Guitar Hero III.

[Sock Full of Boiled Dimes]

Way more fun than II. Got it for the Wii, but it takes some getting used to the controls as they feel a little different from the PS2 guitar.

Oh yeah.

Fuck you Dragonforce...in the ass with a rubber penis and then break it off and beat them with it.

[Decade]

GH looks fun as hell, but I've never been able to play it for more than 5 minutes and therefore learn the controls.


It does make me wonder though, why not just play a real guitar?

[Swede]

I've never played it, but I've always wanted to (never had an xbox or ps2)

I have a wii now though, so I may pick it up eventually... we'll see

[Chuckles]

Because GH and the real guitar are two completely different things?

[Radiance]

Because GH and the real guitar are two completely different things?

Two extremely different things, being good at one does not make you good at the other, not even remotely. The only thing even similar is that they both build strength in your little finger, thats it.

[Chuckles]

Exactly... It's like asking why people who play Madden don't just go outside and play football! :p

[SlickWilly440]

It does make me wonder though, why not just play a real guitar?

Probably because the average person doesn't have the motivation/willingness etc, to learn how to play a real guitar, but still wants to feel the same personal pleasure of what a real guitarist feels, so they decide to play Guitar Hero, giving themselves a false sense of emotion.

So thing game helps create this false feeling to a larger population of people.

[Swede]

Probably because the average person doesn't have the motivation/willingness etc, to learn how to play a real guitar, but still wants to feel the same personal pleasure of what a real guitarist feels, so they decide to play Guitar Hero, giving themselves a false sense of emotion.

So thing game helps create this false feeling to a larger population of people.


That's basically what I figured. Everybody wants to feel like a rockstar sometimes, and this sort of simulates it. Same reason people play air guitar when they listen to music.

[SlickWilly440]

^
Yeah the same thing with Dance Dance Revolution, and all those other games such as Beatmania, which turns something that takes time and dedication to do, and dumbs them down into something anyone can do.

[Chuckles]

That's the same with almost any game... Saving the world, playing guitar, killing the devil, being a super spy, car racing, etc etc etc.

It's not that it's all escapism, it's just fun. When the hell did people start needing a reason to have it? Most GH players don't pretend that they can actually play the guitar, just like most Virtua Fighter players don't think that they can actually fight.

[SlickWilly440]

^
Well I'm referring to games that require other devices besides the classic hand held controllers or mouse/keyboard..

[Swede]

That's the same with almost any game... Saving the world, playing guitar, killing the devil, being a super spy, car racing, etc etc etc.

It's not that it's all escapism, it's just fun. When the hell did people start needing a reason to have it? Most GH players don't pretend that they can actually play the guitar, just like most Virtua Fighter players don't think that they can actually fight.

I agree. Believe me, I was not trying to bash guitar hero (or air guitar for that matter) in any way.

Games are fun. 'Nuff said.

[h2orowe]

I got to do expert (like 3rd or 4th level) on Guitar Hero 2 within 3 or 4 days :cool: but then the fact that I have horrible eyesight and no glasses fucked me over, and I can't play the game without later suffering from losing my balance (I didn't even notice the relationship with this for the first few days. Whenever I'd play the game, I'd feel rather disoriented for a while afterwards. Sometimes the disorientation wouldn't come for several hours. Nearly lost balance and ate shit at least 3 times.) so, I can't play it really. It's either that or I need to play it on a bigger TV. The little notes that come up and shit just fuck up my vision (It's hard for me to focus on the notes, so rather, I just focus on the colors and how long they go, or try to. It's hard.)

Jordan was disgustingly simple on hard. However, on expert it is the single-most ridiculous thing ever. Tapping on a guitar controller?!

[Trump]

Well, I know it makes me a little dizzy sometimes. Since the screen is always moving towards you down the screen, when I look away from the screen I still get that sensation and it messes me up.

[darighaz]

^
Yeah the same thing with Dance Dance Revolution, and all those other games such as Beatmania, which turns something that takes time and dedication to do, and dumbs them down into something anyone can do.

I beg to differ in the case of beatmania... 12's are vicious life sucking bitches from which there is no return.

