Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock

"A Musician's Opinion"

I've neglected the Guitar Hero series for quite some time. I saw it in store demo stations and even at a few university get-togethers, but I never really picked it up myself until recently. I should explain that I study music and it is my professional career, more specifically music composition. I assumed that I would have an advantage going into Guitar Hero III since I have played in various symphonies and ensembles for many years. I would soon discover, however, that it would take a bit more than previous musical experience to become a "Guitar Hero."

GRAPHICS: 9/10
As is the case with many games I play and review, Guitar Hero III doesn't need good graphics. It's a game that is so focused on the gameplay and the mechanics of what the player is actually doing that visual effects turn out to be second to third priority. This is exciting for me because many potentially-great games in the past weren't as good as they could have been because the company put too much emphasis on graphics.

Still, visual effects are just fine for this game. It's nothing remarkable, but it's just perfect for what the game represents.

SOUND/SOUNDTRACK: 7/10
From what I've read, many people think that Guitar Hero III had a pretty weak soundtrack compared to the first two. Personally, there are some songs that seem out of place in the game, and many songs or groups that aren't represented in the game at all. Calling a game "Legends of Rock" is a big endeavor...and it means that the developers need to be pretty sure that each group is indeed a "Legend of Rock." This doesn't seem to be the case all of the time, however, and many legendary groups are just missing. Rush is one example of a legendary trio that should have been in the game.

The game has it's gems, however, my favorite of which being Cliffs of Dover. Oh, yeah. There's the Dragonforce song. Wow. That's just an insane tune. I like the soundtrack mostly...but there are several songs that I didn't like as well. I guess the insane amount of tunes in the game make up for this, though. There are a TON of songs to play, and even more to unlock. A decent score for a decent soundtrack.

CONTROLS: 810
The game is controlled using a wireless guitar controller, but it's also compatible with the older guitar controllers as well as third-party guitar controllers. There is even an option to play the game using a regular PS2 controller, which isn't nearly as fun. For this segment, I'll be reviewing the game's controls based on my experience with the Kramer wireless PS2 controller bundled with the Guitar Hero III packaging.

The controls seem to work fine, except that often you'll strike a chord or a note and it won't react. Other times, and perhaps my biggest complaint with the whole game, you'll strike a note exactly when it is called for based on the music, but the game won't accept it. You'll need to press the chords based on when the notes appear on the screen instead of how they line up with the music. For a musician, it's frustrating, especially when you know the song. I don't know if this is a problem with the controls or if it's a gameplay issue, so I'll mention it in both segments. Another problem I noted was that Star Power activation may be more difficult than it should be. Often times, I'll have to lift my guitar extremely high before it will activate. Other than these flaws, everything works well.

GAMEPLAY: 8/10
It's really simple to pick up and play Guitar Hero. You align your fingers on the fret buttons on the neck of the guitar and use your right hand to strum the strummer. To play a note, you simply strum and press the correct fret button at the time indicated on the screen. There may be a learning curve, but you'll get the hang eventually.

You play songs from a series of tiers under four difficulty levels: Easy, Medium, Hard, and Expert. The more songs you complete, the more tiers will be unlocked, each tier containing four songs and one encore song. Eventually, you'll actually be able to play boss battles. These consist of you and some supposedly famous guitar player that I've never heard of trying to out-play each other. By attempting to ruin the other guitarist's performance, you can win the battle and move on in the game. It's an interesting concept, but I don't know if I like it or not.

You can obtain money through each gig and use this to unlock new guitars, songs, characters, outfits, and more. It's a ton to unlock. The only problem I have is, as I mentioned earlier, that sometimes I will strike a note exactly with the background music but the game doesn't accept it on the grounds that I played "too late" or "too early." I sit back in my chair and say..."That's not right." As a musician, that's the only problem I have with the gameplay itself.

Also, even though I am a musician, I found the game to be particularly challenging in later levels. On Hard and Expert, the game can easily throw me off. Other people have agreed that this is the hardest of the games released so far in the series.

REPLAY: 10/10
Regardless of the game's flaws, you'll continue to want to play the game. It truly shines in multiplayer mode, where one person can play bass and the other plays lead guitar. You'll always come back for more...and if you get bored, you can always go out and try the older installments of Guitar Hero if you haven't already. I've recently picked up Guitar Hero II and I enjoy it a lot, especially the Rush song.

OVERALL: 8/10
Despite a few flaws that set me back, I really enjoyed the game. If you have a PS2, you should certainly look into this game and its other installments. If you're a musician, you might have the same problem I had with timing, but you may eventually find a groove to settle into. It's loads of fun, so be sure to give it a try!

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/11/08

Game Release: Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (US, 10/28/07)