Xbox 360: Guitar Hero III Review

As expected, I've been sucked into the black hole that is playing Guitar Hero. Even though I knew it wouldn't take me long to beat, it really doesn't matter. Yet again, I foresee tackling the seemingly unbeatable achievements for 5-starring songs that are ready to send my hands into a cramped zombie state.

There are changes this time around. As previously mentioned, it is obvious that some of the originals' rockin' feeling has been lost with the new developer. After completing the game though, I've found that those Harmonix nuances are easily forgotten. I've come to respect the higher detail on the characters and the more familiar track list.

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The new 360 wireless controller is awesome. Personally, I wouldn't care if it was wireless or not, but it is a huge improvement over the old Explorer guitars. My guitarist thanks them for making it more southpaw friendly. I even took the pocketbook hit and traded both my explorers in at a quarter of the cost just to buy another Les Paul style guitar. Unfortunately, Red Octane does not yet sell this guitar by itself; you actually have to buy ANOTHER combo pack to get a 2nd. I traded in Guitar Hero 3 in order to buy it again. Weird.

One thing that is notable is that the window of time that you can press a note is actually longer than the game's predecessors. But that's okay. There is a lot of "sweeps" so the purists can just shut up and take the forgiveness. You tell me that that increased window isn't a godsend for the DragonForce song on Expert. :)

The online play is an excellent addition as well. I don't see why Guitar Hero II couldn't include this. It did take several tries to finally get matched up with someone. Luck escaped me though; my first successful online match was against someone who choice DragonForce on Expert. Surprisingly, I won (70% to 47% or so), and even obtained the "Meet your maker" achievement. Did I play a programmer or something? There didn't seem to be any lag problems, and it went rather smoothly. High-fives to Neversoft on that one.

Lay any doubts to rest; this is still Guitar Hero, and it's still ready to absorb any gaming free time you might obtain. Put your foot up on the couch, tilt your rockin' Les Paul, and call up your hand massaging therapist.

Head Bangin' Pros:
*New Battle Mode
*Online Play
*Improved graphics

Booed off the stage:
*Iffy animations
*Spotty matchmaking
*Some menus aren't immediately clear

Resembles/Feels like:
DDR with a Fisher-Price My-First-Guitar, just like its predecessors (in the best way possible).

Rent or Buy: Definite Buy
Personal Appraisal: $99.99
MSRP: $99.99 (360 version with wireless guitar)

Other opinions:
8/10 @ cnet.com
8/10 @ gamespot
90/100 @ 1up.com