[Mastiker]

Just got it today.

and you know what?

I love it. I thought I was going to regret buying it, once I saw the pricetag, but I didn't. Worth every cent.

I think its much better than one or two, and not because of graphic changes, or anything shiny like that... I just like the music selection and the fact that the songs are not covers.

I think there are maybe... six songs on the normal playlist I didn't know by heart beforehand, and of those six, I had listened to at least half and enjoyed them at one point. The selection is gorgeous.

[Roxie]

I want this so bad!

[Radiance]

I beg to differ in the case of beatmania... 12's are vicious life sucking bitches from which there is no return.

I'd agree on this one, generally people that are good at playing piano are naturals at beatmania and with study, someone that was good at beatmania could probably be a decent pianist.

[Kenshin]

I want this game so much... I can't play that well using Guitar Zero+keyboard. :(
Unfortunately, shipping for the guitar is insane.
My cousin got charged $216.20 for his GHII xbox 360 guitar. Ridiculous.

[Disney's doug89]

Guitar Heroes III is pretty much the same game as II, but with a different selection of songs. They should have added some downloadable content to Guitar Hero II instead of releasing a new game.

On a different note, I have five starred Easy and Medium but I can only do 9 songs on Hard. I fucking hate Woman.

[ZylitoL]

I want this really badly..

CLIFFS OF DOVER
Number of the Beast
One
Raining Blood

wouldn't get much better...I'd love some AC/DC there though.

[Mastiker]

Guitar Heroes III is pretty much the same game as II, but with a different selection of songs. They should have added some downloadable content to Guitar Hero II instead of releasing an new game.

On a different note, I have five starred Easy and Medium but I can only do 9 songs on Hard. I fucking hate Woman.

I like to think that the songs are a lot better in III than in I or II. I mean, even the bonus songs in III are better than some of the regulars in I or II.

They've definitely made it a much more smooth game this time around. If I felt compelled to say so, I'd say that I and II were the rough drafts, and III is the final presentation. :3

[Chuckles]

My brother-in-law got the PS2 version, but he's out of town so he let me borrow it. Been playing for like 2 days. Played GH2 once before and sucked hard, but I'm getting better.

I'm currently on Before I Forget on Hard... Goddamn chord shifting rape-fest. Also, I can clear a few expert songs, (Rock You Like a Hurricane). Haven't tried any of the bonus songs yet.

[Saitou Hajime]

Just beat the game... on Easy. I never played a Guitar Hero game before, sue me. :@ Going through it on normal now.

[ellie]

Oh I cannot WAIT to get this! Just gotta save up some money first (or get it for my birthday, which is in two weeks.)

How does GHIII compare across different game systems? I have a PS2 and would thus buy it for thus, but my cousin has a PS3 and it was pretty amazing on that one, so I don't want to be disappointed if I get the PS2 version and it's not as good as the PS3 version. . .

[knivesc]

I want this game :<

[Chuckles]

PS2 version has no online play and no Downloadable Contest. That's pretty much it. There's a few different characters in each version, but that's not important. However, the PS3 version is said to have a few problems that are hardware related.... so it's still a tough choice.

My brother-in-law got a bundle of GH3 with an SG in it, which many people consider to be the best guitar available for the game.

[Dead Sexy Vocab]

Lemme ask: How difficult is it when you play Dragonforce - Through the Fire and Flames?

[Saitou Hajime]

Which difficulty? <_<

[Vincent]

Fire and Flames on expert is nigh impossible unless you "practice that shit". On hard its perfectly doable.
I'm on the last tier of songs on expert. Fucking "raining blood" and cool ass "one" (I think One is the best song in GH3).

[Chuckles]

I like Cliffs of Dover more, but One is great too. Also, Cult of Personality owns.

Up to Black Sunshine on Expert in Career, haven't tried it yet, got there and decided to stop for the night. Don't think I'll have too much trouble with it though. Not looking forward to... well, most of the songs left. I know I can clear Cult of Personality on Expert, and I've almost finished Cliffs of Dover in Quick Play, but One and Raining Blood are just going to kill me. Not looking forward to most of the tier before that either... Stricken isn't too bad, but Before I Forget is hell... so is Knights of Cydonia.

