Guitar Hero 3 is the latest in the series that lets you rock out to the tunes you love, and is proving to be one of the most popular games on the Xbox 360 so far. It is the first in the franchise to be developed by Neversoft, yet they have hit the ground running. So for all those that love the series and to those who are new to it, Guitar Hero 3 is a great reason to rock out in the living room for all to see.
Gameplay
Neversoft have tried to ensure the game plays like the two before and I can safely say that they've done it very well. In Career mode the game still plays more or less the same, choosing from a list of songs to be played at each stage, with an encore at the end of each one. A decent addition to this latest instalment is the 'boss battles' you can play after you have completed a few lists. They make use of the new battle mode and so are quite fun to play. Each track you play in these 'boss battles' seems to be recorded just for Guitar Hero 3 and so give the gamers a decent piece of music created for them by the 'Legends' they are attempting to beat.
The songs play basically the same, but some fanatical fans may feel the game has been made too easy. This is because the amount of time you are allocated to hit each note has been somewhat extended. Yet it does not play against the game for most of the people that will buy it. It has made it much more accessible to new players and everyone will be able to pick up a guitar/controller and feel like a real rock star.
Yet those
that love the more difficult songs, do not fear. The later songs in the campaign are some of the most difficult in the series yet. The challenge mainly comes with the new layout of notes, with quick changes between two and three note chords being the norm on 'Hard' and 'Expert'. And even with the bigger window to hit the notes, most gamers will find themselves with a hefty challenge at the higher difficulties. If you can beat Dragon Force's 'Through Fire and Flames' on expert than you are immortal in my eyes.
With all that has been added, there is still a lot missing. The three boss battle tunes you play in the career mode also can't be tackled outside of that mode and the list of characters to play still seems small when considering there is no character editor.
The lack of a character editor becomes much more noticeable when you play online as well, constantly coming up against the same guitarist again and again. With Slash and Tom Morello being the main characters that gamers choose it quickly becomes apparent that there is a lack of actual guitar 'Legends' within the game. I feel it would be better if Neversoft had included a few more legends to the line up. A character editor could have also improved the game so that the players could create their own legendary rockers to battle along the career or online with. However, you can play as Slash and if you don't think that's cool then this is really not the game for you.
Controls
Perhaps the best addition is the new wireless controller. It's so good, in fact, that it actually makes the game a great deal more enjoyable than when you play it with anything else. This is the guitar to own and since it works with Guitar Hero 2 on Xbox 360, it makes the purchase a no brainer for anybody forking out on a guitar.
Graphics
Though not a major part of any music game the graphics are rather disappointing, which is a bit of a let down when the game is so much fun to play. The visuals look good and suffice for a game such as this, with the characters and stages being well rounded and show enough detail to distinguish you are playing on a next gen console. However, the let down comes with the way most of the band moves. The signature moves of Slash and Bret Michaels have been well done, yet the rest of the band and the crowd just don't seem to be very rock'n'roll. Your character pulls off some moves that may have been seen on a stage somewhere in the world, but it definitely wasn't from one of the classic bands such as Kiss that compile the great song list. The crowd does not seem to be one of rock and roll either, looking rather stiff along with your robotic moving drummer.
Modes
The list of additions is one of the more impressive aspects of the game. A full cooperative career has finally been added, complete with its own songs picked specifically for their great bass or rhythm guitar parts. A battle mode is in as well, where players duel against each other by throwing attacks at each other in an attempt to make one another miss notes and fail the song. It may sound a bit odd, but don't write it off, it is great fun going head to head with a friend.
Xbox Live
For the first time the Guitar Hero goes online with options such as co-op, face-off, pro face-off and battle mode ready to be played with your fellow gamers online. The online battles and such run smoothly, having not been affected by much lag when I have faced people online, and is probably the best addition to the game.
Yet a massive let down is the fact that you cannot do the co-op career mode online. As there are a few achievements for this as well it means that you'll have to get your mate over to go through the songs, rather than just hook up with them up online.
Sound
For music rhythm games, it often begins and ends with the soundtrack. Guitar Hero 3 has nothing to worry about. From top to bottom, this is easily the best lineup yet. Metallica, The Rolling Stones, Slayer, Iron Maiden, Aerosmith and more are all in. Activision even got the Sex Pistols to re-record Anarchy in the UK just for the game. The same goes for Living Colour's Cult of Personality. The songs that were performed by cover bands, as usual, don't live up to the originals but there are less of them than ever before. This time, when you start up a Guns n' Roses track (Welcome to the Jungle), it will be Axl Rose belting out the words to accompany your shredding. And that makes all the difference in the world.
Verdict
Guitar Hero 3 is a safe first entry into the franchise by Neversoft. They stuck with the tested formula for the most part, but I for one won't be complaining about that. The soundtrack is fantastic and the new online additions are exactly what Guitar Hero deserved. Yet presentation is growing a bit stale and it is hard not to keep thinking of slight tweaks that could be improved. Overall Neversoft got it right where it counts and have made Guitar Hero 3 a really fun game.
You can buy the game on it's own for about £25 or with a guitar for around £60
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Advantages: Great fun, You will like it even if you don't like Guitars, Good multiplayer laughs Disadvantages: Expensive, Have to unlock Co - Op songs in Co - Op mode
Oct 21st, 2008
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