Guitar Hero III: Five Reasons to Rock

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Guitar Hero III: Five Reasons to Rock
Gaming's biggest arena tour is about to hit your town. Here are some details to chew on while you stand in line for a ticket.
by Russ Fischer

1. Better Than A New Drummer

Tony Hawk developers Neversoft were so into Guitar Hero while creating Project 8 that they were hired to make this third game after original publisher Harmonix was snapped up by EA. With loads of experience pushing established ideas forward, Neversoft has kept the game's classic elements and added new details to the user interface and player characters.

2. Mode-tacular!

Co-op gameplay has been given its own career mode, and you can finally play co-op online as well. Contentious players can check the Battle Mode, where axe-handlers face off playing identical tracks and earning attacks with Star Power. Unleash these devious deals against your opponent to break their concentration. You can make single notes appear as chords, overload the amp to make their screen shake, or even force the dreaded (rightys to) lefty flip.

3. SoundScan

Complaints against some of Guitar Hero II's song choices were heard loud and clear, and while there's still plenty of metal (Slayer, oh yeah!) there are also more genuine guitar hero choices like Eric Johnson, Sonic Youth, Living Color, and the reappearance of Stevie Ray Vaughn. More than 70 percent of the tracks are performed by the original artist. Of the three "holy grail" bands, AC/DC Metallica and Led Zepplin, one is finally on board. You'll be able to rock the master track to Metallica's 'One' along with all the other goodness.

4. Play The Pros

Guitar Hero is no longer confined to the realm of pure fantasy; now it's only partial fantasy with the inclusion of real-world rockers like Slash and Tom Morello. (Oh, and Brett Michaels.) Slash and Morello will be two of the game's three bosses, against whom you'll have to face off in the biggest battles of your career. They even recorded new music for their confrontations. The third battle will be against the most pro player of all, the guy that everyone from classic blues legends to Ralph Macchio have taken on: the Devil. If you can guess that battle, you're probably a Charlie Daniels fan.

5. It's All Wireless

No more being tethered to the amp, er, console, by a cord that's too short for rocking. Activision broke through Microsoft's resistance to third-party wireless controllers and so the Gibson Les Paul controller, with a removable neck for easier travel, will be wireless on all consoles. (The PS2 gets its own wireless controller modeled on the Kramer Pacer.) Special bonus for Wii players: by slotting the remote into the guitar, you'll hear extra sounds pumped through the remote's speaker.

Posted: 24 Oct 2007