Gonna be stuck for a long time.

Edit : Before I Forget is complete shit. Hate hate hate hate hate.

Also, I have memorized Bulls on Parade. I *****ed it on Expert in Performance Mode today.

[ZoidsPilot100]

I absolutely abhor this game compared to GHII.
The graphics on II are so much nicer, for one thing. I also liked the songs better. (And for the record, I've never heard of 90% of the songs of either game.)

The biggest thing that throws me off are the timing windows. They're so incredibly different between II and III.
I can hit a note that's nearly that's around 3/16 of a beat away and it counts...

These song charts are hell, but I give them the fact that they had to make it harder for the 'masters'.

I failed Before I Forget at 99%. Enough said about my rage for that song.

[Roxie]

I don't like what they did to the female characters...also, groupies? ick.
AXE sponsorship?! That alone is enough for me to not buy the game. Rockband for me.

[Mastiker]

I absolutely abhor this game compared to GHII.
The graphics on II are so much nicer, for one thing. I also liked the songs better. (And for the record, I've never heard of 90% of the songs of either game.)

The biggest thing that throws me off are the timing windows. They're so incredibly different between II and III.
I can hit a note that's nearly that's around 3/16 of a beat away and it counts...

These song charts are hell, but I give them the fact that they had to make it harder for the 'masters'.

I failed Before I Forget at 99%. Enough said about my rage for that song.

The graphics on III are a hell of a lot better than the ones on II. As for your taste in songs, it differs from person to person. I prefer III to II, and I know some people that still think I has the best playlist. Its all a matter of personal taste on that.

And I thought that the timing is much smoother on III. I did horribly on the other games, but I'm doing all right with this one. I doubt I got better, because I still suck at the others... I think its the game.

And I hate that! First time I played "One" I failed at 99% and stopped playing for a little while XD

I don't like what they did to the female characters...also, groupies? ick.
AXE sponsorship?! That alone is enough for me to not buy the game. Rockband for me.

What'd they do to the female characters? Make them show more skin, and add a japanese girl? I dunno, it doesn't bother anyone else. And as far as I know, there aren't groupies; just dancers.

Boo hoo Axe sponsorship. Who cares who sponsors it? Is the game good? Okay. Then play it. Too much ethics in games nowadays. :3

[Rear Admiral Grapefruit]

I like this game so far, but i'm struggling to control my left hand, i see and think one thing and it does something else, i'm slowly growing to hate my left hand every time it fails me. So i'm barely making it through medium difficulty with 3stars and ~70% notes hit each time, but that's on about 5hours of play. My friend has ranked #56 in the world rankings for thunderhorse on expert (GHII), he just shits all over every single song, except fire and flames on expert on his first few attempts, largely due to the immense tapping at the song intro.

Also, my forearm fuckin' hurts. And very good song selection as well.

[Roxie]

What'd they do to the female characters? Make them show more skin, and add a japanese girl? I dunno, it doesn't bother anyone else. And as far as I know, there aren't groupies; just dancers.
Actually, there (http://feministing.com/archives/008005.html) are alot of people (http://pandagon.blogsome.com/2007/10/28/6243/) who aren't exactly (http://thecurvature.com/2007/10/29/you-really-got-me/)enthused with the changes. While their arguements aren't my arguements, I'm still not amused.

Really, for me, I am so used to the completely unesseccary sexualization of female characters, that would not have been as big a deal for me as the Axe sponorship and the random dancers. But mostly, the Axe sponorship.

Boo hoo Axe sponsorship. Who cares who sponsors it? Is the game good? Okay. Then play it. Too much ethics in games nowadays. :3
I care, cause I am the one who is going to spend my money on it. And I despise Axe. I hate their commercials with a passion. No way will I be paying to watch one long Axe commercial. I'd rather watch a Crossroads and Glitter back to back marathon...for a week.

[Rear Admiral Grapefruit]

I've only seen AXE written on a guitar you can buy and I had no idea what it was for, if it's anywhere else I'm too busy pressing buttons to notice, buy the game Roxie, it's fun!

