It was a greatly exciting time when when we first learnt that Guitar Hero would finally be coming to a Nintendo console, although it wasn’t all that surprising considering that Activision, the kings of multipatform gaming had taken the reins of ...
It was a greatly exciting time when when we first learnt that Guitar Hero would finally be coming to a Nintendo console, although it wasn’t all that surprising considering that Activision, the kings of multipatform gaming had taken the reins of the franchise.
However the long road to the Wii version of GHIII has been a bumpy one. For Harmonix were no longer working on the game, replaced instead by Neversoft and also Vicarious Visions to who handled Wii-specific development. A couple months out from release it was learnt that the Wii version would be missing any form of online mode and that it was missing downloadable content.
Luckily soon after we would be told that the online was back in, but the DLC was a feature that would only be included “if we get to it”. Thankfully these stumble blocks have only resulted in a scant few less additions in the Wii version and more features than the PS2 stable mate, plus the enhanced experience provided by the Wii remote. Guitar Hero; surely I don’t have to explain it you… ok maybe I had better. It is after all the first time Nintendo-only fans might have gotten their hands on it. Essentially, Guitar Hero puts you in the role of the Guitarist in a band.
As the song plays, notes fly down the screen and depending on the difficulty, up to five different coloured notes will come past. When they reach the bar at the bottom, you have to hit the strum bar and press the corresponding coloured button or buttons on the controller. More advanced songs have you holding down lots of different buttons simultaneously, or doing “Hammer-ons” and “Pull-Offs”. As the notes fly down, you’ll notice they have either a glowing top or just a black rimmed one. On the glowing ones, you don’t have to strum the bar again and this is crucial in harder songs in the later sets. Don’t worry it all sounds confusing; it was the same way for me. Thankfully the game not only includes a very detailed and helpful tutorial mode, but also a training mode so you can test out songs and slows it down in order to learn sections of songs that may be giving you grief. The game features a very good scalable difficulty meter, with easy being good for children and new players and expert being good for, well, insane people.
So obviously with the music being the crux of the game, it’s important that the game features some good tunes to rock out to. Being an owner of the original Guitar Hero and the second title, it’s safe to say that this iteration features perhaps the best track list yet. The sound track features mostly original artists but there are covers, but unless you’re a diehard fan of the band, you might not notice the difference. For the complete track listing of 71 songs check out our news story with a full list. Also included in the games soundtrack is a compliment of bonus songs, but sadly as I mentioned earlier, the Wii version as it stands is lacking downloadable content, meaning we’ll have to wait for Guitar Hero 4 or perhaps a filler disk later next year.
From a negative of the Wii version there is a positive… of sorts, but it’s a double-edged blade for some. The Wii version’s guitar features a slot for the Wii Remote and is compulsory for using the Guitar and if you are buying the Wii version you surely have a Wii Remote. But this means that if you want an extra Guitar, a friend or yourself will have to buy not only another Guitar, but another Wii Remote if you don’t have one, although surely most people have two Wii Remotes now. Also, even with the lack of a “proper” guitar and being arguably cheaper , the game is only $10 cheaper than its next gen counter parts.
The advantage of having a Wii Remote in the guitar is that it uses its batteries so nothing extra is required. Having a hole in the Guitar also hasn’t weakened it as its as strong as ever, even with the collapsible neck. The second bonus is that the game takes advantage of the Wii Remotes rumble, which activates when using star power and although its not really a deal-breaker it is a nice feature all the same. Also when you stuff up, a note clang sounds comes through the Wii Remotes speaker as if you stuffed up a real note on a Guitar.
Again, it’s not a HUGE addition but a nice addition to the overall feel and presentation. Last bonus is that the Wii Remote maps the activation of star power to the to the motion sensor in the remote, however you really have to tilt aggressively to get it going, which can be quite distracting. Luckily the select button is easy to reach with your palm or pinky finger (Depending on the size of your hand) as an alternative. Also if you are wondering, the analog stick on the Guitar is for selecting the game from the Wii menu at the start. Yep, that’s all it’s used for.
GHIII features a plethora of modes including the “its the same as before” career system from GH 1 and GH 2 and the same career system again with Co-Op (but not online on the Wii version). There is a minor difference in the career mode, which is a sort of story told through mini cartoon clips littered throughout. The new battle mode allows you to verse your mates in the usual fashion. As you play you get attacks to send to your opponent, including a broken string and speeding up of chords. They are only temporarily but will often make you fail the song.
Online mode, while having friend codes and lacking voice chat it is a still a great deal of fun. You can easily tell which of your mates are online and you can also play against random people. Leaderboards are also featured but you won’t be getting up there unless you have what the kids call “1337 sk1llz”. Graphics haven’t been a big part of the Guitar Hero games because you’re too busy tapping away on your controller to have time to notice what’s going on in the back apart from the crazy and often stupid in-game advertisements about anything from brands of musical equipment to Chev. The graphics do a good enough job but you might think that you’re playing the PS2 version as it looks pretty much the same. It is in widescreen and 480p so that is all great but the presentation of the GUI and menus makes up for the slightly ugly graphics and the off animation of the band players.
Guitar Hero III for the Wii is a game that can go head to head with its next gen cousins because the experience isn’t much different from the other consoles. The Wii version lacks downloadable content and voice chat in online, however the nice additions the Wii Remote brings to the console and the slightly lower price point do help you to ignore this. If you’re new to Guitar Hero and downloadable content is something you wouldn’t use, the Wii is the best version for you, but if you already have some Guitars from other consoles stick with that console. As it stands, Guitar Hero III is well priced, a lot of fun and ultimately worth every cent.
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