First Guitar Hero III videos are ... different

by Justin McElroy { May 31st 2007 at 8:15AM }

From the "If It Ain't Broke, Change It" department comes these first videos of Guitar Hero III, which were posted, then apparently pulled by IGN. We believe these are from the 360 version, but the quality is low enough that it's probably a moot point. As you can see, the HUD has been completely revamped, with lights replacing the Star Power meter and a new chain counter that tells you how many notes you've hit in a row. According to this IGN feature, the timing has also been changed, which may explain the early Wyld Stallyns-level performance in the videos.

It's hard to blame the team from Neversoft if the game's playing a little differently at the moment, as they didn't have access to the code (created by Harmonix) from the original two games. Besides, there's still time for tweaking. Feel free to express your rage at the ever-progressing march of time (and rock out to some Foghat), right after the jump.

[Via Arrogantics]

Tags: activision, guitarhero, guitarheroiii, neversoft, ps3, wii

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

mo @ May 31st 2007 8:21AM

everyone complains about this being different, and halo 3 being the same

i think people just like complaining, and they will complain all the way to the store to buy it

Kn1ves @ May 31st 2007 8:22AM

i dont like what you said mo

tommy redd @ May 31st 2007 8:23AM

yes, but when is "nose comb hero" coming out? guitars are soooo last year.

Rex Dart @ May 31st 2007 2:15PM

Heh..there's no "o" in Wyld Stallyns...

Pete @ May 31st 2007 8:33AM

It seems as if the tolerance for hitting notes has become much more exact. The way this seems to be playing reminds me of Frets on Fire, in which you have to hit that note within like 100th of a second in order to get it.

I hope they fix this stuff before the game comes out. It would be a shame if Neversoft ruined the franchise.

sheppy @ May 31st 2007 8:43AM

Wow, adding a counter to the meter would have been awesome but these new HUD elements lack artistic punch.

jason @ May 31st 2007 8:46AM

Picture of Guitar Hero III's NEW guitar

http://media.xbox360.ign.com/media/899/899096/img_4585768.html

Justin McElroy @ May 31st 2007 8:57AM

I know it's only 8:55, but I'm officially going to give today's "Awwww, Geek Check!" award to Rex Dart. Congrats, Rex, thanks for the spot.

copa @ May 31st 2007 9:02AM

"a new chain counter that tells you how many notes you've hit in a row."

Actually, the chain counter exists in GH2 as well. It's right over the multiplier display, although it is not as prominent as the one in the video.

Those notecharts look pretty boring. I'm getting concerned about the song selection here.

OrganicShadow @ May 31st 2007 9:07AM

Looks more like 80's Guitar Hero to me. That guy looks exactly like the dude from the concept art.

Mmurdock @ May 31st 2007 9:10AM

what do you see missing from the guitar in that picture? Thats right. No cord.

play a real instrument @ May 31st 2007 9:20AM

Guitars have strings, therefor this isnt a guitar.

sheppy @ May 31st 2007 9:24AM

I suppose this is a good place to whore out a controller repaint I did.

http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/56517336/

@play a real instrument

http://cad-comic.com/comic.php?d=20070509

DarthDavid @ May 31st 2007 9:25AM

Everything looks smaller....notes look rather boring...(maybe its on hard mode?). I'm sure they'll fix it...that pic of the 360 guitar looks gay in white...I hope the PS3 and WII get it in black

murph @ May 31st 2007 9:28AM

wireless guitars and online multiplayer...FTW!! the new guitar looks awesome and it has removable faceplates. i'm sure the timing, HUD and graphics will all be sufficiently tweaked before release.

the IGN article mentions a preview of "battle mode" coming on Friday.

Jason @ May 31st 2007 9:33AM

My only request is get rid of the clicking sound the strum bar makes... is that necessary? I think you need to feel the click, but on my friend's guitar it's fairly loud and distracting if you're playing at a low volume. I do like the more flush fret buttons... the GH2 ones were a little tall and seemed to get in the way when your're sliding fingers up and down the neck.

sheppy @ May 31st 2007 9:35AM

"the IGN article mentions a preview of "battle mode" coming on Friday."

Dollars to donuts, they directly steal the system from Pump It Up.

Captain_Hairy @ May 31st 2007 9:37AM

If I remember right, the guitars are going to be different for each console. At least, that's what my brain is saying at the moment. Pay no heed if I'm wrong.

luckybob2005 @ May 31st 2007 1:32PM

@13
ty for owning a real instrument,
but yeah it does look like a junked up version of Guitar Hero, I hope this game is fun. Else I guess I'll just play Rock Band by the real programmers.