[ZylitoL]

It's her choice...if she chooses to let these things deter her, let it be. You're not missing out on the fun.

Having said that though, I think the reasons you listed are completely irrelevant to the game, but whatever makes you happy.

I suck at Guitar Hero but I'll still be buying the game. Hybrid picking Cliffs of Dover on medium is going to be awesome hahaha

[Chuckles]

I love the avatar Zylitol.

[Mastiker]

I care, cause I am the one who is going to spend my money on it. And I despise Axe. I hate their commercials with a passion. No way will I be paying to watch one long Axe commercial. I'd rather watch a Crossroads and Glitter back to back marathon...for a week.

D:

Roxie, I've played the whole thing through, and let me tell you... I wasn't even aware there was Axe sponsorship until you told me XD

Hell, I didn't even realize that gum "5" sponsored it until I randomly saw their symbol half covered.

Play the game and screw who pays for it. If its good, its good. They're gonna make money anyways ^.^

[Chuckles]

There is very little of Axe thrown about the games... The sponsorship was just there to help cut dev costs, the money has already left Axe's hands. The most damaging thing would be for you to get a game that has been partially paid for by the company without actually buying their products.

It's your right to not play the game, but I think that it'd be a shame to miss out on a great game because of one company that advertised in it... If you see an Axe commercial on TV, you're also watching something that has been partially paid for by Axe... and the television spots are a lot longer than the advertisement they have in GH3. (That "advertisement being a single guitar with Axe written across it, by what I've seen... Not exactly the most perceptive guy in the world though ;p)

[ZoidsPilot100]

The graphics on III are a hell of a lot better than the ones on II. As for your taste in songs, it differs from person to person. I prefer III to II, and I know some people that still think I has the best playlist. Its all a matter of personal taste on that.

And I thought that the timing is much smoother on III. I did horribly on the other games, but I'm doing all right with this one. I doubt I got better, because I still suck at the others... I think its the game.

What'd they do to the female characters? Make them show more skin, and add a japanese girl? I dunno, it doesn't bother anyone else. And as far as I know, there aren't groupies; just dancers.


Sure, the graphics have more polygons and lighting is better, et cetera, but have you seen the MODELS OF THE CHARACTERS. I swear, Neversoft put their worst designers on this game. Tony Hawk 1 was better than this.
And the animation for the drummer...oh god. Would it kill them for some tweening?
This solely applies to the character models. Backgrounds are gorgeous.
Oh, but the guitars? I will bet on my life that no guitar makes has a right angle between the top and the side. Rounded edges are our friends.

Song list, yes, I'll agree that it's all opinion.

As per timing, you must know that I've grown and thrived on Bemani games. Timing is my life. (That's not to say I'm good at it, but put that aside.)
It's ridiculous to me that GH doesn't put grades on your notes.
I thought GH2 had a decent timing window. I will confess I've never played GH1 in great length, so I can't speak about that.
But GH3 just throws that out the window. I can hit the fret button a full second before the note ever reaches the timing bar. And when that note is a HOPO, I press the button in anticipation, the game accepts it as being pressed, and when I strum as the note passes the bar, I just hear *BRRNT*.

Female characters, refer to first comment. Have the modelers ever seen a girl in their lives?

[Mastiker]

Sure, the graphics have more polygons and lighting is better, et cetera, but have you seen the MODELS OF THE CHARACTERS. I swear, Neversoft put their worst designers on this game. Tony Hawk 1 was better than this.
And the animation for the drummer...oh god. Would it kill them for some tweening?
This solely applies to the character models. Backgrounds are gorgeous.
Oh, but the guitars? I will bet on my life that no guitar makes has a right angle between the top and the side. Rounded edges are our friends.


I'm sorry, I just don't care about graphics enough. It's pretty, and I don't notice the shiny details. They neither take away nor add to the game in any way. Shit, I'd be fine if it was just the fret board, the point display and the gauge. That's all I need to play. :3


As per timing, you must know that I've grown and thrived on Bemani games. Timing is my life. (That's not to say I'm good at it, but put that aside.)
It's ridiculous to me that GH doesn't put grades on your notes.
I thought GH2 had a decent timing window. I will confess I've never played GH1 in great length, so I can't speak about that.
But GH3 just throws that out the window. I can hit the fret button a full second before the note ever reaches the timing bar. And when that note is a HOPO, I press the button in anticipation, the game accepts it as being pressed, and when I strum as the note passes the bar, I just hear *BRRNT*.

