ZA Tech Show » Rock out with your Mac out

Rock out with your Mac out

Posted on Thursday, March 12th, 2009 at 09:25 by Simon and filed under Reviews.

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock is available for the Apple Mac platform from Phoenix Software in South Africa. We’re happy to report that the experience of rocking out on the Mac is every bit as good as it is on console.

The guitar-controller boxed version of the game is bundled with the same Wired X-Plorer Guitar Controller that shipped with earlier versions of the game for Xbox 360 – so Mac owners who already own the game for Xbox 360 should be able to purchase the Mac version as a standalone and use their Xbox 360 guitar controllers with it – but not the newer, wireless versions. USB controllers only.

Things are a bit different on personal computers, and so Guitar Hero III for Mac has a handy feature that allows players to adjust timing on the game if they find that the controller is a little out of sync with their Mac.

The plastic-guitar mashing experience is instantly addictive. A long fretboard runs down the screen with coloured dots on it – hit the corresponding button on the guitar controller and strum it when the dot, or combination of dots, hits the line on the screen. Sounds simple until you try it.

The game also includes a range of rock classics from Pearl Jam, Rage Against the Machine, Iron Maiden, The Rolling Stones and more, making it a treat for rock fans. Avatars can be customised and new virtual guitars and apparel purchased from the store using credit one earns from playing the ‘career’ mode in game.

And there is an online component with rankings and the ability to compete against other players online, as well as access and download content.

And if you’re out on the road with your Macbook and no guitar controller, the game can also be played using keyboard and mouse controls.

Guitar Hero III for Mac is a polished product, unlike so many ported Mac games that are rough around the edges. But for some reason the ‘rock power’ switch where you tilt the guitar upwards didn’t work – either it isn’t supported in the guitar controller driver in the game, or there was something wrong with our guitar. Another problem came in when playing the game while connected to the online service, which would cause stutters in game-play. Disconnecting from online solved the problem, but this would undoubtedly be a headache while playing against other online users. This is probably due to latency between South Africa and international servers, however.

At R999 for the game with included guitar controller, Guitar Hero III for Mac is priced at the same point as on consoles.

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