Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock

If there's one controller in the industry capable of turning as many heads as the Wii Remote, it's the Guitar Hero mini-Gibson. The third entry in the phenomenal series of rhythm games has a new development team. NeverSoft handled development while former developer Harmonix went to work on a title called Rock Band for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The transition from Harmonix to NeverSoft seems to have been a smooth one for Guitar Hero. Guitar Hero III on Wii offers familiar fun to fans of the series, and it comes improved with (arguably) the best set list in series' history and (definitely) the best guitar.

The Guitar

The guitar is shaped like a Gibson Les Paul, which is an aesthetic improvement over the original Gibson SG, and Xplorer on the Xbox 360. The Wii Les Paul controller is also functionally superior to any in the series.

There are two latches on the back of the controller. The first allows the neck of the guitar to easily slide in and out, which makes storing and transporting the controller a breeze. The second latch must be undone so that the Wii Remote can be inserted into the guitar. The compartment for the Wii Remote is snug, so any thick cases or coverings (including the official Nintendo Wii Remote Jacket) must be removed to insert the controller.

The best guitar in series' history.

By their powers combined, the Wii Remote and guitar controller make the perfect instrument for virtual rocking. First and foremost, the guitar is wireless, so players have more freedom to rock out without tripping. Secondly, the sounds of missed notes will be played out of the Wii Remote speaker, so it is easy to distinguish who is flubbing up if two or more guitarists are in the room. Thirdly, the Wii Remote will rumble when "Star Power" (a score multiplier granted for hitting consecutive notes) is ready. Once players activate Star Power (done by tilting the guitar upwards), the guitar will rumble in rhythm to the song. Finally, the added weight of the Wii Remote inside the guitar controller really adds a solid, weighty feeling to the whole package.

Players are unlikely to confuse it for a real guitar on touch alone, but the weight of the controller makes the Les Paul feel less like a toy than any other in the series while not being heavy enough to impede gameplay. The guitar feels sturdy and durable, and that is reassuring when players are hammering on the buttons and whammy bar trying to reproduce real rock 'n' roll licks in real time.

The Game

For those who are new to Guitar Hero, the gameis played with a controller that is shaped like a guitar. The guitarhas five fret buttons, each of a different color. The game screenconsists of a note chart that loosely corresponds to the fret board ofa guitar. As notes scroll toward the player on the screen, playerspress the corresponding fret button and strum using the guitar's strumbar. There is also a whammy bar that players can hit to add wah-wah tothe notes. The result is that players, be they expert guitarists ortone deaf, are presented with an experience that is almost like playingrock guitar.

Hit the middle button once the note falls into the circle.

Thegameplay is some of the most spectacular in video games. To watch aplayer furiously fingering the fret buttons is like watching DanceDance Revolution - only without people looking as foolish to theirfriends, because, you know, guitars are cool. Guitar Hero's unique,self aware, and over the top presentation has, as I mentioned in theintro, made it a phenomenon. Guitar Hero contests and tournaments arecommon at local bars and clubs, concerts, and about every college dormroom in America. If you have some friends over, and someone has GuitarHero, you're guaranteed a good time.

Guitar Hero is easily oneof the most social experiences in video games, but its gameplay iscompelling and precise enough for any gamer of any taste. It's easy tolearn and fun to play. It's conducive to playing in 10 minute bursts,and addictive enough to keep players rocking for hours on end.

It's not as easy as it sounds. Play fast. Play hard.

Thegameplay is also some of the hardest on Wii, and in gaming at large.The principle is simple -- hit the notes in rhythm -- but there are fewgames that demand the dexterity (i.e. fast and flexible fingers) thatGuitar Hero III does. The game offers four levels of difficulty, andthe "easy" difficulty should be welcoming enough to get new players upto speed. "Easy" only uses three fret buttons, and its emphasis onchords (hitting multiple fret buttons at the same time whilestrumming), and hammer-ons or pull-offs (strumming once and hittingmultiple fret buttons in rapid succession) is minimal. But as playersprogress in difficulty, those techniques will become vital.

Thankfully,Guitar Hero III includes a wonderful practice mode that lets playerspick any section of any song in the game and replay it at multiplespeeds so that they can perfect their technique.

The Goods

The real draw to any Guitar Hero game is the set list: the songs that players get to play along to. Guitar Hero III features over 70 songs, and over 50 of those are master recordings. The set list also features original compositions by Tom Morello and Slash that were recorded specifically for this game. Also of note is that the Sex Pistols returned to the studio for the first time since the late 1970s to re-record "Anarchy in the UK."

Guitar Hero III makes you feel like a rock star.

Guitar Hero III's set list represents an impressive variety of eras and genres in music. Classic rock fans get songs from Santana, The Rolling Stones, and The Who. Modern rock fans get Weezer, The Killers, and Rage Against the Machine. Alternative fans get Smashing Pumpkins, Pearl Jam, and The Red Hot Chili Peppers. Punk fans get Social Distortion, Dead Kennedys, and The Sex Pistols. Blues fans get Eric Johnson, Cream, and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Metalheads will hear Slayer, Disturbed, Dragonforce, and Metallica. Frankly, if you have any interest in music it will be impossible not to find a handful of songs that keep you coming back - and it's more than likely that players will discover some new favorites along the way.

Most of those favorites will undoubtedly be from the list of master tracks. The game's 21 other songs, recorded by cover bands instead of using an original artist's studio track, are a mixed bag. The covers of Foghat's "Slow Ride," Mountain's "Mississippi Queen" and Santana's "Black Magic Woman" are very well done and do a good job of capturing the feel of the original recordings. On the other hand, the woman singing "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" sounds nothing like Pat Benetar and the man singing "Pride and Joy" sounds nothing like Stevie Ray Vaughan. The rest of the covers are passable, but feature obvious flaws in vocals or arrangement. The one constant, though, is that the guitar lines are more or less true to life. So even though the guy singing "Sunshine of Your Love" would never be mistaken for Jack Bruce, the guitarist does a decent job of emulating Eric Clapton.

Some of the covers are spotty, but the songs are rich and diverse.

The covers are generally good, but they don't live up to the series' own high standards. When Guitar Hero debuted in 2005, each of the game's songs was a cover and each of them was superb. With Guitar Hero III, artists like Cream, ZZ Top, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Ozzy Osbourne have covers for the second or third time in the series, and they all sound remarkably worse here than they did in previous years. The cover bands are different than the ones used before, and they are just flat-out inferior.

That said, with over 50 master tracks offering superior quality to even the best cover songs, Guitar Hero III's set list is a resounding success. Come back for Stage 2 for more on multiplayer, online, and more quality music than 48 hours of MTV programming.