Guitar Hero III E3 2007 Hands-On

Can’t stop the rock: Gamespot get’s an early look at the next Guitar Hero game from Activision.

"Beyond the new soundtrack–and there are more tunes to announce as we get closer to the game’s release later this year–perhaps the most striking thing about Guitar Hero III is its upgraded look. Everything from the menu system, to the characters, and even the in-game gauges have a new sheen to them that might take some getting used to for long-time GH fans. For one thing, the guitarists themselves–while still retaining the cartoon proportions that gave them their charm in the earlier games–now have better muscle definition and slightly more realistic skin textures. There’s a new axe-slinger on board, too–the pixie-ish J-pop star Midori. And it’s not just the guitarists–the Neversoft developers went ahead and motion-captured the mouths of the singers in the game, so that you have actual lip-synching to the words of the various songs on the soundtrack. Heck, even the bearded bass player has a new axe to pluck. The star-power meter is now measured out in tubes like those you’d use in the back of a Marshall stack, and there will be new arenas and clubs for you to rock out in, including a seedy club complete with pole dancers and a desert rock festival that looks like it’s patterned after Coachella, though mercifully free from the smell of hippies."