GUITAR HERO III

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Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock is a music video game and the upcoming third full installment in the Guitar Hero series (the fourth title overall). In May 2006, RedOctane, the publisher of Guitar Hero and Guitar Hero II was purchased by Activision.[2] Because of this purchase, Guitar Hero III will be published by Activision and development responsibilities will shift from Harmonix Music Systems to Neversoft Entertainment.[3]

Development history

Activision initially stated that the game is planned for release in the fiscal year of 2008, which stretches from March 2007 to March 2008.[4]

On April 9, 2007, RedOctane published a comment on their support webpage concerning Guitar Hero II's release date, stating that the PS2 and Xbox 360 versions had been released in November 2006 and April 2007 respectively. They then unofficially stated that "Guitar Hero 3 for the Playstation 2, PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii are currently scheduled for release in the United States in Fall of 2007".[5][6]

On April 16, 2007, RedOctane founder Kai Huang confirmed the release platforms for Guitar Hero III to be released early 2008. Additionally, Huang revealed that all versions of the game will feature wireless controllers as well as online multiplayer and downloadable content.[7]

Metal news site The PRP reported that Queens of the Stone Age have been confirmed as appearing in several upcoming video games, one of which is Guitar Hero III. (Rock Band, produced by Harmonix, is also included in these titles.) This made them the first confirmed band in the game.[8]

Canadian rock station 102.1 The Edge conducted an interview with rock band Velvet Revolver. During the interview, the band's bassist Duff McKagan revealed that possibly two songs ("She Builds Quick Machines" and either "Let it Roll" or "Get Out the Door") from their new album Libertad will be featured in Guitar Hero III.[9]

Guitar Hero III was officially announced by Activision and RedOctane on May 23, 2007 for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Wii and Xbox 360. There was no mention of the DS version, but the fall 2007 release date was reconfirmed. New wireless controllers shaped like a Gibson Les Paul (PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360) and Kramer (PlayStation 2) models were also confirmed, along with removable faceplates that will allow players to personalize their guitar. Activision also avoided all mention of the title "Guitar Hero III," instead referring to the game as "the next Guitar Hero."[10] Also promised by Dusty Welch, head of publishing at RedOctane, are "new online and multi-player game play modes", and that "many of the top bands and songs we've tried to get in the past are now on board, and we've definitely got some giant aces in the hole to say the least,"[11] The online play feature will also extend to the Wii version, as announced by Nintendo at the 2007 E3 conference.[12]
The wireless guitar controllers for all 4 systems: Xbox 360, Wii, PS3 (Gibson Les Paul) and PS2 (Kramer Pacer)
The wireless guitar controllers for all 4 systems: Xbox 360, Wii, PS3 (Gibson Les Paul) and PS2 (Kramer Pacer)

A week later, IGN revealed the wireless Les Paul controller, which will feature a removable neck for travel purposes. Additionally, new gameplay videos and screenshots were revealed.[13][14][15][16] While the gameplay does not appear to have changed, the graphical display of Star Power and the streak/multiplier meter has been altered.

Metal Injection revealed that Slash will be a playable character in the game. Slash did motion capture with RedOctane to record his movements for the game, and by beating him in a one-on-one competition (playing an original composition of his[17] ), he will be unlocked as a playable character. Beating him in this challenge will result in the player and Slash playing the master track of "Welcome to the Jungle" as an encore song.[18]

On July 9, 2007, Activision announced that the full title for the game was Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock.[19]

An interview with RedOctane's co-founder Charles Huang on Guitar Hero III suggests that they are "hoping to really bring the experience to the DS and to do some very, very different approaches" and were "working through a lot of engineering issues with Nintendo."[20]

Gameplay

See also: Common gameplay elements in the Guitar Hero series

Battle Mode
A screenshot demonstrating Battle Mode and Slash as a playable character.
A screenshot demonstrating Battle Mode and Slash as a playable character.

IGN announced the game would feature a new multiplayer game mode called Battle Mode.[21] The mode puts a twist on the Pro Face-off mode introduced in Guitar Hero II. Two players will face each other, trying to complete a song while successfully playing Star Power sequences to earn attacks that can be used against their opponents. Players will be able to store three attacks at a time and can activate them by tilting their guitars upward. If neither player fails the song, they will face each other in a sudden death segment. The attacks will include:

* Broken string: One fret button on the opponent's guitar will not work until it is fixed (by rapidly tapping the button).
* Difficulty up: The opponent will play the song on an increased difficulty for a short duration of time (except for expert difficulty).
* Amp overload: The fret board will shake and appear blurry, making the scrolling notes difficult to read.
* Whammy bar: The opponent will have to use the whammy bar before he/she can play notes again.
* Steal power: This will steal your opponent's power-up (this will be lost if used when the opponent has no power-up).
* Double notes: The opponent will have to play any single note as a two-button chord, and any two-button chord as a three-button chord for a short amount of time.
* Lefty flip: The fret board will be mirrored, requiring the player to switch their handedness on the guitar.

