ThunderPeel2001

I traded Call of Duty for Guitar Hero

Well, GH3 finally came out here in rainy England and I've just stopped playing a three hour session. Impressions? Well... First of all, I'm surprised just how far I've got already. While there does seem to be some bad song timing (the ZZ Top one springs to mind), GH3 is also more forgiving than GH2. As such, I'm already on level six and I've not failed a song yet on Medium. The second thing I've noticed is that the song selection is GREAT Rather than it being made up of songs and bands that I've not heard of, here I find myself knowing much more of the songs, and even if I don't know the band, recognizing the song... It's great. Playing Weezer's My Name is Jonas was worth the price of admission alone (almost). My third impression is what's wrong with GH3: I know it's been said over and over in this thread, but Neversoft don't appear to understand the music. The game looks nice, don't get me wrong, but with GH2 you could feel the love. Here it's all a bit cold, corporate and sometimes embarrassing. After Tom Morrello's Battle you get to play a classic Rage track... but before it comes on, the "camera" follows a female dancer in some stupidly tight leather pants and a tight top and she starts to dance. This is RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE here, not KISS! They were a very serious, politically-aware band. Morrello's guitar has "arm the homeless" on it, not "suck my love pump"! Zack Da La Rocha used to write FUCK SEXISM FUCK HOMOPHOBIA FUCK RACISM on his chest... and yet the camera is following this bored, half-assed, no-brained representation of a dancer across the stage... it's so incredibly NOT about the music. If you love Rage, this just feels incredibly inappropriate. It's not the end of the world, obviously, but it really makes me imagine a bunch of guys in suits, smoking cigars saying, "Hmm, this track is a bit serious isn't it? Let's sex it up a little, eh?". More evidence of Neversoft "not feeling the love" (if any more is needed) can be easily seen comparing GH2 and GH3's Career path. In GH2 you start off in a college gym, playing to a small crowd. You move to a small club. To a reasonable venue. To a massive venue. To an insane gig at Stonehenge with UFOs. (All, except the last one, rendered with nice, accurate touches of authenticity.) For you and your band, it's all about the music... You've become successful, obviously, but it's all about the live performance. With GH3 you start off in a trendy winebar (or something weird), move on to what looks like a cross between an MTV video and a stripbar and then, on the third level, you're in a STUDIO, on the back of a fake truck, with smoke machines, filming a music video. Woah, Neversoft, woah.... Firstly, one of, if not THE most enjoyable thing about Guitar Hero is playing your music to a screaming, adoring crowd... The thrill of the cheer, as it were. Except, on level three we're in corporate land, playing the songs to a director and some guys in suits... What the hell?! The crowd nose is still there... except there's no crowd. It's an oddly hollow experience and I was glad to finish the level and move on. (Talking about crowds: The first time I got an encore in GH2, it felt great. The crowd kept cheering and then clapping in unison. I felt their love. Oh yes. In GH3 it couldn't be any less exciting if a Windows dialogue box popped up and and said "Play encore? Yes/No". Seriously. There is zero atmosphere.) Next level: England. A great time to bring out some brilliant British rock acts, eh? Tip the hat to some classic Brit rock! The Who? Iron Maiden? Black Sabbath? Spinal Tap (nudge, nudge)? David Bowie? Led Zeppelin? So many more to choose from and it could all culminate in the specially recorded version of Anarchy in the UK by the Sex Pistols! It would have a nice touch and a cool level... Instead, we get, Black Sabbath (good start), The Sex Pistols (great), Sonic Youth (huh?), Weezer (what?) culminating with...... PEARL JAM! (wtf?). Why even bother?! I know that GH2 had the Stone Henge level, but that was iconic, this just seems a wasted opportunity. After this, in the little animations that tell the story of your career, you're accused of "selling out" so you do a gig in a prison to increase your credibility. This could have been REALLY cool. It would have been a perfectly level for some moody, heart-felt blues-ey tunes. The songs could have really made this work, but, as ever, Neversoft don't get the tone, so we get... Scorpions...!? SCORPIONS!?! *sigh* After the successful prison gig we get another animation... and with this one the ideology behind GH3 is revealed in all its corporate glory: Your band are bored, watching the news, when they're mentioned; Apparently their popularity is up from last week... THANK GOD! They cheer! Yay! Being in a band is like playing the stock market! Yay! As long as we're popular, that's all that matters! Yay! High five! Maybe we'll get that Coke commercial! Yay! GH3 was not made by music lovers. Some of the comments between songs, really, truly suck, too. When it comes down to it, GH2 was a true-to-its-roots, honest to god, all-about-the-music rock band. It was Led Zeppelin. In comparison, GH3 is a corporate assembled and approved rock band... with all the slick production that goes with it. By comparison, it's Hanson. I'm sure most people won't give a flying monkey's about all this stuff, and they probably don't even notice, either. Overall, it might be humourless, but it's still Guitar Hero and the track-listing is AMAZING. Even the non master recordings sound really really good. I'll play it. I'll really enjoy it. I'll recommend it to friends. But it won't get my heart.

Doesn't seem like people hate it to me, it just sounds like it's not as good as we'd all hoped... Which, considering the situation (Futurama being brought back), pretty much sucks.

Some really good points made here and, as a 360 owner, I've got to say that I'm pretty pleased with it. It took a while to find that first great game that made me glad I'd bought it (for me it was Gears of War) and others began to follow (Guitar Hero II, Bioshock, even the XBLA cheapy, Space Giraffe, has turned into one of my favourite games of all time). With other good stuff on the horizon, I don't feel any desire for a PS3 Hmm? I not sure that Sony, a member of the DVD Consortium, have made the PS3 DVD region free... Does anyone know about this?

