Guitar Hero III

By Keza MacDonald Published 26 September, 2007

Rock Band who?

Words cannot describe the joy that beset me upon discovering that Guitar Hero 3 has a Die Toten Hosen track in it. No, seriously. I have long harboured an ardent and obscure love for German-language music, a passion that has seen me go to great lengths in the past to obtain Singstar Deutsch Rock-Pop, and which often furrows the brows of nosy friends as they browse through the contents of my iPod. It also made me very nearly lose control when Die Toten Hosen themselves actually appeared on stage at Sony's press conference back in Leipzig, and I think I may have rather alarmed Tom. Anyway, whilst everyone else was either grumbling or shrugging at the news that Guitar Hero 3 will have a slightly international track list in Europe, I was jumping up and down with glee. Hier Kommt Alex AND In Flames' Take This Life? It's like they're making this game just for me.

Guitar Hero 3 is out really rather soon now - probably the start of November, although it still has no exact release date - and it's all very exciting. The games media might have been a little swept up in the excitement of Rock Band since its unveiling in July, but in the meantime, Neversoft has been refining and subtly altering the Guitar Hero franchise, ensuring that this is not a series to be forgotten about. Guitar Hero 3 is polished, professional and very, very focused; it takes the gaming purity of Guitar Hero 2 and sticks it into a much slicker environment. It feels like much more of a brand now, and that is undoubtedly a fantastic thing. Everything about it has a pleasing aura of professionalism, from the vast number of original tracks to the appearance of real-life rock gods as playable characters - even the new Les Paul guitar is just miles ahead of the previous two, despite being based on the exact same technology. That's the thing with Guitar Hero 3 - it's exactly the same actual game as Guitar Hero 2 (Neversoft has been smart enough not to mess with the mechanics), but it's been bought an Armani suit and some beautiful cologne by its wealthy new benefactors, and altogether it looks like it will provide a much more complete rock'n'roll experience.

For one thing, the track selection simply cannot be argued with. It caters for every taste, from Dragonforce's Through the Fire and Flames (oh my goodness) to The Scorpions to Tenacious D. There are just so MANY tracks this time (over 70, of which most are original recordings) that it's difficult to find fault, and there's no way that this selection could inspire the same controversy as Guitar Hero 2's. The downloadable content, too, is going to be much less random and muddled than before. Firstly, it's localised, so international tracks are a certainty - and thankfully, it's not region-locked, so nobody's going to have to go through nationality-changing acrobatics on Xbox Live to get their hands on the latest black-metal downloads for the Norwegian audience. Coupled with the increased multiplayer options, the track selection suggests an inclusive atmosphere for Guitar Hero 3 - it's just as much for drunk friends and embarrassing dads as it is for fans, which arguably wasn't true of its predecessor.

'Guitar Hero III' Screenshot 1

All the characters look a wee bit different now, but good to see that Judy's still slutty.

The guitar itself, though, is pure fan service - sorry, fellow Guitar Hero fans, but we're probably all going to want to spend yet another fifty quid on it, whichever system we buy it for. You'll forgive me if I gloss over the PS2 Kramer-shaped model for now; it's terribly nice, but not as exciting as the new Les Paul shape. It's the same on Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360, which is at least a small relief for completists, and it's very lovely indeed. I'm fully aware of how ridiculous it is to get so excited over a toy guitar, but like the game itself, the new guitar has a much more professional feel. The buttons, thanks to a neat black fill, are considerably less Fischer Price, and they're ever so slightly closer together than on the Xplorer. They're also back to the original curved shape, and the Start and Select buttons have been returned to their rightful positions as fake tone dials, instead of tiny, barely visible wee buttons set too far away from the strum bar to be of any use. The neck is detachable for easy transport, but it's properly made, with lock buttons and everything - it won't fall off in the middle of an enthusiastic solo. The faceplate is also detachable, which is a canny move - personalised guitar faceplates would be an excellent extra revenue stream from the series, and given the popularity of the Guitar Hero series' art style, I can imagine people paying real, actual money for new designs.

All in all, the thing is a joy to play - which is just as well, as there's twice as much content in this game as there was in Guitar Hero 2. As well as plenty more tracks, the Career and multiplayer modes have seen some important changes in structure, and as is customary, Expert mode's difficulty has been ramped up a little. The Career mode is now punctuated by boss battles as well as encores, which should make things a little more interesting. You compete against real-life guitar gods (Slash and Tom Morello are the two names so far), and defeating them unlocks them as playable characters - of which, incidentally, there are considerably more this time around, which should come in useful for multiplayer.

