In late 2005, Harmonix and RedOctane rocked the gaming world with Guitar Hero, which has gone to sell over 1.5 million copies and win numerous awards. A year later, after RedOctane's acquisition by Activision, Guitar Hero II was released. It went on to sell more than three million copies on both PlayStation 2 and XBOX 360. And the game was followed by the spinoff Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s, which didn't really improve much to the gameplay and was criticized for its high retail price.

This year, things have changed. Upon its acquisition by MTV Networks, Harmonix parted ways with RedOctane and Activision. As a result, Guitar Hero finally has something it was missing over the past two years: competition.


Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
Neversoft/RedOctane/Activision, 2007
For the Sony PlayStation 3/Sony PlayStation 2/XBOX 360/Nintendo Wii/PC/Macintosh
Rated T (Teen) for mild lyrics

With Harmonix out of the picture, RedOctane and Activision commissioned Neversoft (Tony Hawk series) to develop the newest Guitar Hero game. While GH3 plays like its predecessors, the visuals are very different. The Rock Meter and Scoreboard look more organized, which somehow take away the soul of the game. The Star Power meter bar has been replaced with blue "Christmas" lights, which can be both very confusing and frustrating.

While GH2 introduced the two-player cooperative mode, GH3 takes it up a notch with a career mode. In addition to the traditional Face Off Mode, Battle Mode puts a new twist on the Star Power feature. Using Star Power enables you to disrupt your opponent's guitar solo and gain the upper hand. Attacks include Amp Overload (which causes your opponent's chord bar to flash), Broken String (your opponent must tap the broken fret button), Whammy (your opponent must use the Whammy Bar rapidly to get their notes back in alignment) Double Notes, Lefty/Righty Flip and Difficulty Up (not effective on Expert Mode).

And then, there's the playlist. RedOctane and Activision have managed to secure more original songs for the game. This means less covers and more of the real thing. Fans of Aerosmith, Rolling Stones, Iron Maiden and Metallica will certainly jam on this game. And just for this game, Bret Michaels (Poison), Sex Pistols and Living Colour have re-recorded their songs. GH3 also features guests appearances by Michaels, Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave) and Slash (Guns N' Roses and Velvet Revolver). (Bret Michaels' performance and likeness are not available on the PS2 and Wii versions.)Guitar Hero III comes bundled with a wireless Gibson Les Paul guitar controller (Kramer Striker for the PS2, wired Gibson Xplorer for the PC). The Wii's controller requires the Wiimote to play.

While it's not as memorable as the first two, Guitar Hero III is still an enjoyable game on its own. Just try and play DragonForce's "Through the Fire and Flames" on any mode.


Rock Band
Harmonix/MTV Games/EA Games, 2007
For the Sony PlayStation 3/Sony PlayStation 2/XBOX 360
Rated T (Teen) for mild lyrics

Harmonix succeeded in making the most popular guitar game series in history, but were they going to stop there? Absolutely not.Rock Band is seen by many fans as both a worthy successor and the evolution of Guitar Hero. Not only do you get to play guitar and bass, but you can also play drums or sing lead vocals. Up to four players can jam on one song at the same time.

Gameplay is similar to GH, only that it uses bars (similar to Konami's music games) instead of buttons as notes. Seasoned players may take a while to get used to the game's new layout. The graphics on the background feature realistic-looking people as opposed to GH's cartoonish characters, but the framerate is rather low.

For the songs, Harmonix went all out. Five record labels have supplied master recordings for the game's 45 original songs from The Ramones, Bon Jovi, Rolling Stones, KISS, The Clash and more. Plus, you'll be able to download complete albums from Metallica, Grateful Dead and The Who.While GH retains the Gibson license for their guitars, RB uses long-time rival Fender for theirs. Unlike GH's Gibson controllers, RB's Stratocaster controller features five additional frets and an effects pickup switch; not to mention that it looks more like a real guitar. The drum kit is similar to Konami's DrumMania, wherein it consists of four pads and a kick pedal. And if you're a fan of Konami's Karaoke Revolution (which was developed by Harmonix), you'll most likely be familiar with RB's USB-powered microphone, which also doubles as a tambourine or cowbell on non-vocal parts.

Set for release on November 20 (December 18 for the PS2 version), Rock Band retails for $169.99 ($159.99 for the PS2 version) and will come bundled with a guitar, drum kit and mic. And with both RB and GH3 in stores for the Holiday season, it'll be very hard to leave home this Christmas.

And here are my guitars:

Rock Band is a far better game, especially when you have friends or family over.

In the fanboy kingdom of Scorehero, this thread would already be 80 pages long, dominated by "if you don't like it, shut up and stop posting."

Yeah...GH3 sort of missed the point. Rock Band is serious fun.