One Legend does not a Plural Make,

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock

(Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PS2; $49.99-$99.99; Rated T for Lyrics/Mild Suggestive Themes; guitarhero.com)



The third iteration of the mega-successful rock-fest is out- but this time it’s no longer in the hands of developer Harmonix (who is developing the about-to-be-released “Rock Band”), but in Neversoft’s- the developer of the “Tony Hawk” franchise.

Thankfully, the change in developers has not affected the “Guitar Hero” franchise much at all. Neversoft was very faithful to Harmonix’s original gameplay mechanics and plays “Legends of Rock” very safely- maybe even to a fault.

See at this point, the “Guitar Hero” franchise is dulling a bit- especially in the face of “Rock Band’s” impending release. When two games play mechanically the same, but one is limited to Guitar and Bass, whereas the other includes Guitar, Bass, Drums, and Vocals- Guitar Hero has only two ways to dominate: set list and innovation.

Thankfully, the well of rock songs to draw from is nearly limitless, and “Legends of Rock” does a good job of licensing tracks from the 70s to today. “I Wanna Rock ‘n’ Roll All Night” is here, “Welcome to the Jungle” is too, Metallica’s “One,” and songs from AFI and The Killers create a set list where everyone will find something they enjoy playing, and may even discover music they hadn’t considered before.
“Legends of Rock” innovates by making “Guitar Hero III” more of a game and less of a music simulator. In the Career Mode, players will have “Boss Battles” against Rock Legends like “Rage Against the Machine’s” Tom Morello and everyone’s favorite Top-Hatted shredder, Slash. In these boss battles, players will play for power-ups that can be used against their opponent to screw up their solos. Toss a “broken string” power-up at an opponent in the middle of their face-melting solo, and shred your way to victory.

But do Morello, or Poison front-man Bret Michaels have enough star power to warrant calling them "Legends of Rock?" Michaels maybe, but any legendary status should be stripped away based on his VH1 Reality Dating Show "Rock of Love;" Morello, amounts to just "that cool guitarist from 'Rage.'" Really G'n'R's Slash is the only guitarist in this game worthy of the title "Legend of Rock-" and the only one that Activision is really banking on anyways.

Battle mode is also available on local and online multiplayer, along with the ability to progress through the career mode with a buddy cooperatively. Those features, and now with standard wireless guitars (something that “Rock Band” will not come with as standard), means that “Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock” may feel a little more familiar this time around, but still rocks just as hard.