CRank: 5Score: 1380

User Review : Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock

Ups
  • Great soundtrack{Expert is much more challenging for veteran players
Downs
  • Is outperformed by Rock Band{Old storyline

The third entry to the extremely popular Guitar Hero series. How does it do?

Campaign

The storyline is the exact same as the previous Guitar Hero games. You start out as a small band, and work your way up to the top of the charts. The only thing that they have really added is a few cutscenes after each tier, but the cutscenes really aren't that great. They're maybe 30 seconds with something like your band being featured on the news or something like that.

Something which they have added that I like is the boss battles. There is three battles, one against Tom Morello, one against Slash, and the final against the devil. Instead of star power, you get battle power. Each time you hit a series of notes with spikes on them, you can use the battle power to do things like make the enemy play with lefty flip, or double the amount of notes. I found it extremely fun, and it is very challenging on expert.

Overall, the campaigns story is pretty mediocre, but still fun to play through.

Graphics

Well, they aren't much better than the previous Guitar Hero games. The art style is quite unique, and cartoonish. Obviously, this game's graphics are nothing compared to most next-generation games, but when you consider that the visuals in this game are one of the least important factors, then they are actually pretty good.

Sound

Well, now we have gone from least important, to most important. The soundtrack in this game is excellent, and in my opinion the best in the series. There is over 70 tracks (plus downloadable content) to choose from. With big hitters like "Welcome to the Jungle", "Cult of Personality", and "One", it is considered by most the best Guitar Hero soundtrack of them all. The crowds cheers and special effects are pretty well done too.

Gameplay

If you've played Guitar Hero before, you know it's extremely fun. But they have added even more features this time around. There's the boss battles, which I explained earlier, and a co-op campaign, which you actually must play through to unlock certain songs (i.e. "Helicopter"). And this is the first Guitar Hero to finally feature online (which will be detailed in the online section).

Not only have they added new features, but they have made it much harder for veterans of the series aswell. So if you found Guitar Hero 2 a little to easy, Guitar Hero 3 will most-likely be a different story.

As in previous Guitar Hero games, you can purchase new guitars, bonus songs, and more from a store using in-game money you've earned from concerts.

Overall, the gameplay of Guitar Hero 3 is still great, and very fun to rock out to your favorite songs.

Online

This is the first Guitar Hero game to finally feature online, and it does a great job of doing it successfully. There is quite a few modes, including: Battle, which is the same as in campaign, Face-off, where you and the opponent take turns playing different parts of the song, and Pro-face off, where the two players just play through the entire song, and the one with the most points at the end wins.

The online is very well done, and adds a lot of replayability to the game. It makes it even more addicting than Guitar Hero 1 and 2 were.

Guitar Hero 3 Vs. Rock Band

Now, the only problem that Guitar Hero has this year, is that it has some competition. And I must say, Rock Band is a much better music game than Guitar Hero 3. Not only does the guitar play much better, but on top of that you can play drums, and sing in Rock Band. Rock Band offers character customization, and also online just like Guitar Hero 3. Only it does the online even better than Guitar Hero, as you can play in a band using your created characters, or 1 on 1 using any of the instruments.

Closing Comments

While Guitar Hero 3 is no longer the king of music games, it is still a fun experience. If you aren't willing to shell out $170 for Rock Band, then Guitar Hero 3 will still give you a very good music game experience.

Score
9.5
Graphics
Still fun like all the previous Guitar Hero's, although it has been severely beaten by Rock Band.
7.5
Sound
Nothing special, though you won't be looking at the graphics much.
9.5
Gameplay
Arguably the best soundtrack in Guitar Hero history. All comes down to personal opinion though.
9.5
Fun Factor
Again, fun like all the previous games in the series, but Rock Band did all Guitar Hero can do and even more.
9.5
Online
Very well done for the first in the series to feature online...But yet again, not nearly as good as Rock Band.
Overall
8.5
110°

The Top-Selling Third-Party Console Games of All Time - IGN

The top-selling third-party games of all time across consoles include GTA V, Call of Duty, and Guitar Hero.

TheOptimist1751d ago

The list just shows how pedestrian the taste of the general audience is.

TK-661751d ago

Really depressing list across all platforms.

1750d ago Replies(1)
50°

Beat The Heat With Gaming's Best Versions Of Hell

In the summer, we all do things that cool us off. That’s just conventional wisdom. But what if we’ve been going about it all wrong? What if the solution is leaning in to the heat, diving into even hotter activities to show the summer we’re not scared?

Let’s beat summer at its own game here. Whether you want to murder your way through hell or skate over it, gaming has got you covered.

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120°

A Case for Rhythm Games; Why We Need Guitar Hero

COGconnected - It seems like the era of rhythm game dominance has come and gone but we argue that there's still room for them if they make a few key changes.

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cogconnected.com
2460d ago
Derceto2460d ago

Guitar Hero? Sure. Activision greed and bulls**t? No thanks.

subtenko2460d ago

No we DONT need guitar hero or rockband. These games have had 7+titles each console cycle and Im tired of these being the mainstream and practically only focused on musical game.

Amplitude was brought back for PS4 yet with the tech and magic of DLC we didnt get it because not only gamers but devs have become out of touch.

Thumper impressed many and is at least a step in the right direction. I rather have more games like thumper. So screw all this rockband and Guitar hero BS! Take your guitars and peripherals and break them in half!

2460d ago Replies(1)
MeteorPanda2460d ago

I preferred the patapon games but yeah. We need rhythm games to come back this gen

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