Obviously given latency and general Internet flakiness you're not going to be seeing every note your opponent hits in real time, but the netcode appears to do a pretty good job of keeping things in sync enough to tell when they've hit a star-power run or a 50/100/200 note streak, etc. As with most other Xbox Live games, the matchmaking process can be a bit trying, with frequent join failures and waiting screens (perhaps an unavoidable symptom of being 10,000km away from the bulk of our competitors) but once you're actually in the game – even if you're broadband connection isn't the greatest – the actual player Vs player gameplay is incredibly fluid. In addition to the online highscore leaderboards, Xbox Live subscribers can now actually play against each other over the tubes and it works surprisingly well. Speaking of multiplayer, that's one area where Guitar Hero 3 really dials it up to 11 – on the Xbox 360 version at least. Fortunately you don't need to beat them to progress in career as failing a few times offers the option of wussing out skipping you forward to the next song. While it's nice to see them adding something different to the game, it's really not as enjoyable as just playing the songs. Kind of like Tetris' various battle modes, the object is to collect power-ups by hitting specially marked notes which you can stock-pile and use against your adversary when appropriate by activating the guitar's tilt sensor (or by “Rocking Out”). Impressively, Activision have signed on acclaimed axe-men Slash of Guns n' Roses fame and Rage Against The Machine's Tom Morello whose digital likenesses you'll duke it out against in some instrumentals they composed exclusively for the game. New to career play are the boss battles, which are essentially the game's new multiplayer 'battle mode' against a computer controlled opponent. All of the game's songs can be unlocked by playing through on easy so you won't be missing out on anything if you're only a part-time shredder. Of course, they don't expect everyone to play the game on expert and casual strummers will find the lower difficulty levels more than accommodating. Similarly again, the game's most difficult single track is fortunately not required to complete career mode, the power metal epic “ Through the Fire and Flames” by Dragon Force is rewarded as a bonus track once career is done – check your fretting hand at the door. Even so, there're a few tracks that are going to take a whole lot of dedication if you want to master – Slayer's “ Raining Blood”, I'm looking at you. This is countered somewhat by the hammer-ons and pull-offs (sequential notes you can play without the need to strum each time) being much more forgiving in their timing. So I can say with confidence that some of Guitar Hero 3's later career mode tracks exceed the difficulty of those in the previous games. Without bragging (Guitar Hero 2 virtuoso youtube vids are more than enough to keep this reviewer in his place) I'm not too shabby at these games, having completed expert modes on both previews with plenty of five stars efforts. While I wouldn't say there's something for absolutely everybody, it doesn't get much better for a lounge-room rock out.
The song selection once again offers a great array of guitar driven songs both classic and contemporary. Some highlights include Iron Maiden's “ Number of the Beast”, Queens of the Stone-Age's “ 3s and 7s” and Metallica's “ One”.
WII GUITAR HEROES 3 SERIES
So what's new? Well for a start, the success of the series has meant more artists have been persuaded to contribute their master tracks, so unlike the previous games, the original versions actually outweigh the cover songs this time. As the notes of the song scroll up, hold down the corresponding fret button while you strum – the whammy can then be used on any sustained notes for extra flair. There're five fret buttons, a strum bar and tremolo arm.
In Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock, you play rock songs on a plastic guitar-shaped controller.
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