Tuesday Tidbits: Guitar Hero and More

I know I promised a full review of Guitar Hero III: The Legends of Rock on the Wii some time this week but as I went to shred town yesterday I realized that wasn’t going to happen. To give GH3 a proper review you’ve got to play it all and then look back and for me that would probably put the review out to at least December the game is just that full. Of course just because I can’t give a full review doesn’t mean I won’t give you some quick thoughts. First of all this is the first version of GH I’ve played for more then 10 minutes so it’s hard to really compare to previous incarnations. I can compare the song list to previous incarnations though and quite simply this is a dream list from Metallica to Gun’s N Roses to new stuff by The Killers. The graphics are a step up from other rhythm games, most notably Dance Dane Revolution: Hottest Party, but they are still pretty low quality but that’s not really the point of the game. Once I stared playing I hardly ever focused on anything then the colored circles and lines as I shredded my way through over an hours worth of frustration and then reward. Unlike DDR which left me tired and disappointed, GH3 left me exhilarated and eager for more. The game play on easy is just challenging enough for a beginner like myself. Sure I murdered one of my favorite Social Distortion songs to begin with but after a couple of false starts on Slow Ride, I was kicking out some Benetar and Poison. Before you knew it I had finished the opening section of career mode, conquered that Social Distortion song and even taken the first step in the career mode of the game. The career mode is a blast as you unlock more songs to play and can outfit your character with new gear and a new ax. My only two complaints about the game are that you have to play career mode to unlock all the songs to play for fun and that you can’t purchase a second guitar by itself as of yet to take advantage of all the delicious battle modes. Maybe once that’s available I’ll be able to do a full review.

Is anyone still watching Chuck (Monday 7pm CST, NBC)? I am and I’ve got to say the show is losing me. It’s by no means a bad show but it has become rather formulaic that last 3 eps. Last night it was the same old story: Chuck gets new mission, Chuck neglects friends and family, Chuck is betrayed or thinks he’s betrayed by his handlers and screws up the mission, Chuck saves day. Now the humor of the show is what’s keeping it going in my mind. For example last night’s ep was memorable for show creator Josh Schwartz openly mocking his previous creation The OC by recreating Ryan and Marissa’s classic New Year’s Eve meeting from season 1, this time using Chuck and his buddy Morgan. It was one of those jokes where you see where it was going but you couldn’t believe it until it was done. Moments like that make this show worthwhile but the filler in between has to get better.

Remember what I said about Heroes possibly turning the corner last week? Oh well it was fun to dream and the coming attractions got my hopes up for next week even though I’m sure that’s a mistake.

Today’s a big new release day as Britney is back, Twin Peaks goes gold, and one of my so called favorite shows hits the shelves. Reviews to follow, kids.