GH3

So I finally got a chance to play a little bit of it last night (had kind of a quasi-date - yay!). He and I played through up to part of the fifth level, and here's a few of my observations:

the gripes first:

Load time on ps2 for the game? REALLY REALLY FUCKING SLOW. Like... almost unbearably so. But I suppose that should be expected on a system that's a generation older than the one it was designed for.

It took me a while to get used to it again - I feel like it's harder to tell when you made a mistake (at least on co-op mode), and harder to see the lines that mark the rhythm of the song - which I know for some people isn't a big deal, but it really threw me off for a while.

Also the backgrounds are WAY more distracting than in previous ventures, which I'm sure is more interesting for people watching, but it gets a little difficult for those of us playing. Again, this might be better on solo guitar mode.

The guitar? More responsive (good) but I don't like the buttons as much personally. They don't seem to press as easily. Maybe they just haven't been worn in as much as Hock's were :)

Biggest gripe - some of the songs are just NOT where they should be. For instrance - Welcome to the Jungle was WAY harder than any of the other songs in the same section. And even worse? Holiday in Cambodia is just not even FUCKING FAIR. Cam was the only one who could make it through the beginning. It is so DAMN HARD! Then the bass comes in, and it's JUST AS BAD. It was the only song we didn't beat the first time through on expert.

No vrrmmm-screech! BOO!

The plusses?

New songs! New songs! GOOD new songs! It's so nice. I like the track listing so far much better than GH2. I bet I could gold star my name is jonas. I kicked that song's ass the first time we did it.

The graphics are pretty great. I have to admit.

The option of a co-op career is REALLY nice. I can't believe it took them so long to figure it out.

Other than that, I didn't really get enough of an idea of the game. It seems promising. Especially the track list. I feel pretty confident about being able to rape my way through expert with you guys over Christmas. It'll be fun. Except for fucking dead kennedys. And I'm not super excited about anarchy in the usa either.

Basically I'll have to give it time. Let it grow into me. I'll admit, it's not as immediately appealing as 2 was. But we'll see :)