Which system are you playing GH3 on? I haven't experienced this at all on my game. Maybe I just dove in without paying attention to the timing, but I doubt it. It would have come up by now.

[ZoidsPilot100]

I'm sorry, I just don't care about graphics enough. It's pretty, and I don't notice the shiny details. They neither take away nor add to the game in any way. Shit, I'd be fine if it was just the fret board, the point display and the gauge. That's all I need to play. :3

Which system are you playing GH3 on? I haven't experienced this at all on my game. Maybe I just dove in without paying attention to the timing, but I doubt it. It would have come up by now.

In all honesty, I don't care about graphics either. But if something stands out to be particularly bad to me, I will complain forever about it. A bad flaw of mine.
Which is why I much prefer the layout of Guitar Freaks. No background to worry about, just you, the notes, your combo, and a health gauge.
And a video for those not in awe of your moves to watch.

PS2. I can't believe that to have an effect, but you never know. Maybe porting changed it.
Also I'm fairly sure my lag is all calibrated and such. And actually, it's 0 ms, according to the in-game test.

[Mastiker]

PS2. I can't believe that to have an effect, but you never know. Maybe porting changed it.
Also I'm fairly sure my lag is all calibrated and such. And actually, it's 0 ms, according to the in-game test.

I use the ps2 version as well... it probably doesn't make a difference on the game at all, but you never know.

[ZylitoL]

I love the avatar Zylitol.
Marty's fucking awesome. He's a true guitar hero in every sense of the word. What an amazing player.

I just watched some vids of the Dragonforce song and it's definitely the hardest thing ever lol. But I think the Jordan solo is harder thatn the DF solo because the notes seem more arbitrarily placed than that of DF's which is almost always in a systematic pattern (albeit @ an insane tempo which still makes it hard).
And I like the Jordan solo better...insane tritone usage at the beginning and the middle for those distinct Buckethead robotic passages.

Thank god I don't have to pass either of them in the games....I wouldn't last 10 seconds.

[Chuckles]

Isn't Marty doing promo work for GHIII in Japan?

[ZylitoL]

http://journal.mycom.co.jp/photo/news/2007/09/25/033/images/001l.jpg

Yeah he is.

Hopefully he will make it into GH4 haha...it'd probably be his Megadeth material.
Preferably Holy Wars or Tornado of Souls.....the former for the ass kicking riffage and the latter for the greatest guitar solo ever.

[Chuckles]

Is it really necessary for Rolly to go everywhere in drag?

<_< I kid, I kid. But meh, screw GH4. Just make it some DLC. Or hell, even something for Rock Band would be nice. I could see playing the bits of the Big-Deth segments for GH3, it'd kill two birds with one stone for me!

[ZylitoL]

This game is awesome! Slick new stuff on top of the awesome setlist.

Axel Steel with his Shorts outfit is Dimebag Darrell. Fucking awesome.
Don't like what they did to Izzy though lol...liked him when he was less glam back in GH2.

Great stuff. I think the mass amounts of marketing done by guitar companies actually adds to the authenticity of the game, not take away from it, which is what usually happens with game ads.

[Trump]

No matter what people say, the game is fun. I'm not confirming or denying other observations, just that I enjoyed it when I played it for a bit over Thankgiving.

[Chuckles]

Decided to start playing career again, on the 7th tier in expert... finished everything but Before I Forget, got to 97% and failed...

I hate this damn game.

[Josh]

I can't beat Lou on hard. The closest I've come was when he was in the red and I was about to get a double note and he threw a broken string my way. Bastard.

Aside from that, I just love playing Paint it Black and Sunshine of your Love, or whatever the exact name of the song is.

[Chuckles]

I got 97% on BiF again, had some total ragedom going on...


Then I tried once more and passed it :p Went on to Raining Blood and got Mosh 1'd... fuck that song.