Character cast
Bret Michaels' in-game character will sing vocals while the player performs certain songs
Bret Michaels' in-game character will sing vocals while the player performs certain songs

It has been revealed by Neversoft lead developer Alan Flores in a GameSpot interview Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock will feature a cast of thirteen characters.[22] Returning to the game are the characters of: Axel Steel, Casey Lynch, Izzy Sparks, Judy Nails, Johnny Napalm, Lars Ümlaüt and Xavier Stone, while Midori is known to be a new character. Clive Winston and Pandora have been removed from the cast. The reason for Clive's removal is that the developers feel Xavier Stone replaces Clive as the 70's rocker while they say they took Pandora's features and melded them with Judy Nails.[23] No official statement has been made about Eddie Knox's inclusion or exclusion from the game.

Still according to Flores, Guitar Hero III will feature 3 boss battles in the game (one of them being the aforementioned Slash), and one of them will be against a "fictional" guitarist.[22] The other boss will be a real guitarist, whom Alan Flores comments people will recognize once Neversoft reveals his identity.[22] USA Today revealed that an animated Bret Michaels of Poison and the Bret Michaels Band would be singing on August 11, 2007. [24]

Venues

In addition to four new songs, ScoreHero also reported some of the venues that will be featured in the game. The names of the venues are "Backyard Bash", "Mitch's Moose Lounge", "Video Shoot", "Ye Olde Royal Odeon", "Shanker's Island", "Desert Rock Tour", "Kaiju Megadome", and "Lou's Inferno". The venues were described as "amazingly well done", without providing further specific details.[25]

Soundtrack

On May 23, 2007, Activision announced 11 songs that will appear in the game. IGN revealed two more tracks on May 31.[11] A trailer for the game revealed two more tracks on July 9.[26] Users from the ScoreHero forum reported 4 additional songs on July 25, 2007.[25] The list includes both cover songs (indicated by the phrase "as made famous by") and master tracks, featuring performances by the song's original artist.[16] The Living Colour track, "Cult of Personality" was rerecorded (with a new guitar solo) by the band after the master track could not be located. According to IGN.com, this new guitar solo makes the song on expert "just plain ridiculous."[27] On August 16, Gamespot announced that the Poison track Talk Dirty to Me is a remastered version of the original song, [28] but later that day an official press release noted that it is a "as made famous by" cover version.[29] Several tracks by European artists were announced by Activision on August 22, 2007, and one more track was revealed by Activision on August 23, 2007.[30]

Lead developer Alan Flores states in a GameSpot interview that there will be "over 70 songs", (over half of them master recordings) on the final soundtrack for the game.[22]

As of August 23, 2007, there have been 46 songs confirmed:
bold denotes song performed by the original artist (all other songs are covers)

* "3's and 7's" – Queens of the Stone Age[31]
* "Avalancha" - Héroes del Silencio[30]
* "Barracuda" – Heart[32]
* "Black Magic Woman" – Santana[33]
* "Cherub Rock" – Smashing Pumpkins[32]
* "Closer" - Lacuna Coil[30]
* "Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll" – Blue Öyster Cult
* "Cult of Personality" – Living Colour[32]
* "Even Flow" – Pearl Jam[32]
* "Generation Rock" – Revolverheld[30]
* "Go That Far" – Bret Michaels Band[24]
* "Hier Kommt Alex" - Die Toten Hosen[30]
* "Hit Me with Your Best Shot" – Pat Benatar[34]
* "I'm in the Band" - The Hellacopters[30]
* "In the Belly of a Shark" - Gallows[30]
* "Knights of Cydonia" – Muse[32]
* "La Grange" – ZZ Top[25]
* "Lay Down" – Priestess[32]
* "Mauvais Garçon" - NAAST[30]
* "The Metal" – Tenacious D[32]
* "Minus Celsius" - Backyard Babies[30]
* "Miss Murder" – AFI
* "Mississippi Queen" – Mountain[31]



* "My Name Is Jonas" – Weezer[32]
* "The Number of the Beast" – Iron Maiden[25]
* "One" – Metallica[35]
* "Paint It, Black" – The Rolling Stones [32]
* "Paranoid" – Black Sabbath[31]
* "Radio Song" - Superbus[30]
* "Raining Blood" – Slayer
* "Reptilia" – The Strokes[31]
* "Rock and Roll All Nite" – Kiss[32]
* "Rock You Like a Hurricane" – Scorpions[26]
* "Ruby" - Kaiser Chiefs[30]
* "Sabotage" – Beastie Boys[32]
* "School's Out" – Alice Cooper[32]
* "She Bangs the Drums" – The Stone Roses[36][37]
* "She Builds Quick Machines" – Velvet Revolver[38][32]
* "Slow Ride" – Foghat[32]
* "Suck My Kiss" – Red Hot Chili Peppers[25]
* "Sunshine of Your Love" - Cream [39]
* "Talk Dirty to Me" - Poison[24]
* "Take This Life" - In Flames[30]
* "Through the Fire and Flames" – DragonForce[25][40]
* "Welcome to the Jungle" – Guns N' Roses[41][32]
* "When You Were Young" – The Killers[42]

In addition, bands confirmed to be contributing to the game include:

* Another song by Velvet Revolver from Libertad[9][38]
* An original song composed and performed by Slash of Velvet Revolver.[43]

Concerning other bands, Huang also stated in an interview, "We've got a lot of songs and artists still that we would love to have. In particular, we've been trying to get Metallica, AC/DC and Led Zeppelin. So hopefully sometime in the near future, my wish and everybody's wish will come true and we can get some of their music in the game."[44]