Fernando Rocker @ May 31st 2007 9:40AM

A silver guitar for the Wii will be awesome... like this

http://media.wii.ign.com/media/899/899094/img_4497794.html

But in Les Paul shape

Jason @ May 31st 2007 9:41AM

A better look at the guitar is on IGN Gear:
Will this one make the current 360 axe a turd?

http://gear.ign.com/articles/792/792876p1.html

fawazr @ May 31st 2007 9:45AM

@Sheppy

Hooray for underachieving! Playing a real guitar is so pointless and scary... plus it's only worth it if you become a rockstar.

sheppy @ May 31st 2007 9:54AM

@fawazr

"Hooray for underachieving! Playing a real guitar is so pointless and scary... plus it's only worth it if you become a rockstar."

Oh man, you have me totally nailed, man. I mean, why shouldn't I totally devote myself to guitar when I already devote myself to my MicroKorg, Orion Platinum, Battery 3, Trigger Finger, Radium 49, and ProTools? Oh wait, I know basic guitar in both lead and bass functionality as well as being a fairly low level drummer.

But wait, I guess that's why I play Guitar Hero, huh? Because it's a game. It's a rhythm game. I expect nothing more and nothing less than that from my rhythm games. I'm only upset I'll never fight an alien uprising in GoGo boots....

Moron.

Hey Apples @ May 31st 2007 9:55AM

The user interface looks like a mockery of itself. To quote the famous Mike Ditka, you can't add to something by subtracting from it.

Also, they obviously didn't learn from the last one where strobe effects = irritating beyond belief.

I know development still has a way to go, but this just confirms in my mind that this franchise is in grave danger of dying to the corporate cashgrab of Activision.

Almack64 @ May 31st 2007 10:00AM

...And the internets yet again go tooo....

Sheppy!!!

Man its still early lol...

Matthew @ May 31st 2007 10:02AM

Wow I sure hope they change the timing cause i can tell just from looking at it that it is FU**KED up!! How the hell are they supposed to think we are going to play it if the notes don't match the beat. GH2 may be the last GH I buy.

jason @ May 31st 2007 10:04AM

@fawazr

Playing a real guitar is so pointless and scary... plus it's only worth it if you become a rockstar.

Playing guitar isn't pointless you usually take lessons and meet people who also play guitar socialize and girls usually like guys who can play guitar. You also can play some of your favorite songs and entertain your friends.

jason @ May 31st 2007 10:10AM

@hey apples

Da Coach
Da Bears

fffunfarm06---xbl @ May 31st 2007 10:10AM

somethings is fuked up when he plays, sorry to get off subject with guitars at the moment, but did you hear the volume of the singer go down when guitar messed up? wtf? that doesnt happen in real life. and then the notes arnt making the song sound any good. the guitar sound was really sensitive to how long or short you pressed the note. and and the guitar doesnt sound right for the song.

the notes, if you could understand it this way, seem not to have come right from the guitar and then had made the notes dependent on the frets you play, but that your just pressing frets to make courds. pre-made stock courds.

what do you think of my reasoning? personally i think this guitar hero will suck badly. i love GHII but i think this is the end of the road for it.

T @ May 31st 2007 10:13AM

Hopefully the display does get tweek significantly, it just doesn't look...right. Not the new elements, but the old ones. As somebody said, everything looks so small.

Not to mention the "Star Power Ready" message looks a little nondescript.

I'm all for a new look and a few new elements, but then why screw up the old elements you keep in?

NintendoFanbot @ May 31st 2007 10:13AM

WYLD STALLYNS RULE

AirIntake @ May 31st 2007 10:18AM

Don't play Forza, learn to drive a real car!
Don't play Splinter Cell, learn to assassinate real people!
Don't play Pokemon, learn how to train your pets to fight each other!
Don't play GTA, learn to do a real drive by!
Don't play Halo, learn to kill real aliens!
Don't play Mario, learn to jump on real mushrooms!

See how retarded Guitar Hero 'learn to play a real guitar' haters sound when applied to other games? They're probably just pissed because they know how to play a real guitar yet still can't play the game worth a shit.

ulkesh @ May 31st 2007 10:23AM

How can anyone even remotely complain about the timing of GH3 from these videos when the videos are second-hand, and it's quite possible the audio/video sync could very well be off.

You will simply have to wait until the game comes out, play it on your HDTV and test it yourself (or be one of those who seem to lack a life and spend all their time showing off in a Best Buy :) ).

As for the graphics, if you don't like it, what exactly would you change? To me, it's not all that bad, but I'm not a graphic artist by any means. It also makes sense that they will want to capitalize on the success of GH2. People don't like drastic change; familiarity is good in this type of business.

Also keep in mind that these videos are not of the release version. They obviously weren't intended for mass consumption, hence pulling them quickly from the original posting.

We need to give the developers some breathing room and not be so quick to judge until the final release is out and we spend our hard-earned money on the game/guitar(s).

AirIntake @ May 31st 2007 10:27AM

If it's the same as GHII, there will be a delay feature, so you should be able to adjust the timing to whatever feels right no matter how off the default is.

kfresh97 @ May 31st 2007 10:29AM

These totally can't be from the Neversoft-created GH3... I don't see Bam Magera ANYWHERE! O.o

sheppy @ May 31st 2007 10:32AM

"As for the graphics, if you don't like it, what exactly would you change?"

