010 which is a large music industry trade fair that takes place in Cannes, France. Activision will host a Listening Session during the show. One out of ten finalists will be chosen to have their song put into a future DJ Hero game.

Dance Dance Revolution may have solidified the interactive music game genre for pop culture and Guitar Hero might have taken air guitar to a new level but DJ Hero truly makes playing with music a realistically immersive and enjoyable gaming experience.

Much like those other music games, queued notes fly at you from a rainbow and you must press buttons at just the right time to hit the right note. The difference here is that there are other moves thrown in including a scratch (flicking the turntable quickly), rewind (quickly rotating the turntable for a revolution) and sliding (moving a slide bar to the left or right). There are also subtle variations on the scratching (direction, length and duration).