Guitar Hero 3
Review
The latest installment hits the scene loudly and proudly
by T3HDX
reviewed on X360
The name says it all
You’re a wannabe rock star, simple as that. You start off working small-time gigs to get sponsored, similar to the previous games in the series. Working your way through the game, you reach new heights of fame and fortune, until you defeat the devil, Lou, and become the ultimate rock star. Although the story is fairly linear, you can’t expect too much from a game in which all you do is play musical notes with a toy guitar. The length of the game varies, depending on your skill level and the level of difficulty you’re playing on. The story is told through cut-scenes after completing each tier, which gives a little intro to your new venue. With some mild comedy, and Sims-like voice acting, they’re short enough to give a few laughs before letting you get back into the swing of rockin’ out.
Gameplay, it is all about gameplay
This is all about total rock gameplay, and it certainly doesn’t fail to deliver. With simple gameplay for beginners and some insane shredding for the more experienced players, there’s a good balance to keep it fair for each level of skill. Those not so experienced can start off on easy without any fear of finding it too hard, especially with how easy it is to learn. However, you do notice quite a difference when you switch between difficulties, as the game gets a lot faster as you go up the difficulty ladder.
The single player career mode offers four levels of difficulty, Easy, Medium, Hard and Expert. With 8 tiers per career, 3 boss battles and 8 encores, there are enough songs in the career to keep you amused for a long time. Multiplayer is where the game play really opens up, giving it a whole new lease of life. Once the single player career is finished off, there are quite a few different modes you can play in on- and off-line matches.
The off-line mode gives the ability to play Face-offs, Pro face-offs, Battle mode and co-op with a friend who’s right there next to you. This can be great fun, but has its limitations - one being the fact that you often need to have a friend available. Some of those limitations have an answer, seeing as the developers introduced the ability to use your Xbox 360 controller instead of needing to buy a second guitar. It is not quite the same thing, but serves in a tough spot. The online mode gives the same options as the off-line. However, it allows you to play with anyone, anywhere at virtually any time. Playing online opens up some new features to the series; such as leaderboards on the official website, as well as being able to participate in tournaments and keeping track of the achievements for the Xbox 360 version.
The game is tremendous fun, never giving a dull moment when rocking out to your heart’s content. There’s enough there in single and multiplayer to keep you amused for a long time.
Graphics on a downward spiral
The graphics are a little disappointing this time around, with slightly poorer visuals than what Guitar Hero II offered. Though the graphics are acceptable, you can’t help but notice how they pale in comparison to other games out there, including some last generation games. The animations look a little choppy, and can get repetitive, with the crowd usually doing the same movements at the same time.
8.0
fun score
No Pros and Cons at this time
