GH3 introduces new tracklist

Retailers like Gamestop and Wal-Mart have begun to get ready for a tsunami of new videogames coming out in time for the holiday season. This includes some of the most highly anticipated games in video-gaming history, and it all kicks off with the release of Guitar Hero 3.

For most readers GH's main gameplay mechanic is common knowledge. For the uninitiated, GH is a rhythm game akin to the old 1980s game Simon, but with a much greater emphasis on music (as though the title didn't give that away).

The controller is a plastic guitar with colored fret buttons, and as the song is scrolled on screen the player must hit the right frets to play the song. However, there have been some new additions and tweaks to the old formula in this fourth installment of the popular franchise (I say fourth even though Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s doesn't really count as a full game in my opinion).

The first and most welcome tweak is the use of more master recordings of the included artists. The master tracks sound great and make the experience of air guitar-ing to them even more realistic. In fact, the tracklist for this incarnation is the most ambitious one seen in the series yet.

Tracks that were included in this version include punk favorites like "Story of My Life" by Social Distortion and a re-recorded version of "Anarchy in the UK" by The Sex Pistols. In addition, there are classic rock cornerstones such as "Sunshine of Your Love" by Cream and "Mississippi Queen" by Mountain. Lastly, the game also features several modern rock tracks, most notably "When You Were Young" by The Killers and "Knights of Cydonia" by Muse.

There are a total of 71 playable songs, of which 46 songs appear in the single player mode. Out of all the playable songs in the game, 51 are master recordings from the original artists. New tracks are also set to be released via Xbox Live and Playstation's network.

The game also features three boss battles. The first two are against Tom Morello, lead guitarist for Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave, and Slash, lead guitarist for Velvet Revolver and Guns N' Roses. The last one is against Lou, the devil.

The graphics have also been given a dramatic facelift as the characters appear more cartoon-like and the venues are much more animated with stage divers, cops and the rocking masses.

However, there appears to be a significant amount of menu lag present in this version of the game on all of the systems. The lag is most noticeable in the store.

The good news is that this lag is minimal and does little to detract from the fun of the core gameplay.

Additionally, there are short cutscenes when each set is completed and a new set is unlocked chronicling your band's rise to stardom. It's incredibly simple, but the animations are funny.

As for the gameplay, let me state that the essential mechanic of the game still hasn't changed. Multiplayer too is largely unchanged as face-off and pro face-off are still present.

However, there is also a new battle mode which pits players against each other in what can best be described as a Mario Kart style match where the first player to fail the song loses the battle.

Various power-ups, such as broken strings, lefty flips, and difficulty increases, are collected in place of star power and can be unleashed on an opponent. Lastly, multiplayer can now be played online against friends on Xbox Live or random opponents via Playstation's network.

GH3 is unique in that it does not seem tailored to the beginning GH player. The normal mode has been described as hard mode minus the orange button. Hard mode is much faster this time around and the solo riffs in many of the songs are incredibly tricky. The battle mode in the end analysis is too short to be fun, as it becomes a race to see which player can grab a power-up first. The boss battles also seem to lack substance.

Overall these problems in the grand scheme are very minor. The game is still fun and addicting and is a must have for veteran players and adventurous newcomers to the series.