This crowd is getting anxious, I realize. Oh, why didn’t we just buy a drum machine? At least a drum machine might show up to gigs on time! Luckily, I don’t have to wait much longer since, in a rather Who-esque fashion, we pluck out an audience member who claims to be a decent drummer. (Drummers!) So with our percussionist finally in place, I start the opening chords to Foghat’s Slow Ride and my band kicks in, too.
I’m not really at a gig, just playing Aspyr Media’s new title, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock - for the Mac. If you’re reading this, you’re most likely familiar with the Guitar Hero series and how to play it (anybody who’s anybody does), but just in case you have been living in a sound-proof cave, I’ll go through the game play with you. This is a video game that lets YOU be the performer. It’s easy for anyone with any level of musical ability, or none at all, to have a blast playing rock music. You use a small, plastic guitar-shaped controller that has five colored “fret buttons” on its neck that let you choose which notes to play. On the other end of the guitar is a strum bar that plays the chosen note when pressed up or down. The controller can be set up for both right- and left-handed players, just as a real guitar can be strung both ways.
In Guitar Hero, there is a fretboard on the screen with colored notes rolling down the board. At the very bottom of the board, there are five holes (one for each fret button). As the notes go into the holes, you have to try to play them as best you can, coordinating the moment you push your buttons with the moment the notes go past. To play a note, you pick a note on the neck (color coded to correspond with what you see on the screen) and you hold down the fret button. To play the note, you have to strum the strum bar in conjunction with holding down the fret button in time to the music. It takes a little coordination but once you get the hang of it, it is very addictive and extremely fun. It seems like everyone loves to play this game! If you’d like to see a demo of the game, you most likely can go to any video game store and chances are that they have a kiosk set up where you can try out Guitar Hero – it’s just that popular. Anyway, on with the review!
Guitar Hero is supposed to ship with a guitar controller, but our PR rep at Aspyr said that they didn’t have any controllers left for the press to test. So I was forced to play Guitar Hero with a computer keyboard using specific letter keys in place of the fret buttons and strum bar on the controller. I’m not saying this wasn’t fun; the keyboard allowed me to nail some hard sections of songs that I maybe couldn’t have done on the controller. My younger brother says the keyboard is “way easier than the controller,” but the controller does give more of the illusion of playing a real instrument. It’s sort of like how people used the Dualshock controller on the PS2 instead of the guitar on some songs. It’s just that … I’m playing Guitar Hero, not Keyboard Hero! Luckily, my neighbor loaned me his guitar controller and I was saved. The graphics are beautiful, even on my two-year-old, 2 GHz MacBook Pro. And the keyboard, despite what you’d be willing to think, is actually very good with the game. The folks at Aspyr engineered the darn game so that it would work if you used the keyboard instead of the guitar, if you wanted or needed to. The game is an almost-direct port of the Xbox 360 version, which is pretty darn good.
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock is all new. There’s a new developer (Neversoft, the maker of the Tony Hawk Pro Skater games); a new game mode - Battle Mode; a multiplayer mode where you can hit your opponent with weapons to make them make a mistake in their music; and online play, where you can jam with people around the world. There are also some new characters. Have you ever heard of a guitarist called Tom Morello? What about a thrasher named Slash? They are real guitarists, best known for playing with Rage Against the Machine, and Guns ‘n Roses, respectively. Anyway, this Guitar Hero actually has a narrative story. The story involves using Battle Mode against three bosses: Tom Morello (easy to beat), Slash (the most exciting boss), and Lou the Devil (short for Lucifer). Many people have said that battle mode is an annoying and tedious addition, but battling my little brother was some of the most fun I’ve had with a video game in months. But even with all of the great things about it, this game isn’t quite perfect. The system requirements are almost over the top. You will need an Intel processor with at least 2 GHz processing speed, 1 GB of memory, 5.1 GB of hard disk space, a pretty modern video card, 128 MB of video memory, and a DVD drive. Unfortunately, those are specs that will eliminate everyone who doesn't have almost a brand new system.
I am so psyched that Guitar Hero is available for the Mac, and it’s great to have a game like this available in the repertoire. We think this is a solid choice for anybody who enjoys rock music, is tired of the same old air guitar routine, but has what it takes to be a star in their own gaming room!
Thomas Fogel, Posted 1/5/2008
For more information on Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock visit: www.aspyr.com