'Guitar Hero III' Screenshot 2

The interface has changed ever so slightly - the score indicator and Rock Meter are a little smaller.

The multiplayer modes are where Guitar Hero 2 most needed improvement, and it's clear that a lot of effort has been expended upon them here. In addition to the online multiplayer, which, we are assured, will be entirely lag-free (I'll believe that when I see it), there is an entirely new multiplayer mode called Guitar Battle. Wonderfully reminiscent of Amplitude's hectic multiplayer, it introduces items into the mix - lefty-flip, speed-up, slow-down and button locking ('broken strings'), to name a few. Hitting note sequences earns you items, and they're deployed against your rival player with a tilt of the guitar. It's good to throw something random into the mix, now and then - Guitar Hero multiplayer has become a rather exhausting battle of skill round these parts, and it's nice to have a more light-hearted option.

The co-operative modes have undergone a refit, too. Not every song in the game has a co-op option - about forty of them do, and it's the best forty, chosen for their suitability as two-player pursuits. Where co-op in GH2 often felt like you were just playing second fiddle much of the time, the balance has been redressed here - there's even a co-op career, which is excellent (although I'm starting to wince at the thought of how many new guitars I'm going to have to buy).

Back when Eurogamer reviewed Guitar Hero 2, we agreed that there was still a wee ways to go. The series has desperately needed online multiplayer, and Guitar Hero 3 delivers it along with an enormous range of other improvements, extensions and fun new additions. But the best thing is that in developing the series into a bigger, slicker brand, Guitar Hero 3 has lost none of the simple, brilliant purity and irrepressible sense of joy that made it a success in the first place. This is a sure-fire hit.

Picture of Keza.

About Keza MacDonald

Read more articles from Keza by visiting the Keza MacDonald archive page.

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Comments (58) Latest comment 4 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • ProtoformX #1 4 years ago

    It's sounding completely awesome. Wireless guitar FTUW!

  • lost_soul #2 4 years ago

    Sounds good.

    I'm very glad I skipped GH2 as it means this will feel a lot fresher.

  • le_Matt #3 4 years ago

    bring it on, seriously i cannot wait to rock out in my front room with this...i may even leave the curtains open so people can see me crowd surfing with me parents

  • Les #4 4 years ago

    Though I like SingStar very much, these games do little for me. It seems to me hours spent on Guitar Hero would be better spent on learning to play a real guitar...

  • Talha #5 4 years ago

    Why is this not a review? What will you write in there?

  • Freelancepolice #6 4 years ago

    This didn't impress me at all at leipzig. It felt so amateurish and rock band completely trumped it imo

  • RexRunti #7 4 years ago

    arse. another game to get before christmas.

  • kingmob #8 4 years ago

    Quickie... can the co-op songs listed (i.e. Sabotage) be played in Single player?

    Sounds silly but this is important!

  • DonnieDarko333 #9 4 years ago

    mmmm, not sure wherever to just import Rock Band to be honest.

    Online Guitar Hero is a MUST BUY though! So....

  • OrangeGoblin #10 4 years ago

    Is there any news on how different the Wii version is to 360/PS3? i.e. is it pants, but cheaper thanks to the integrated wiimote?

  • Hog-lumps #11 4 years ago

    Can you download songs on the Wii version?

  • Rirekon #12 4 years ago

    Wireless Controller and presumably d/l tracks for the 360 right?
    /buy

  • Xnoybis Verified Senior Software Engineer, Holition #13 4 years ago

    @ Les: "It seems to me hours spent on Guitar Hero would be better spent on learning to play a real guitar"

    This argument keeps cropping up, and for the life of me i cannot understand the logic behind it. You could say the same thing about pretty much any video game. Why play Pro Evo when you be practicing real football? Why play Virtua Fighter when you could be at the dojo learning how to actually fight? Why play Space Giraffe when you could... i dunno, drop acid and stare at the pattern on your curtains?

  • DanWhitehead #14 4 years ago

    You'd have to practice the real thing for a very long time before you could play most of the tracks in the game. The beauty of Guitar Hero is that it's possible to play along to big famous songs almost instantly. The longevity comes from getting better at doing so, until you actually begin to understand the way the music is constructed.

  • w00t #15 4 years ago

    /stares at curtains

    Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh.

  • Wayne #16 4 years ago

    This'll be my first GH game. Just wish they'd announce a release date!

  • Azazel #17 4 years ago

    Hier Kommt Alex AND In Flames' Take This Life?

    Reflect the Storm plz kthxbai

  • Morn #18 4 years ago

    I love you, Keza. ♥

  • Pachinko #19 4 years ago

    You are aware that the game is coming out for the PC as well (from Aspyr)?

