Guitar Hero III is the second in the series for the Xbox 360, but the first from Activision. After Guitar Hero II, Harmonix broke away to work on new ventures, and Activision stepped in to continue the hit series with RedOctane. But did the game live up to its own high standards? Here is a breakdown of some of the facets of Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock for the Xbox 360:

Presentation and Graphics: Guitar Hero games have never been about insane graphics. Most of the time, you don’t even see them. But behind the fretboard, there is a lot going on. The characters and environments have been improved slightly from Guitar Hero II. Everything is still over the top, which is great for this game. My only issue is with slowdown, which seems to happen whenever you activate Star Power. The fretboard slows a bit as everything kicks in and the graphical stylings change. It doesn’t affect the gameplay too much, but if you activate Star Power with a lot of quick notes coming, this may make you miss a few. 4 of 5

Sound and Music: What can I really say here? Guitar Hero III has a great soundtrack with more original recordings than ever. The game blends classic rock with hits of today for a great guitar shredding experience. Every song sounds terrific in 5.1 channel surround sound. There were improvements in the crowd noise in Guitar Hero III which really add to the experience. You can now hear slight chatter during slow parts of the song, which is like being at a real concert. 5 of 5

Gameplay: Guitar Hero III retains the solid gameplay that the series is known for. In a way, the game is both easier and harder than Guitar Hero II. Easier because the window available to hit each note has increased, meaning you don’t have to be as precise in your timing to hit ever note. Harder because the amount of notes per song has increased and their placement is a bit tougher than previous games. If you haven’t played Guitar Hero in a while and grab GH3, you’ll be surprised at the difficulty level in the first few songs. As you play through, you’ll be amazed at some of the songs, especially in the 8th tier.

New battle modes have been introduced to the game as well, which are used in Career in the form of Boss Battles. Instead of collecting Star Power, you collect various Attacks to try and knock out your opponent. Some of these attacks include Broken Strings, where your opponent has to tap a button to bring the string back, Difficulty Up, and Amp Overload, which makes the fretboard shake and the notes flash in and out. There are many more, each trying to achieve your ultimate goal: rock harder than your opponent. If your opponent’s Rock Meter goes too far into the red, you win. 4.5 of 5

Multiplayer: A first for the series in Guitar Hero III is online multiplayer. You have the options for both offline and online co-op and battles. The online portion of the game is very fluid with no or little lag, making it a great time. If you think you’re good enough, try your hand online and find out just how well you stack up. One thing missing in Guitar Hero III’s online capabilities on a Co-op Career mode. It would have been nice to go through the Co-op Career with a friend on the other side of the country, especially if you don’t have the funds for a second guitar. 4.5 of 5

Lasting Appeal: With new track packs already being released, Guitar Hero III will provide a great deal of fun of months to come. Even without the add-on content, going through the game on Hard and/or Expert should give you a lot of gameplay, especially if trying to get 5 stars on every track. 4.75 of 5

Final Word: If you’ve never played a Guitar Hero game, buy this. If you have, buy this. Guitar Hero III continues the tradition of great gameplay and tons of fun.

Overall: 4.5 of 5

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