The Tempest

Issue date: 11/7/07 Section: Entertainment

Media Credit: MCT Information Services Johnny Napalm rocking out on stage in "Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock."

In the world of video games, very few times a sequel can surpass its predecessor. "Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock" is one of these games.

"Guitar Hero 3"continues the legacy of the series by producing the best rhythm-based game on the market.

Those worried that the changing of game publishers from RedOctane to Activision would diminish the quality, you can relax.

The gameplay remains the same, with the player having to match the notes and rhythms on the screen by pressing buttons on the guitar and hitting the strum bar. For people who have played games in the series, this should be no problem. For newcomers, it is a challenge at first, but after playing for a while, you should be able to enjoy it in no time.

The controllers for the next-gen systems come with a Les Paul guitar while the PS2 version uses the Kramer Pacer guitar. PS2 owners can still use the guitar from the first two games for the third one. The controllers are just some of the new additions to the series.

The best addition is the online capability to the franchise. The ability to play head-to-head online opens up new possibilities for fans of the series and newcomers.

Unfortunately, the main drawback to the online function is the lack of cooperative career mode. It's too bad, as it would have been fun to fully enjoy the online experience of beating the game with someone else online.

Even with the absence of cooperative career mode online, the online experience is a much needed addition to the series.

A new addition to the series is the introduction of Battle Mode. Building off of "Guitar Hero 2's" Pro-Face Off mode, Battle Mode is a new minigame that will make the most diehard of fans playing for hours, trying to master the bosses.

The tracklist is the most expansive of the series with 71 songs. The songs range from such diverse musical acts as Metallica, Weezer, Guns N' Roses, DragonForce, The Rolling Stones, KISS, Alice Cooper and the Beastie Boys.

For the first time in the franchise, there are real life characters modeled into the game with Rage Against The Machine/Audioslave guitarist Tom Morello and Guns N' Roses/Velvet Revolver guitarist Slash. Both Morello and Slash are introduced as boss characters and can be unlocked as playable characters.

The difficulty is fairly standard, but when the difficulty reaches hard and expert, the game becomes increasingly frustrating. Just when you think you begin to master the game, the difficulty will make you want to break your guitar in frustration.

Even with the mounting difficulty, you never want to put down the game, which is one of the highest compliments you can give.

"Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock" is the best of the series. If you haven't played it yet, go out and get it.

Four out of Four Stars

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