  • kangarootoo #20 4 years ago

    Oh Jesus wept!. For the love of GOD will people stop commenting about how real guitars are better EVERY TIME guitar hero hoves into view.

    Real guitars are better for some things, like PLAYING THE GUITAR. Guitar hero is better for other things, such as playing a video game that allows you to have fun.

    Seriously, you could easily substitute such comments with something like "mmble... something about guitars... YAAAAAWWWNNNN" to save us all the bother of typing yawn ourselves.

  • tonynibbles #21 4 years ago

    Winnar.

    Screw Rock Band and it's 2008 delay. GHIII is ON!

  • PlugMonkey #22 4 years ago

    "I'm very glad I skipped GH2 as it means this will feel a lot fresher."

    Ooooh! I wouldn't be glad if I'd skipped GH2. You missed some of the best tracks in GH history. Sweet Child Of Mine? Jessica? FREEBIRD?

  • Der_tolle_Emil #23 4 years ago

    The first impressions sound very good. I have already played GH3 but only with the GH2 guitars and the score screen after a coop game had space for three score sheets - I still wonder why. Maybe coop boss battles?

  • Keza #24 4 years ago

    ManicMiner: The best thing about the difficulty is that all of the proper hardcore tracks, like Through the Fire and Flames, are bonuses - feathers for the caps of hardcore players, like GH2's Jordan. Expert will still offer us all a challenge, but the massive difficulty spike between GH1 and 2 is more to do with the fact that they changed the whole workings of the game - improving the hammer-ons and pul-offs made impossible passages in GH1 a lot easier, so there had to be a corresponding difficulty adjustment.

    There has been no indication of any differences at all between the versions, so I'm nabbing the Wii one as soon as it's out in the States, and the 360 on as soon as it's out over here. Fair comparison, nay?

  • Keza #25 4 years ago

    Also, I would say that the guarantee that Neversoft hasn't fucked it up is that it plays as well as ever, and looks and feels much better.

  • brooza #26 4 years ago

    I've been looking forward to this one much more than RB.

    I had GHII for the 360 for a few days before I sent it back (a combination of dodgy whammy bar, completing the game and the fact that I already have it on the PS2) and I've been waiting for this or RB to come out to get a new guitar.

    Honestly, I'd prefer the RB guitar, just for better comaptability with the extra buttons

  • Stupid_Fat_Hobbit #27 4 years ago

    There has been no indication of any differences at all between the versions

    So have they confirmed downloadable songs on the Wii, then? Last I heard, that was still up in the air.

  • LiamK #28 4 years ago

    My birthday is coming up and I was considering getting GH2 for the 360. Now, this may sound like a silly question, but would you wait for GH3, or would you get GH2 so that when GH3 came out you could get that and have two guitars for multiplayer fun?

    Also, you reckon there's any chance of a GH2 price-drop now?

  • AlpTighen #29 4 years ago

    @ PlugMonkey

    Every time I do "Jessica", I get the urge to play Forza Motorsport. I have no idea why...

  • Les #30 4 years ago

    “Real guitars are better for some things, like PLAYING THE GUITAR. Guitar hero is better for other things, such as playing a video game that allows you to have fun.”

    So practicing pressing buttons to the music and getting points for that is fun, while if you actually invested that time into learning to play a real guitar, you would be able to play the songs for yourself but you don’t get points for it and therefore is not fun… I just don’t get it I guess…

  • Danoxth #31 4 years ago

    Rock and roll!

  • Stupid_Fat_Hobbit #32 4 years ago

    So practicing pressing buttons to the music and getting points for that is fun

    Uh, yes. Do you not play games? Quite a lot of them involve pressing buttons at the right time to get points.

  • Mart #33 4 years ago

    Keza - have you played it then?

    I'd assume it was the Keza that wrote the article. :)

  • Les #34 4 years ago

    "Uh, yes. Do you not play games? Quite a lot of them involve pressing buttons at the right time to get points."

    Yes, but in most cases the difference between the real thing and the gaming substitute is a lot bigger.

    But of course there's a difference between playing guitar hero on baby settings or going for the perfect score on the hardest setting. People doing the latter could spend their time more wisely.

  • LiamK #35 4 years ago

    Like those DDR freaks. Why don't they just go to a club and dance properly?

  • Keza #36 4 years ago

    ManicMiner: Honest to God, if it's not the same code then it's even more impressive. I'd always assumed that Neversoft had been given GH2 to work with, and to be honest I find it very hard to believe that they weren't - it wouldn't make any sense from a business perspective, for one thing. It's absolutely perfect, gameplay wise.