Personally, I'd keep the "guage" look of the multiplier. It had more relevance to the guitar (Electric Tuner... SEE? I own a guitar). Right now, the score area doesn't seem to sync up with any devices I see. Likewise, I don't like how the multiplier counter has avoided the ten step visual in favor of a five step visual but with two different states per LED (so you have 10 hits required... but only five sections on the GUI to indicate that). I also don't like how the counter STARTS once you hit 30 notes. But most of all, the Multiplier/Score GUI section has more in common with a VST, visually, than an actual Guitar peripheral.

Nat @ May 31st 2007 10:42AM

I love how no one reads the article on IGN. They explain that the timing was messed up in this VERY EARLY build. Neversoft assures that it won't actually be that bad in the final game. Please people, read the info before spouting "THIS GAME WILL SUXZ GUESS GUITAR HERO II WILL BE DA LAST GREAT GAMEZ"

Vince @ May 31st 2007 10:45AM

nobody reads IGN.

Kevin @ May 31st 2007 10:53AM

I think people SHOULD at least mention that it looks like the timing is far more strict - the REASON GH2 is a lot of fun is that it is accessible - it doesn't require timing down to the millisecond but it does require you to be "close". I have played some other rhythm games (guitar and otherwise) and if you are required to be too exact it just makes the game frustrating, especially to new players. If millisecond timing is required, my wife won't enjoy it (and she loves GH2). If they change to really exact timing, I WON'T be getting GH3 and we have clocked HOURS on GH2 and absolutely love it.

Kinsella @ May 31st 2007 10:54AM

Looks like an early version, and most likly placeholder graphics for the meters and such, but panic if you'd like about them.

And that girls like guys who play guitar? Urban myth.

Rallion @ May 31st 2007 10:55AM

Heh, it sucks to actually have to reprogram the whole thing. I'm just going to assume it'll get better for now.

I didn't really think about how boring it's going to be to play My Name is Jonas. Love the song, but...

Raikage @ May 31st 2007 11:06AM

@Rallion

I was thinking the same but if you listen to the second half of the song it really picks up.

Harmonica attachment FTW

PS If you like the song check out the cover by Afinnity. I think the music is a little better.

Christopher7xii @ May 31st 2007 11:11AM

"33. If it's the same as GHII, there will be a delay feature, so you should be able to adjust the timing to whatever feels right no matter how off the default is."

There's a difference here. The timer they're talking about is the window of opportunity for hitting the button is smaller than it used to be. Not as much of a delay issue as it is a limited timer... Try playing Guitar Freaks to see what I mean.

As for saying "why play halo 3 when you can just kill real aliens?" as a defense against the learn to play real guitar... There's a big difference. I'm in your camp of it's dumb to say, but at the same time it's NOT the same thing as Halo or GTA or whatever. Reason being is their controllers aren't designed specifically to mimic the tools you use. Guitar Hero does. So it's more akin to playing a real guitar versus playing with the controller / shoulder buttons.

Anyways, usually people just use the "go learn to play real guitar already" line because they're annoyed you're so good or bragging.

Einhanderkiller @ May 31st 2007 11:23AM

Whoa. My substitute math teacher was right when he said new Guitar Hero III details would be released soon. (Apparently, his brother is a developer on GH3.)

edog lost @ May 31st 2007 11:49AM

I don't care about any of these problem. I am going to play it no matter what. You all know you will too. Plus the game is going to be polished and kinked out before release. I can't wait to fake rock out to "My Name is Jonas" it's going to be loud and it's going to kick ass.

XGamerX @ May 31st 2007 11:52AM

I dunno i liked the video. I like the songs listed so far. I wonder what versions the video were for?

http://gamergeddon.com/

Bearxor @ May 31st 2007 12:06PM

The thing that irritates me is the graphics. I don't play this game for ultra-detailed models or to stare at fake goth-chick boobies. The stuff going on in the background is just that, the background. It's nice and all, but completely unnecessary to jazz it up the way they have done. It looked perfectly fine in GH2.

I think that it's just lost some of it's charm with the way the characters look now. It feels more like a huge mega-blockbuster game release now than a smaller 'fight against the bigger publishers' that it was (for obvious reasons, of course).

Oh, #9, copa... Other GH's had chain counters but they only went up to 40. Once you hit 40 and the 4X multiplier the counter just stayed where it was at.

Andy O. @ May 31st 2007 12:24PM

Judy Nails looks like she got punched in the face with the Fist of Ugly™. (If that is Judy in the IGN pic #1)

Damn, gag me.

Aex @ May 31st 2007 12:35PM

That dude playing sucked.

MasterChief @ May 31st 2007 1:01PM

Treyarch screws up everything. COD 3, Spiderman 3, and now guitar hero 3. I hope they plan on making god of war 3 so it will suck and no one goes and buys ps3's. I for one am passing this game up and goin for rock band. I used to love the guitar hero games, but one thing you learn playing video games is never trust Treyarc. :(

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