GAME REVIEW: Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock for Xbox 360, Playstation 2 and 3, and Nintendo Wii

By Lex Eskobar “The Game Bud”

Not every video game can be good. In fact most are just down right bad. When a video game company hits the nail on the head and gets it right on the first try you can almost guarantee that there will be a sequel if not a whole slew of them. The problem with this is sometimes game companies go crazy trying to add to an already successful formula and inadvertently end up doing more damage than good.

Thankfully Activision hasn’t gotten carried away with the Guitar Hero series; they haven’t added many gimmicks and, for a game on its fourth version, they have stayed pretty true to the original formula. The one noticeable addition to Guitar Hero 3 is its online multiplayer mode, which is quite fun.

There isn’t much to say about Guitar Hero 3 that hasn’t been said about Guitar Hero 1, Guitar Hero 2 or Guitar Hero: Rock the 80s; but the game is just good clean fun.

Not being much more than a musical reflex test, GH 3 still does what it needs to do to entertain the masses. The new music tracks are excellent and with 71 songs to shred to, there are more musical options than on any other Guitar Hero installment. Another notable fact is that the guitar included with the game is now wireless, a small but welcome change to an already awesome game (this doesn’t mean that people who bought Guitar Hero 1 or 2 have to buy the guitar again, the game is sold solo as well). Guitar Hero 3 also includes real life bonus characters: Slash and Tom Morello (of Rage Against the Machine) are both unlockable in the game.

Additionally, the graphics received a small upgrade and the sound actually seems better than previous versions of the game – not to mention that more bands signed on to perform their own music.

The game is as fun as ever and for old fans of the series it is a great expansion. For newcomers to the series it is a great alternative to the much more expensive Rock Band.

I am giving Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock 4 out of 5 pot leaves. Get stoned and shred like the rock star you are!