Guitar Hero 3-Rock For All Ages

Green…Yellow…Blue…Red….Green…Red…Blue…If this is you playing Guitar Hero, then you have some work to do. Thankfully, in Activision’s Guitar Hero 3- Legends of Rock, being a beginner rocker is no problem. There are many tools(some new, some old) to help you be the next Jimi Hendrix and keep you on your A-Game. Although some aspects of the game play changed, the jist of it is the same. New songs, new style, but same old Guitar Hero. I will review and voice my opinion on the new GH3, covering the games graphics, songs, new features, as well as old features that have simply been updated.

Guitar Hero 3’s graphics are what I would call average. Although graphics are not the point of this game, creators, I believe could put a little more effort into making the appearance realistic. One major graphics change from GH2 to GH3 is the appearance of the rock characters. Presented in the game, characters are virtually more realistic, with more humanly features rather than looking like zombies. Outfits are acceptable, being that you have multiple choices to choose from. Guitars, amps, and songs are all available at the new and improved store.
Comparing the songs of the Guitar Hero 1 and Guitar Hero 2 to the songs on Guitar Hero 3, GH3 surpasses them all. Combined with somewhat improved graphics, the songs seem to fit perfectly into the new and improved Legends of Rock. Songs such as Black Magic Woman, Helicopter, One, and Before I Forget are killer tunes. Differing from the previous Guitar Hero’s, GH3 songs are actually sung by the artists themselves. Elaborating more, previous songs were sung by replacement artists, meaning that the songs were not performed by the original artists. Almost ninety percent of the songs are sung directly by the artists. This creates a true rocker feeling. Artists such as Metallica, Tenacious D, Dragonforce, and Santana account for a great add to the game.

As far as game play itself goes, the tunes and notes presented in GH3 are much more challenging. Guitar Hero’s 1 and 2 had a lag, which leads to easier game play. Guitar Hero 3 does not have lag. You must hit the notes perfectly on time or you will miss that particular note. With the songs being like this, it adds a very real rocker experience. As it is said, practice makes perfect. There is much practice to be done if you want to beat this game. A few songs are almost impossible to beat, such as One, by Metallica. The insane solo’s in that song are almost impossible to nail, and without practice, would be very difficult to beat. Overall, I love the songs in this game. There is much variety in the choices, and there are plenty of songs to keep you rocking through the night.
In Guitar Hero 3, there are many new added features. Compared to GH1and GH2, the hyper-speed cheat is much more awesome. In the previous Guitar Hero’s, there was only one hyper-speed. In GH3, there are five. Hyper-speed is a cheat that can be enabled to make the songs go faster than normal. Real Guitar Heroes find this as a challenge. Going five times faster than normal, rockers can challenge themselves to be the best they can be. From personal experience, hyper-speed is a totally worthwhile add on to the game, and in my opinion, the best cheat offered in the game. There are other cheats such as all songs, as well as other’s that challenge game play. The most new feature of Guitar Hero 3 is the battle mode. In battle mode, players can challenge each other in songs where they use the star power ups to distract their opponents. Power ups such as whammy bar, broken strings, and amp overload can all be used to defeat your challengers. As in the previous Guitar Hero games, co-op mode and multiplayer mode can be utilized. In co-op mode, players can choose to be either bass or lead, both difficult. Bass players play strictly bass notes, where the lead player is allowed to nail solo’s, and take on true rocker form. Both parts are a necessity to defeat a song. Both players must be strong rocker’s, and must have a feel for the beat. Guitar Hero 3 also offers bonus songs. These songs are songs that must be either earned or bought in the store. There are nearly thirty songs that can be unlocked, all being great tunes. With all the new added extras, Guitar Hero three is a must for everyone.

Most likely the coolest part about buying Guitar Hero 3 is the wicked guitar that comes along with it. The new and improved guitar is most likely the coolest guitar that has been offered thus far to rockers. The intriquite designs patterned onto the guitar itself are awesome, where also the general design of the guitar is awesome. New features of the guitar include a detachable body, which makes packing and transporting it easier. Also, the whammy bar is much more smooth and has a real guitar effect. The note buttons are also very smooth. There is no stick and the guitar itself is very durable which will allow for hours of play without coincidental damage to the guitar( rocking too hard!).

In my opinion, GH3 is the best game ever produced by Activision. The creators did an excellent job in putting it together. The songs, the characters, the outfits, and the cheats are all exceptional. All together, this game is by far my game of choice. There are hours and hours of play, with no boring songs that get old. Songs can be played over and over again and you will never get tired of them. The guitar riffs are insane, and the solo’s are superb. I would recommend this game for any age, due to the fact that we all love our music. There is plenty of variety of songs, which allows all music listeners to sit back, and enjoy the game.