Game Stooge

PREVIEW: Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock

• Scribbled on October 18th, 2007 by Devin Grimes
• Filed in Editorial Content, Features, Game Demos, Mac, Microsoft Xbox 360, Music/Rhythm, Nintendo Wii, PC, Previews, Sony PlayStation 2, Sony PlayStation 3

By now we’ve all played GHII’s soundtrack to death and have absorbed ourselves into the drama that is the upcoming music genre war. Guitar Hero III is nearly here, and fans of the game are anticipating a huge refresher. We got a chance to check out the oddly not-available-as-easily-as-it-should-be demo of the game. Our thoughts after the break…

Restoring Order

With developers exchanging rights to the Guitar Hero name, many immediately reacted with doom and gloom to the thoughts of someone other than Harmonix touching their pure, beloved franchise — especially the seemingly burnt out developers behind the Tony Hawk series, Neversoft. We’re happy to say that no such problems occur, and if it weren’t for the startup and box logos, you might not even notice a difference.

Don’t Fix What Ain’t Broke!

GHIII plays, well, just like Guitar Hero; there’s not too many significant changes to the core gameplay, but with an already proven formula, what’s the point of switching things up?

That’s not to say there aren’t a few subtle changes and improvements, however. Guitar Hero III seems less like a straight-up, bare bones simulation and more like a game than previous iterations. When you pull off a 100 or 200 note streak, it lets you know…and when you miss that last note, you’ll know it when a much more ear-bleedingly nasty sound comes pouring out of your entertainment center speakers. It’s a change for the better or the worse, depending on your position.

Harmonix’s following in the Guitar Hero series wouldn’t have been possible without the clever and flowing way that guitar notes corresponded with the controller’s five colored buttons. Although note spacing makes the game seem a tad easier, most of this formula remains intact, and features such as the tilt sensor and hammer-ons/pull-offs work better than ever — and this is still on GHII’s Explorer-based peripheral.

You got your Tony Hawk in my Guitar Hero!

Another better-or-worse situation is in the art style change. As evident in the Tony Hawk series, Neversoft’s love of the punk rock scene shines through again with a decidedly edgier and more realistic art style that still works pretty well. While they don’t necessarily look exactly the same, several of the characters from previous editions reappear (remember the long hair/bearded bassist? Yep, he’s back.).

Pat Benatar FTW! …..Wait, huh?

Okay, so the demo’s track list isn’t exactly hitting us with it’s best shot, but the important thing that we’ve learned in the first two games is that these seemingly lame songs are still fun to play (remember “More Than A Feeling,” anyone?). The demo list includes:

• Lay Down (by Priestess)
• Even Flow (by Pearl Jam)
• The Metal (by Tenacious D)
• Hit Me with your Best Shot (as made famous by Pat Benatar)
• Rock You like a Hurricane (as made famous by Scorpions)

Performance Rating

If this demo for Guitar Hero III proves anything, it’s that the gameplay is still immensely fun, even with the all the prospects that upcoming competitor Rock Band is bringing this holiday season. What we played was a bare bones build of the game featuring only the quick play mode, but what’s there looks promising.

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock is due out October 28, 2007 on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, PC, and Mac platforms.