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As for the track list the game has stayed true to the series by providing a
mix of songs from classic rock to punk to alternative. Song selection is always
a hot topic of debate among the Guitar Hero faithful, but I think it’s a
testament to the variety of the track list that no one is happy with the entire
list (personally I can’t believe that anyone would consider the Beastie Boys to
be guitar heroes). However when you look at the overall difficulty of the tracks
it’s a different matter. This version of Guitar Hero is the most challenging
yet, and the tracks towards the end of the career mode will result in some
aching fingers for those who like to play the game at the hard or expert level.
The game also really needs to add a level of difficulty between medium and hard,
as the jump between the two is quite significant. Players who are making the
move up to hard not only have to contend with the addition of notes for the
fifth fret button, but with a greater number of notes that come along at a much
faster rate. Part of Guitar Hero’s magic is that it has such a strong appeal to
those who don’t really play games at all. If it can become the object of
obsession for my sister-in-law and girlfriend, then you know that it has a
strong universal appeal. The game is decidedly slanted in favor of the hardcore
player, though, and more than half of the game will effectively be out of reach
to those just looking to have some fun playing some music.
Guitar Hero III comes with full PlayStation Network support. You can play
against another gamer online, upload you scores on songs to the online leader
boards, or even purchase new tracks to play in the game. At the time of this
writing, there are already two song packs available for purchase from The Foo
Fighters and Velvet Revolver with more planned for the future. Unfortunately
there doesn’t seem to be a way to easily match up with your friends online so
you will probably have to make due with random match-ups. If you have both a PS2
and PS3, now is the time to make the jump to the PS3 as the PS2 version is
completely lacking any online support.
Guitar Hero III comes with a wireless controller that works with a dongle
plugged into a USB port on the console. The need for the dongle instead of
native Bluetooth support probably at least partially explains why Guitar Hero
and Guitar Hero II are not PS3 friendly. The guitar can function as a
controller, so you can use it to navigate the PS3’s XMB before launching into
the Guitar Hero III game itself. If you’ve used a Guitar Hero guitar before,
you’ll probably find the fret buttons on this guitar to be easier to press and
generally easier on the fingers. The strum bar is easier to flip as well, and
the clacking sound of the old guitar strum bar has been virtually eliminated. I
also like the way that the arm is detachable, which makes storage and transport
easier to manage. Detachable faceplates are a nice touch too.
There are a few things that I wish were different about Guitar Hero III, but
they don’t diminish the fact that this game is as enjoyable as any in the
series. PS3 owners, it’s time to rock.
In The End, This Game Hath Been Rated:
87%. Guitar Hero finally rocks the PS3.
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