Guitar Hero 3 (360) Review ... (8 out of 10)

November 6, 2007 ... Review by Mike

Most of the time … I can bat away any peer pressure that my friends throw at me … that is unless a deep part of me really wants to do it. I let Eric talk me into buying Guitar Hero 3 for the 360 … something I hadn’t planned on doing because I was so hyped for Rock Band. The thing that put me over the top is that the GH3 track list looked too good to pass up and the guitar would work with Rock Band. My initial reactions? Pleasantly surprised.

Guitar Hero 3 is a damn solid game … and I honestly didn’t see it coming since GH2 and GH:80s were suspect. GH3’s tack list is probably better than all the other games combined. Songs like “Talk Dirty To Me,” “Slow Ride,” “Welcome To The Jungle,” and “Rock me Like a Hurricane” are awesome as expected but there are songs like “When You Were Young,” “Cliffs of Dover,” and “Pride and Joy,” came out of nowhere for me. Then there is “One,” Bulls on Parade,” Paint It Black,” and “Evenflow” that are solid as well. The song that surprised that hell out of me more than the others was “Cult Of Personality” by Living Colour … which may be best song in GH history ... even more so than “Sweet Child of Mine,” and “XYZ.”

1The wireless Les Paul guitar is fantastic and I didn’t realize how mice wireless was until I had it … Rock Band is going to be a tad disappointing with that. The boss battles are ok … but fairly pointless other than giving the game celebrity status. The online co-op does it’s job well as playing with Eric in Maryland was functional … but not nearly as fun as it is when the people are there with you.

Game-play: The same Solid game-play you’d expect from a GH game. Easy is great for beginners … medium is challenging but not overwhelming and hard and expert provide the challenge for the hardcore.

Single Player Experience: Better than expected. Going through the career mode is fun besides the 7th tier which was filled with a lot of heavy rock that I don’t care for. It is also a great way to kill 20 minutes if you’ve got nothing better to do.

Multiplayer Experience: A whole lot of fun … especially with the innovations they put into the guitar battles. Being able to attack your opponent definitely adds to the game if you’re in a competitive mood. If you’re not … co-op songs are a great alternative.

Visuals: Looks good on the 360 but nothing special. I did notice they took a little extra time to sync the vocals up with the characters and the dude playing the guitar may actually be playing the real notes … but I don’t play real guitar so I can’t say for sure.

Sound: TOP NOTCH. It’s no surprise that an Activision / Neversoft game would have a great soundtrack … and this game falls under that. This game has 15 songs that are genuinely a blast to play and another 10 that are decent (Which is leagues better than the previous games.)

Value: This is a tough call here … because Guitar Hero is a big investment ($100 on 360) … this all boils down to if you have other people that enjoy to play this with you or if you’re planning on buying “Rock Band.” For me … the $100 is justified because this is a great party game for my group of friends who don’t play many games and also for those who do. Just this weekend I had Dustin, Rob, Sarah, and Rachel playing this game … all of which couldn’t tell a Big Daddy from a Brute. Oh yeah … and the guitar will be a perfect bass guitar for “ROCK BAND!”

Guitar Hero 3 At A Glance
	8	The Goods	Great Song List / Same good contol scheme / Wireless Guitar is amazing / Boss battles provide a break from the same ol
		The Flaws	Hard Mode is too hard / DLC is weak / a lot of money for a game / Rock Band leaves this game in its dust
	Great	The Verdict	This is a great game that doesn't break the mold ... but it's a great choice for anyone that hasn't discovered Rock Band.

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