    I'm interested in whether Les has actually played Guitar Hero. The main advantage is the backing track, and feel of playing for a crowd. It's different to sitting on your own, practising an instrument.
    Edited by 1 at 26/09/07 @ 13:58

  • Stupid_Fat_Hobbit #37 4 years ago

    The difference between the real thing and GH is much bigger than you seem to believe... have you actually played much Guitar Hero? It's strange to see a guitarist who apparently thinks that playing their favourite instrument is quite similar to pressing five buttons in response to coloured dots appearing on a screen...

    And maybe people going after high scores on expert could be spending their time more productively, but then so could people chasing epic armour sets in WoW, or perfecting their twitch-aiming skills in CS, or well... playing videogames at all, for that matter. Gaming is a hobby, it's supposed to be fun.

  • Corben_Dallas #38 4 years ago

    Please welcome on stage .....German Rock band........ENGLISH STILTON!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :@ :o :D }:)

    *for any Vic Reeves fans
    LOL.

    Sweet. have to get this. Beasties Sabotage on track list= getting.
    :)

  • chischis #39 4 years ago

    Give me Guitar Hero "Blue Oyster Cult Edition" or I'm not interested.

  • DrKuK #40 4 years ago

    I'm gettin on a bit and games havent hooked me in the way they used to. Bioshock for example a fine game but once completed i cant bring myself to play for the other endings. Guitar hero on the other hand has got me hook line and sinker. I bought GH2 earlire in the year after reading EG top ten games of 2006 in January. I then bought GH1 and i even bought rock the 80s which had a dire selection of songs. I can only manage 3 stars on the expert levels but for me it was a huge sense of satisfaction being able to finish the games on the highest levels.

    Few games have been so addictive and fun recently, and its a real crowd pleaser too. I honestly cannot wait for GH3 to come out. RB is also a must buy in the new year purely as its another guitar hero type fix and the drumming aspect looks excellent.

  • RexRunti #41 4 years ago

    All these "Expert" beating guitar heroes I can't even complete "Hard". No wonder I was the bassist in my real life band.

  • Keza #42 4 years ago

    But Activision owns the brand, and the publisher. Surely that means it owns the code!

    If that's the case, we've all been overestimating how difficult Guitar Hero is to get right...
    Edited by 1 at 26/09/07 @ 15:56

  • shamblemonkee #43 4 years ago

    As an aside to the real guitar vs game debate: GH2 inspired me to go out and buy a REAL acoustic which I'm now progressing quite well with.

    GH2 was the sole factor that got me thinking about learning guitar after a brief fad aged 12. I'm now 27. That i think you'll also hear the devs echo is one of their major wishes with the game. I'm also sure that time spent on GH helped improve my dexterity over what it would have been had i just picked up a guitar.

    Plus learning "Kumbayah" or going over and over learning the start to a song like 'Behind Blue Eyes' / 'Eternal Flame' let alone an entire song some times comes second to the appeal of picking up GH and rocking out competently to 'Killing in the Name' 'The Trooper' or 'Thunderhorse'

    The activities are not mutually exclusive. Both are fun. That is the point
    Edited by 1 at 26/09/07 @ 17:08

  • Tuffty #44 4 years ago

    Forget Halo, forget Assassins Creed, THIS is already GOTY for me (although FF : Tactics or PES may push it :D)

    Just thought you guys should know, Anarchy In The UK IS confirmed for GHIII as was suggested from the leaked setlist reported earlier in the week. But it's not an original recording...

    ...
    ...
    ...

    It's a re-master from the Pistol's themselves! They couldn't find the master track, so the Pistols (supposed fans of GH themselves) re-recorded it for the game, just like Living Colour has done for Cult Of Personality. The confirmation, and a video interview with the band is here:

    http://vi deogames.yahoo.com/xbox360/guit...

  • smelly #45 4 years ago

    "It "owns the code" but I doubt they can de-compile it to get back to the pure C++ "

    Its VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY rare for publishers NOT to have written in the contract for a game that they get the FULL source code/tools/source graphics/etc complete with building instructions at the end of a game.

    If they dont have the original source code/art/tools/etc then i'll eat my hat.

    Doesnt mean they didnt rewrite it though. Just saying it's unlikely

  • Feanor #46 4 years ago

    Who did the Guitar Heroe 80's game that came out earlier this year? Was that Neversoft?

  • Keza #47 4 years ago

    No, that was Harmonix.

  • Zuiyo #48 4 years ago

    "Though I like SingStar very much, these games do little for me. It seems to me hours spent on Guitar Hero would be better spent on learning to play a real guitar..."

    Not really - this is a game and plays like it.

