Guitar Hero III First Impressions

One of the bigger titles to be previewed this week at the new E3 Media & Business Summit this week will be none other than Guitar Hero III: The Legends of Rock. After the first two games, Guitar Hero has become a bona fide phenomenon that has elevated and transcended gaming. So how does publisher RedOctane plan to top the previous titles? By adding a real guitar hero to the mix.

Former Guns 'N Roses guitarist Slash will be a boss battle character in Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. Slash himself appeared at Activision's E3 press conference Wednesday to promote the game, though he did not actually play the guitar or the game. Slash the video game character, however, does some serious shredding in Guitar Hero III. I got a tour of the new game, courtesy of RedOctane.

View The E3 2007 Guitar Hero III Slideshow (12 images)

When it comes to Guitar Hero, the first topic of conversation is usually the songs. The soundtrack for Guitar Hero III is long and distinguished, with more than 40 songs for initial gameplay and another 30 unlockable songs. Along with including the Guns N' Roses' anthem "Welcome to the Jungle," there are also some choice cuts from the The Rolling Stones, Beastie Boys, and Pearl Jam.

The initial song list includes:

• Paint It Black (by The Rolling Stones)
• Cherub Rock (by Smashing Pumpkins)
• Sabotage (by Beastie Boys)
• The Metal (by Tenacious D)
• My Name is Jonas (by Weezer)
• Even Flow (by Pearl Jam)
• Knights of Cydonia (by Muse)
• Rock And Roll All Nite (Kiss)
• School's Out (Alice Cooper)
• Slow Ride (Fog Hat)
• Cult of Personality (Living Colour)
• Barracuda (Heart)

The song list is impressive, and so are the new features and enhancements. Guitar Hero III will boast new multiplayer modes, including a co-op career mode as well as a "guitar battle" mode that allows players to amass power-ups and use them to attack opposing players during competition and disrupt their rhythm. "We're not trying to reinvent the wheel. We're here to add incremental content," said Jeff Matsushita, executive producer at RedOctane. "For example, people wanted to play with their friends in career mode, so we added that new multiplayer feature."

Matsushita also said the development team at NeverSoft spent a lot of time making the game look better. Indeed, the graphics are greatly improved and provide much more detail for characters and venues. Guitar Hero III's controllers, which include new Gibson Les Paul and Kramer guitar models, have also been redesigned to make playing easier.

But the biggest change for Guitar Hero III may be the addition of a more traditional game narrative with boss battles. Matsushita said there new game will feature three bosses, including Slash and a fictional game character. If you do the math right, then that leaves one more real life guitar hero that will be coming to the game. RedOctane wouldn't say who it is, but they said "it's a true rock legend" that will be unveiled in the coming weeks.

RedOctane demonstrated the Slash boss battle, and it looks like it will be a signature feature for the franchise. Matsushita said Slash actually wrote an recorded an original guitar solo for the game, which makes the experience even better. If Guitar Hero III's demonstration is any indication, then I'm sure more legendary guitarists will be lining up to participate in future iterations of the series. The game is scheduled to arrive this fall for the PlayStation 2 and 3, Xbox 360 and Wii.

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