Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock @ E3 07

Written by Matt Swider  on August 03, 2007

Hands-On E3 07 Preview: Part of our E3 2007 Sweet Suite Tour

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After Slash (of Guns N' Roses and Velvet Revolver fame) introduced Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock at Activision's E3 press conference, we got a chance to play a demo of the game starring the rock legend. While this sequel isn't being made by Harmonix, the developer behind GH and GHII, it's in safe hands with Neversoft. The basic gameplay is familiar and what has changed is for the better.

Slash's GHIII connection was more than a press conference publicity stunt. He's one of at least three bosses in the game. After dueling him and then playing УWelcoming to the JungleФ by his side, he acts as an unlockable character. Slash did a bunch of motion capture for his role in Guitar Hero III and created an original song just for the new game. Additionally, Velvet Revolver is said to be contributing a song to the soundtrack, though Activision has yet to confirm this at part of the official set list.



As of today, there are 27 confirmed songs and supposed to be around 45 in total:
Х Miss Murder (by AFI)
Х Through Fire and Flames (by Dragonforce)
Х Number of the Beast (by Iron Maiden)
Х 3's and 7's (by Queens of the Stone Age)
Х Suck My Kiss (by Red Hot Chili Peppers)
Х Raining Blood (by Slayer)
Х Reptillia (by The Strokes)
Х Paranoid (as made famous by Black Sabbath)
Х Cities on Flame (as made famous by Blue Oyster Cult)
Х Mississippi Queen (as made famous by Mountain)
Х La Grange (as made famous by ZZ Top)
Х Slash's Original Boss Battle Recording
Х Welcome to The Jungle (by Guns N' Roses)
Х Paint It Black (by The Rolling Stones)
Х Cherub Rock (by Smashing Pumpkins)
Х Sabotage (by Beastie Boys)
Х The Metal (by Tenacious D)
Х My Name is Jonas (by Weezer)
Х Knights of Cydonia (by Muse)
Х Even Flow (by Pearl Jam)
Х Lay Down (by Priestess)
Х Cult of Personality (by Living Colour)
Х Rock and Roll All Nite (as made famous by Kiss)
Х School's Out (as made famous by Alice Cooper)
Х Rock You Like a Hurricane (as made famous by Scorpions)
Х Slow Ride (as made famous by Foghat)
Х Barracuda (as made famous by Heart)

There are two types of wireless guitar models available. PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii guitar controllers will take the form of a Gibson Les Paul, while the PS2 version's controller is modeled after the Gibson Kramer. Interestingly, the Wii guitar sports an open slot for the remote inside the guitar and all three next-gen versions have a collapsible neck. This is ideal for all of your gigs on the road (aka at a friends party).

Speaking of friends, changes to the multiplayer mode make this game feel as hectic as Mario Kart 64. Attacks replace the Star Power in battle mode where tilting the guitar controller unleashes nasty power-ups. Opponents have to deal with their fret board shaking, notes changing all around, playing lefty if they're righty (or vice-versa) or dealing with a broken guitar string by hammering the fret button to fix it. It's a lot of fun and, best of all, battle mode is playable online, Wii included.

All four versions boast better looking graphics in the background. They still have that cartoon look to them like the previous games, but more detail went into the character models and venues so that they appear rounder than before. It may not be as important as the new modes, new guitar models and new songs, but it's a welcomed improvement.