Let me be up-front about something right away: I am a late-comer to the Guitar Hero phenomenon. How late, you ask? Well, Guitar Hero 3 for the PS3 is actually my first exposure to the title, in terms of owning it. I played some GH2 on PS2 in a videogame store a couple times before, and that was it.
So how am I qualified to comment on the third installment in the series? Simple. I’m approaching it as the first PlayStation 3 appearance of the franchise, and judging it on next-gen terms. Simple. And if ever you wanted to hook a game up to an HDTV, but were waiting because you lacked the proper HDMI switches, now’s the time to get that squared away, because this game looks quite a bit better in high-def.
A lot of the reviews I’ve read of GH3 have commented on the song list, critiquing the title for overlooking contributions by their favorite artists. I can understand that, but when the bulk of a review is spent grumbling about what I title doesn’t include rather than what is included, perhaps it’s time for a fresh perspective.
Now, I’m blessed. I was able to experience Guitar Hero 3 with the benefit of the Les Paul wireless guitar controller for PS3. Although it’s a bit on the smallish side, it has the look and build of a real guitar, which is completely kosher in my book.
Once I’d hooked everything up, I was pleased with how natural it was to find the PS button to turn both the controller and the PS3 on. The rest of the controls were easy to find as well, so long as I was just trying to start up the game.
After I began my adventure in the tutorial, though, I found that mastering the controls was a bit harder than expected. It wasn’t from a lack of orientation; it was more from a simple training of my brain to move the proper hand and fingers in response to the proper screen prompts. Initially I was making rookie mistakes like tapping the chord buttons and holding down the strum bar. By the time I was done with the tutorial, I had most of the initial kinks worked out.
It was a different story for my wife; when she adjusted to the game in the tutorial, her big hurdle was to avoid the temptation to strum with her right hand. As a person who plays some guitar, her muscle memory gravitates toward strumming constantly, but if you do that in GH3, you’re ending long notes early by initiating new strums. However, she also adjusted quickly.
My wife observed that the key to adjusting to the game is to think of it more like playing keyboards rather than playing guitar, and I found that analogy to be a good fit. Learning the game is a slow process and even after a trip through the tutorial, it’s easy to be overwhelmed in the early going, so that, for example, even when you have a long note, you’re initially hesitant to use the whammy bar because you need so much concentrating to make sure you’re not missing too many notes.
The game does have a decently deep song list to explore, a solid career mode with plenty of blister-inducing challenges and bosses to overcome, and an online component that adds value to the experience. When training up, I was quite grateful for limited-note, heavily-pattern-based songs to warm up with, like Foghat’s Slow Ride and Pat Benetar’s Hit Me With Your Best Shot.
Of course, the better songs are deeper into the game, and thankfully there are plenty of song packs adding to the total game experience, whether available separately, via download, or otherwise.
After several sessions playing the game, I am still a long way from being a Guitar Hero myself, but I am improving. And my wife, though she initially struggled a bit more than I did, has quickly learned how to string together impressive 40-plus consecutive note streaks without an error; I still max out at about 20 or so. But I’m working at it.
One feature I suspect is new to the series this time around is the “star power” ability that seems to take advantage of the PS3’s tilt sensitivity. When you hit certain note progressions without an error, you are granted Star Power in your Star Power meter. Once that’s filled up, all you have to do is tilt the neck of your guitar toward the sky and you enter Star Power mode where, so long as you keep hitting good notes, you have a chance to really rack up the points.
I suspect this feature was absent from earlier versions on PS2, since the tilt recognition may have been hard to utilize back then, unless they had wireless guitar controllers and a proprietary tilt recognition function built it. I could be wrong, but it just has the feel of a new feature for the next-gen title.
The online scoreboard and ranking are also nice features.
In the end, Guitar Hero III is an enjoyable and unexpectedly addictive addition to the still-young PS3 library. As the first PS3-native Guitar Hero title, GH3 comes out not only with the look of a rock-n-roll superstar, but the depth of talent to make sure it’s not a one-hit wonder.
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Blu-Ray DVD player (HD-DVD sucks and I don’t want to overuse my PS3)
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