Wow... everything looks so CLEAN! Anyways, what a crap game. Gameplay so dated even Miner Willy would be ashamed. The cleverest idea was the screenshots on the front page. As soon as it boots up it's clear how un-amazing the concept is. Still, the big walking character was quite nifty... or maybe it's because I'd endured 10 minutes of headache inducing banality first?

GameTap is pretty legit, I don't think they've got a bad rep at all? Sam & Max Season 1, Episode 4 is now available for free, too!

Hmmm? A lot of people seem to be saying that GH3 is harder for all the wrong reasons...? The video you linked to is interesting... do the playlists really overlap?! I think that Rock Band looks like it actually matches the music better?

Ah, well. These things happen

Bah, I'm sure there's someone here who doesn't care if you've just joined for the games. I know if I'd picked up the Orange Box that I wouldn't give a monkey's.

I really can't believe I wasn't the only one who had difficulty completing SS2! I always thought it was just me being a complete softy. I'm glad I went back and did it, though, it's got a good story. Patches and 0 respawn (although there's still the odd area where things continue to repawn, so you've got to keep on your toes). Did you install the "enhanced graphics" patches? They looked good when they first came out, now they look dated again... but less so than the original.

True, it could well be me being over-sensitive. I keep trying to think of it as being a bit "James Bond-y", but I can't imagine even Daniel Craig shooting a ship's crew in their sleep (which is done by the NPCs). Probably just me. Definitely surprised that there's no BBFC rating, though. It's hard to believe that the fantasy-set Oblivion could get an 18 and this not get anything...? On the plus side, it is visually STUNNING, though. Really well done.

I picked it up and I'm kind of er, surprised that it is isn't rated 18 here? I can't believe Oblivion is rated 18 while this game isn't rated ANYTHING (equivalent of a 'U'). Even Guitar Hero was PG...?! I don't mean to be prudish, but some of the things I've come across so far are kind of shocking... Shooting and killing people while they sleep... Being pulled out of a cell, beaten, driven around a city and then executed. Sure, there's not much blood, but there's pretty much everything else...! Also, again I don't mean to sound prudish, but the game seems a little racist so far, too...? The references and portrayals of eastern block countries and of Russians, so far, seem a little insensitive and ignorant? (Just me being sensitive?)

I love the configuration screen! Cracked me up. I love those old computer guys. I hate the Soda Poppers, though.

Here's a clue: It's just a family comedy. It's not satanic or demonic or anything Enjoy!

I thought it was just me!!! The spiders are the thing that got me. I remember one jumped on my head... I looked up and... and... and... (collapses into a heap on the floor, shaking uncontrollably)... it still upsets me... *sob*! The mechanics of SS2 were not nearly as well-rounded as Bioshock's (but the story and world of Bioshock's was not as believable as SS2's - so it's pros and cons). Bioshock was perfectly balanced, but SS2 was just insanely difficult... Two shots fired and my gun is broken... Argh. And they keep coming... Argh! Thankfully there's some splendid geeks who have hacked SS2 and made it more well-rounded, but the best thing that came out, and the thing that finally let me complete the game, was the official patch that allowed you to set the respawn level to 0. Thank God!!!

Seriously, Ghostbusters is great fun. Go rent it!

Really? That sucks! Two friends recently bought PS3s, an I was hoping we could all enjoy linked up play. Rats.

Is it possible to play against PS3 players on a 360?

Anyone remember Ghostbusters on the Spectrum...? It featured SAMPLED SOUND!!! This new one doesn't look too bad, actually. Provided they're not completely bound by the original movie, hopefully it will be pretty good!

Lol! Very true! I remember thinking that the graphics looked really cool... Good lord how things have dated. (Sorry for OT.) I remember that hand-drawn graphics had just about got as good as they were ever going to get, real artistry I felt, when 3D came along and set them back about 10 years... Every said 3D looked amazing, but really it looked like turd. I think we've just about caught up now where the 3D looks really, genuinely good, but it's weird looking back at graphics that not that long ago looked good! Edit: (Again, sorry for the OT) 3D Realms site makes it embarrassingly clear that there is no date and no pre-orders for Duke Nukem Forever... Gameplay.co.uk have just gone down in my estimation

Then I still think you'll really enjoy GH3. Just my opinion, but playing along to classic songs is tremendous fun!

The person responsible is a fucking genius! Shame the video was from the wrong end of the stadium and that the quality wasn't so good (it was hard to make some things out). Other than that, it's GENIUS!

Cool, just checked it out, seems like a good place for pre-orders. This was a bit odd though...? It is REALLY on its way? If so, what's with the screen shots? http://shop.gameplay.co.uk/webstore/productpage.asp?productcode=RM9139&title=duke_nukem_forever

Argh. Getting tired or Zero Punctuation now. It really feels like he's beginning to flog a dead horse. Yes, we get it, you can be rude about video games in a very short time, but now it just feels... forced and fake I can't imagine it will be around for much longer unless he takes a different angle. I remember him saying that he got complaints (as it were) for liking a game too much with his Psychonauts post, so now it feels like he waits until he gets a game he can hate for a particular reason... or forces hate about that game... or forces hate in some weird unrelated way. Just getting a bit samey now

Same here. Really beautiful little game. Not amazing, some silly things I didn't like, but I still hugely enjoyed it. I'm glad I missed the Molyneux hype as, as I've said before (! remember that insane thread that no-one seemed to be able to get their heads around? !), I think it only does more harm than good. Looking forward to Fable 2!