Guitar Hero III- A Review

When I originally heard that the third installation of the wildly successful game Guitar Hero was coming out, there really wasn’t a question of whether or not I was going to buy the game.  The question was for which system I would buy it. 

Yes, I did originally buy Guitar Hero for the PS2 and sure, it would be nice to have only one controller but my recent displeasure over  their cheaper-yet-no-backwards-compatability PS3  scheme has really put me off Sony for the moment.

I decided to purchase the Wii version.  Although I was initially a little tiffed about having to buy another controller that quickly dissipated once I started playing.

Guitar Hero III-Wii has raised the bar for the music-gaming genre and really made something special.  The songlist is simply awesome, from Poison to Aerosmith to, believe it or not, Metallica… I guess they saw there is money to be made in this venture. 

The Wii’s controller (shown above) is unique when compared to the Xbox and PS versions and not just in appearance (a white Les Paul model).  A lot of thought went in to how to best use the features of the Wiimote along with the guitar design and hence, the Wii controller is actually placed into the guitar.  What this combination of guitar/controller does is add an extra element of sound and feel.  Missing a note will cause the speaker in the Wiimote to sound off.  The rumble pack will also react when you release the guitar’s Star Power.

Although a friend of mine did mention he felt he had to pull the guitar back further on the Wii guitar than the PS2 (for star power), I’ve found that a simple shake will register as well.  But I have found that backpicking is a little trickier as it doesn’t seem to be as responsive.

Overall, the game play is pretty solid.  There have been a couple times when I’ve reached a sequence of notes that felt unnatural or the rhythm did not really fit the song but not everything can be a masterpiece.  They also stepped up the difficulty.  Assuming that most of their buyers are already loyal fans means that learning curve has been scaled back a bit, so newbies may find songs to be a little trickier than the seasoned player.

There is even a storyline, albeit a simple one.  Basic animation sequences show your band starting out in a backyard shindig, eventually getting signed and ending with your evolution into Rock God status.

All in all, Guitar Hero III-Legends of Rock, is a solid purchase for fans of the music-gaming genre.  Playing this newest version of this franchise doesn’t just feel like new songs, it feels like a new experience.

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