    It's like saying "drive a car in a circuit instead of wasting your time playing Forza."

    EDIT: Oh, well. I see now I 'm late to the debate. Let me add... YAAAAAWWWWWNNNNN :)
    Edited by 1 at 27/09/07 @ 07:40

  • MrChuckles #49 4 years ago

    'Sweet Child Of Mine? Jessica? FREEBIRD?' He he, they are my faves too.......

  • MrChuckles #50 4 years ago

    Ok, so i own 3 real guitar, 2 electrics and 1 bass. I can play about 4-5 songs on them, like House of The Rising Sun and Streets of London, very badly....

    So, i can play those songs over and over again, and mess it all up continually and it sounds rubbish.....

    Or, i can pick up GH2 and play 50-ish songs (And being a metal head, good songs) pretty darn well, with a very different control system, and multiplayer with my drunk mates over, many of whom are gorgeous ladies.

    Of course, the annoying thing is, i can't do Hammer On's and Pull Off's, which is really frustrating, but you'll be impressed i've made it all the way to Hanger 18 (hit 90% so far) on Expert, just that and Freebird left. Jeez, gotta get those last two done before GH3 comes out.

    Sheesh....

  • Les #51 4 years ago

    "I'm interested in whether Les has actually played Guitar Hero. The main advantage is the backing track, and feel of playing for a crowd. It's different to sitting on your own, practising an instrument."

    No I haven't, the reasons I've mentioned in earlier posts. For me it falls in the same category as SingStar but that game, IMO, is superior because its more accessible and by improving my rather lacklustre singing capability I'm doing my family, pets and friends a favour... I think e.g. 'Drum Hero' would have appealed to me more as it would have actually helped me to play drums besides being a game.

  • kangarootoo #52 4 years ago

    @Les

    I didn't say playing a real guitar wasn't fun. I play the guitar myself, and bass, and drums, and sing, so I know how much fun this whole music gubbins can be.

    My point is that comparing to the two is pointless. Just like saying a golf game is pointless 'cos you could just go and play golf. Now sure, if you are terminally ill and only have a month left and need to make some important descisions about how to spend your remaining time... it might be an issue. For everyone else I would just say "either do both, or choose one, so long as you have fun who cares what you decide".

  • kangarootoo #53 4 years ago

    @Keza

    "But Activision owns the brand, and the publisher. Surely that means it owns the code!"

    Not necessarily. I worked for an indy once whose PS2 engine was the feather in their cap. They sold all sorts of game IP rights but they always kept ownership of their souce code. You always own whatever your contract specifically says you own.


    @smelly

    "Its VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY rare for publishers NOT to have written in the contract for a game that they get the FULL source code/tools/source graphics/etc complete with building instructions at the end of a game. "

    I might question the number of VERYs you decided to add to that sentence. Plus the use of upper case isn't really necessary. If you can't bung a percentage in that sentence, its nothing more supposition and anecdote.


    @Les

    "No I haven't, the reasons I've mentioned in earlier posts"

    Oh for crying out loud. Play the game dude, you may just even have fun :)

  • Les #54 4 years ago

    "Oh for crying out loud. Play the game dude, you may just even have fun :)"

    I don't doubt I'll have fun. But for me it's in the same category as SingStar and I see little point in getting them both. :)

  • Keza #55 4 years ago

    Ah. That explains things. The only people I ever meet who don't 'get' Guitar Hero are people who haven't played it. :-D

  • chischis #56 4 years ago

    Or they took a look at the GH3 tracklist...

  • BigJonno #57 4 years ago

    "I don't doubt I'll have fun. But for me it's in the same category as SingStar and I see little point in getting them both. :)"

    They're kinda in the same genre in a very loose sense. It's a bit like saying you're not going to play Bioshock because you've got Halo and they're both first person shooters. GH also has one feature that sets it apart from the majority of music based games - its interactivity. In Singstar you just sing along to the music and get scored for it, but you don't actually make anything happen. Same with dance games, you're just tapping buttons in time to the music. In GH you are making the music. If you don't play, nothing happens. Kieron Gillen pointed this out in his rather good Escapist article on the subject and it's very true.

    Or, if you're not interested in my waffle: Go play GH. It very good.

  • Les #58 4 years ago

    "They're kinda in the same genre in a very loose sense. It's a bit like saying you're not going to play Bioshock because you've got Halo and they're both first person shooters."

    Which I probaly wouldn't or at least not close to each other. But Bioshock (storybased) and Halo (more geared towards multiplayer) to me are more apart than GH and SingStar. And as both latter games in essence offer unlimited replayability, I just don't feel the need to own them both.