Guitar Hero is a phenomenon. There’s no denying this truth. There are few games that have the power to draw such large crowds at a party or small social gathering and the only other I can think of this point, that’s been released in recent memory, is Nintendo’s Wii Sports. So, as Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock marks the debut of the franchise on the Wii, it seems like a match made in heaven.
Harmonix, the original developer behind the Guitar Hero series, is no longer at the helm of the franchise’s development, as they’ve moved on and are now developing and expansion of the genre for EA by the name of Rock Band. Fans of the series may have had some doubts about Legends of Rock because of this loss but they need not worry because Guitar Hero III is superior to its predecessors. The challenge level across all difficulties has taken a significant jump and the introduction of hammer-ons adds a new layer of depth that is a very welcomed addition. Of course, the track selection is a bit more up my alley with the inclusion of Iron Maiden’s "Number of the Beast," Slayer’s "Raining Blood" and Metallica’s "One" (why not "Seek and Destroy" ?), but that’s a matter of personal taste anyway. The only change in the series that really isn’t much of an improvement, but instead a new addition, is the inclusion of boss battles against guitarists like Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello and, one of my personal favorites, Slash from the former Guns N’ Roses and Velvet Revolver. If anything, these boss battles are just diversions from the traditional Guitar Hero gameplay and not something I’d prefer to go through more than once, because traditional Guitar Hero gameplay is king.
One of the most interesting observations one can make about Guitar Hero is that a seasoned veteran of an electric six-string won’t be a natural at the game. As someone who has been playing since the early days of their high-school academic career, I find that picking up and following the rhythm and pounding the notes on Activision’s toy Les Paul is far more difficult than the real deal. Iron Maiden’s "Number of the Beast" hasn’t been really much of a challenge for me on an electric but in Guitar Hero III, I found myself messing up on notes I wouldn’t have missed otherwise -- which would in return get me frustrated, causing me to pick up my trusty axe and tear my neighborhood to shreds as I blast the volume on my Marshall amplifier. On the flipside, however, the game comes in handy when trying to master the rhythm of a number of tracks and even helps train your digits. Personally, I’ve always had difficulties using my pinky finger when playing and being forced to use it in Guitar Hero may have just trained me to become a better musician. Of course, it should also be noted that a Guitar Hero pro won’t automatically be able to pick up an actual guitar and recreate the songs they’ve practiced in the game, but hopefully it’ll get some more people to pick up humanity’s greatest musical instrument.
For most multi-console owners, there’s little incentive for picking up the game for the Wii over the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 versions of the game. Those other versions, of course, sport hi-def visuals, but in a game of this sort, it’s not an aspect that’ll make the gameplay any more less enjoyable. It’s of little consequence. Although, there are some unique features to the Wii game that are exclusive to the platform. Unlike the other versions of the game, you insert the Wii-mote into the bundled guitar controller allowing it to rumble when missing notes and using "star power" and it also has sound effects coming for the controller’s speaker indicating false or missed notes. Cool little features, but once again, not a big deal.
What’s truly nice to see is that Guitar Hero III is one of the first Wii games to provide a thorough online multi-player experience for the platform. You can play songs co-operatively with a friend or random player, compete in face offs and track your scoring for bragging rights to add that extra sense of competition. The only unfortunate aspect, however, is that online gaming on the platform is in its infancy, so it might be a rarity to get some online match-ups going at some hours of the day but the game’s popularity online seems to be increasing day by day and thankfully there aren’t any serious lag or connection issues. Any other nuances in regards to the game’s online modes aren’t the fault of Activision or Neversoft but Nintendo itself. Activision wanted to employ the use of downloadable content but without a worthy storage medium available for the Wii, it seems that this feature has been cut. Hopefully, Activision will release an expansion disc at some point instead. And, oh yeah, we already know it sucks that there’s no way around this friend code nonsense and lack of voice communication, but that’s Nintendo for you... for every step forward in one area, it stays idle in another.
The only legitimate complaint someone can make about Guitar Hero III is that if you’ve spent some quality time with any game in the series before it, the experience may have grown stale. While this won’t really affect you when playing with or against a friend, because your bound still have a blast, the appeal of purchasing the game may not be that great and this is understandable. The updates aren’t anything mind-blowing.
Guitar Hero III, like its predecessors, brings both hardcore gamers and the casual crowd together as one. It’s fun for everyone and can provide hundreds of hours of enjoyment on your lonesome, online, or the much preferred multiplayer setting at home with friends and/or family. The game has no real faults since it’s a pioneer in the genre; there is only room for improvement and expansion and with Harmonix’s Rock Band on the horizon things can only get better. I cannot find any legitimate flaws with the gameplay and other aspects like its visual presentation, etc. is inconsequential because the job gets done, and gets done well. The pricepoint of the game and controller bundle may be a bit steep for some consumers but take pride in knowing that your money will have been well spent.
