Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock

In an episode of the TV comedy “Friends,” Chandler gets a Ms. Pac Man game and plays it until his left hand is locked into the claw configuration of holding the arcade machine’s analog stick for too long.

It was amusing then, but less so when the left hand takes on a similar cramped look after the finger contortions required when playing Guitar Hero III. If you have only played the original GH, be prepared for a steeper learning curve (as in the difficulty is really bumped up). Those veterans of GH II will find that the third iteration of the franchise has bumped up the difficulty marginally, while adding some interesting elements to make GH III the best title yet in this series.

Ok, you’ve never played Guitar Hero, in any iteration, so what’s it about? In a nutshell, you have a controller shaped like a guitar. You have color keys on the neck and a strum bar on the body of the guitar. On screen is the neck of a guitar, with colored notes sliding toward the bottom of the screen. It is a matching game. You hit the right buttons to mirror the colored buttons on screen and “strum” to actuate the “note.” Some notes are sustained, meaning you hold down the button longer. The harder the difficulty level (and there are four), the faster the notes fly at you, or the more there are, or it goes into double and triple notes.

All that adds up to flying fingers dancing up on the neck of the guitar – which in the case of GH III on the PlayStation 3 console, is a wireless controller, battery powered, in the shape of a Gibson guitar. You score by successfully matching notes (and the appropriate timing), stringing together runs of consecutive notes hit, and using a power up (called Star Power) to turn the point tally ticker into a streaming machine of points.

Neversoft, known for its Tony Hawk series, is the new developer on the title and it has done a remarkable job in almost every aspect of the game save one – the battles. Adding a new dimension to the battle system (a head-to-head contest with either another player – on the same console or online) is the ability to pick up attacks and launch them at your opposition. You can ramp up the difficulty to the next setting, cut their strings, have notes shaking around to they are hard to read, force a series of double notes on them.

So, while on the subject of battles, might as well talk about one of the biggest failings of the game. While in the career mode (more on this in a moment), you move through venues and at certain points you are challenged by an NPC. Like the second NPC to challenge you to a battle is Slash, famed guitarist of Guns ‘n Roses. Beat him in the duel and you get to jam with him – to the tune of Welcome to the Jungle.

The game moves along and the guy your band signed a contract with, Lou, points out the tiny type that says your soul belongs to him and you end up in Lou’s Inferno, which is in hell. You have to win over the crowd by beating three of the four songs on the short list, and then battling Lou. Now, if you have just broken your fingers trying to play Raining Fire by Slayer, or Iron Maiden’s Number of the Beast, then you may want to take a day or two off before tackling Lou. Whatever difficulty mode you are playing in, be prepared to have that raised at least a notch. He gets attacks before you do and loves to raise the difficulty level on you and then cut your strings. And just when it looks like you might have a chance at winning, Lou nails you with a fatal blow that kills that hope dead. There is tougher, and then there is “what the heck were they thinking?” hard. This is the latter. Some folks might call that challenging; others will term it frustrating.

The challenge of a game like the GH series it not to have the game kick your butt three quarters of the way through the difficulty level you are comfortable with by changing the settings on you, it is to allow players to play at their level, enjoy the heck out of the game and then challenge them to revisit it on the next difficulty level. Lou’s Inferno deviates from that.

But what the game does very right is the way it melds great songs (mostly done by the original artists) and bends the difficulty to actually challenge you as you move through a level – with the exception of facing Lou. And the song list is pretty darn good as well. Foghat’s Slow Ride kicks off the first set and you are treated to songs from Living Colour, Santana, Metallica, Pat Benatar, Poison, Scorpions, Kiss, Social Distortion, Mountain, Rage Against the Machine, The Killers, AFI, Weezer, Priestess, Pearl Jam, Sonic Youth, Sex Pistons, Rolling Stones and Black Sabbath – to name a few.

The game offers several ways to play. You can Quick Play, which is take up the songs and try to score highest with long note runs, you can play co-op, the career mode is fun, and there is a solid online component.

In career, you create a band name, select a guitarist (some – like Slash – can be unlocked), select a guitar and costume and jump into the story. The story is told with cartoon cel-shaded cut scenes that are not big on animation, but are still clever and get the point across. You begin with a backyard concert, and then the venues get bigger as you accomplish the tasks (which challenge you to successfully play X amount of songs from the play list for that venue – and you need to get at least a 4-star rating to move forward). You earn money for your gigs, which can buy you new guitars or clothes, and so on. It’s all just aesthetics. The real gem is unlocking the next group of songs.

Graphically, the game is bright, and colorful – when you are watching someone else play it. When you are playing, you tend to get focused on the note progression and lock out most everything else. The animations are also really fun. When it comes to the audio, though, crank it. Even a song that is rocked out, like Devil Went Down to Georgia (the song Lou schools you on), is a real aural treat. The music is hot and needs volume to be appreciated.

Guitar Hero III is the best of the series, and it is a serious challenge to boot. The sequel, in the hands of a new developer, was handled well and this is a game that fans of the genre would do well to play. The wireless guitar begs to be strapped on and danced around while playing, and the music selection screams to be turned up. Much fun is to be had here.

Gameplay: 8.9
Challenging, fast-finger button mashing mechanics are the order of the day, but the result is a game that is easy to pick up and tough to master.

Graphics: 8.5
Bright, colorful and infused with a sense of fun.  

Sound: 9.3
Crank it up. There are a couple of songs that were not favorites, but this is a song selection that deserves to be played loud. That GHIII uses mostly song masters is a bonus.

Difficulty: Med/Hard
The challenge for a game like this should be for the player to challenge themselves by playing and replaying at a harder level. Lou’s Inferno breaks that by bumping up the difficulty and adding in frustration.

Concept: 8.0
The battle concept is a sound idea, but other than some new graphics, a new controller and a new song list, the basic format is the same.

Multiplayer: 8.3
Online will feature battle modes, as well as downloadable songs. Nothing in regards to the latter, yet, and some of the online players are rather good.

Overall: 8.8
This is a lot of fun and definitely a game that should be considered as a purchase for those who are looking for a challenge. Two guitars are needed to play off the same console (battles), while the online support is solid. The game does hit a few sour notes, but generally is a lot of fun.