Activision/ Band Hero

Listen, if Gwen Stefani wanted to croon like a dude about doing it with hookers, don't you think she would have done it by now?

Unfortunately, the makers of the newly released Band Hero didn't take the hint and allowed for the avatar of No Doubt's frontwoman to be manipulated into doing just that. Which means only one thing: lawsuit time!

The rock band has filed suit against the video game purveyor Activision, alleging fraudulent inducement and breach of contract, claiming that while Stefani, Tony Kanal, Tom Dumont and Adrian Young all signed off on allowing their likenesses to be used, it came with the stipulation that the company could only employ the use of three of their songs, "Don't Speak," "Excuse Me Mr." and "Just a Girl."

Apparently the technical brain-boxes at Activison didn't take the hint from that last song title.

The gamemakers allow players to manipulate Stefani and crew so they can perform more than 60 songs—and here's the sticking point—of other artists, turning the No Doubters, per the lawsuit, into little more than "a virtual karaoke circus act."

The song No Doubt seems to have taken the most issue with is the Rolling Stones' "Honky Tonk Woman," claiming that manipulation "results in an unauthorized performance by the Gwen Stefani avatar in a male voice boasting about having sex with prostitutes."

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

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Guitar Hero is awesome, as you all know, especially when you can get avatar Kurt Cobain to writhe to the beat of "You Give Love a Bad Name."

Or not.

Former Nirvana mates Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic are "dismayed and very disappointed" that there is a way to unlock the Cobain character so that it can be used to perform other bands' tunes in Guitar Hero 5.

Playing guitar right-handed, no less!

"The name and likeness of Kurt Cobain are the sole property of his estate— we have no control whatsoever in that area," the guys said in a joint statement Thursday.

"While we were aware of Kurt's image being used with two Nirvana songs, we didn't know players have the ability to unlock the character. This feature allows the character to be used with any kind of song the player wants. We urge Activision to do the right thing in 're-locking' Kurt's character so that this won't continue in the future.

"It's hard to watch an image of Kurt pantomiming other artists' music alongside cartoon characters," Grohl and Novoselic continued. "Kurt Cobain wrote songs that hold a lot of meaning to people all over the world. We feel he deserves better."

Better than Bush? Megadeath? Public Enemy?!

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www.thebeatlesrockband.com

Meet the Beatles, again.

The lads from Liverpool—John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr—are going all out to court a new audience with the release of spruced-up versions of all the quartet's albums, as well as letting fans sit in on some of the best gigs ever.

Sept. 9 marks the release of the Fab Four catalog in remastered stereo and mono versions, as well as the launch of The Beatles: Rock Band.

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Band Hero

That's right, couch potatoes: Hypertalented hottie Taylor Swift is ready to perform in your living room. At least virtually.

The award-winning songbird is going to front Band Hero, the latest effort from the Guitar Hero-purveying folks at Activision. Come November, you can play along as the CGI Swift sings such hits as "Love Story" and "You Belong With Me." Other artists featured in Band Hero include the Jackson 5, No Doubt, Lily Allen and The All-American Rejects.

Says Swift, "It's so cool."

________

Megan Fox may get animated when she says crazy things, but these Stars Get Animated for real.

Melissa Moseley/Universal Studios

Goodbye, nasty Evil Dead demons. Hello, orcs, trolls, elves, dwarves, knights, gnomes, raiders, conjurers and warlocks—and just in time for Comic-Con.

Sam Raimi, the innovative director behind the Evil Dead and Spider-Man trilogies, has signed on to helm a big-screen version of World of Warcraft, heralded by the Guinness Book of Records as the most popular massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) of all time.

Gamers rejoice!

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George Pimentel/Getty Images; Kevin Mazur/Getty Images; Dave Longendyke/Globe Photos/ZUMAPRESS.com

Just because it's the weekend and you're not working doesn't mean you shouldn't be using your noggin, especially if you're not among the people paging their way through New Moon or the latest Lauren Conrad masterpiece.

Worry not! Instead of just telling you which stars made news this week in a handy-dandy list, we thought we'd make it interesting.

We give you a clever clue. You guess. You click and land on the fanpage of the correct answer. We all take bows for being such geniuses.

Here we go...

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Steve Granitz/Getty Images; Jim Spellman/Getty Images; Goff/INFPhoto.com

Music dominates the new releases this week with Jonas Brothers, Ashley Tisdale and Spinal Tap all dropping albums on Tuesday.

Obviously, these audiences vary greatly.

Still, the one thing these artists have in common is that their new CD is a wildly anticipated follow-up to a previous hit.

Tweens worldwide will no doubt be rushing out to grab new albums by Jonas Brothers and Ashley Tisdale. Both Disney babies have grown a bit since their previous discs, but expect more of the same: young love and relationship drama.

JoBros' Lines, Vines and Trying Times boasts some new instruments and, in their words, more metaphors, fewer real-life references—plus a cutesy duet between rumored rekindled couple Nick Jonas and Miley Cyrus.

The Tiz's Guilty Pleasure is definitely just that, great, danceworthy pop music. Since 2007's Headstrong, Tisdale has experienced a breakup and undergone a more mature makeover, so expect what she calls an "edgier rock sound." Gone are the days of the bubbly, blond High School Musical star.

Almost 20 years after their last album, ersatz metal mavens Spinal Tap return with the aptly titled Back From the Dead. Fresh off their latest tour, the Tap has compiled classic cuts and brand-new tracks featuring guest artists like John Mayer along with a DVD and—wait for it—a pop-up Stonehenge diorama! In addition to the 19 tracks on the disc, there's also a free download of the previously unreleased "Saucy Jack" on the band's website.

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Apple Corps Ltd

All you need is love...and a video game console.

After months of negotiations, the Beatles finally have decided to go digital, licensing their songs to a Rock Band-like strum-along game from MTV Games.

"I like people having the opportunity to get to know the music from the inside out," said Paul McCartney, calling the concept a "fun idea." "It's cool," added Yoko Ono.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but suffice it to say, buying the Beatles' love—or their songs—is not an inexpensive endeavor.

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LucasArts

What do we see when we see Darth Vader? Fun.

That's why the latest Star Wars-themed video game The Force Unleashed scored high on our newest feature, the Fun Index! What's that, you ask? It's E! Online's fast list formulated to cut through the tedious unfun and deliver only the good stuff. Plus, it's ranked, so you know it's got to be good.

Check out our latest picks and then offer your own favorites in the comments.

Steve Granitz/Getty Images; Nancy Kaszerman/ZUMAPress.com; Columbia Pictures

What's in a name? Well, James McAvoy and Emily Blunt are about find out, as they're in talks to lend their voices to the title roles of Gnomeo and Juliet, a 'tooned-up version of the Bard's tragedy from Miramax and Elton John's Rocket Pictures.

Even with its comic, computer-generated spin, Gnomeo is a garden-variety adaptation of Shakespeare...sort of.

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