"Good game overall, system requirements fairly demanding though."

First off, this is the only Guitar Hero game I've played or owned, so I cannot say how it stacks of to the prequels.

Guitar Hero is a rhythm game, and like most it is easy to start playing, but one TOUGH cookie to master. Colored dots scroll down the screen, and when they reach the bottom you need to hold down the corresponding colored button on the guitar, while hitting the strum bar. If you strum enough notes together you get a score multiplier that goes up to 4 times score. The concept is very simple and it is easy to jump into on lower difficulties. It gets a bit more complicated though. You also occasionally get star shaped colored dots. If you strum all of these correctly then you gain some star power. When you activate star power you get a bonus score multiplier. In battle mode, you gain attacks to use against your opponent instead of bonus to your score multiplier.

Since this is the PC version of the game, you need to worry about system requirements, unlike the console versions of the game. The system requirements are pretty demanding to run the game smoothly, but I manage to run it with all the graphics turned on minimum with a system that is below the minimum requirements. So unless you have a serious gaming PC/Mac, you're likely to experience some skipping during gameplay. This isn't too much of an issue though, since you really need to be listening to the music and strumming to the rhythm of the song, and not staring down the dots and waiting for them to reach the bottom.

Also, the PC version of the game come with the X-plorer guitar, which I've heard is the worst guitar available for guitar hero. Some of the older versions of the controller have messed up whammy bars, but if you buy the game now you should get a newer version of the guitar. Other than that I haven't noticed any problems with my own guitar. The strum bar is a bit loud though, but that is a minor annoyance.

Graphics- 7/10
The graphics in the game are pretty good. The band members look fantastic, with the exception of the drummer. His movements occasionally seem pretty robotic, but it's not like you'll be spending much time looking at the band when you have colored dots flying at you. It would be nice if you could lower the graphics settings even more, since the PS2 version of guitar hero has much worse visuals, but allows it to run at a decent FPS. This is no issue for those with good gaming rigs though.

Sound- 9/10
The music selection in the game is EXCELLENT! There are many many great songs, and only a few as I can count on one hand that are not so good. (In my opinion a least) I would have given this section a 10, but when you get star power a loud guitar sound effect plays which is cool is most cases, but if it happens during a quiet part of a song it ruins the mood a bit.

Control- 8/10
Controls are responsive, and if you play with a keyboard you can kind the buttons to most keys on the keyboard. Not much else to say here.

Gameplay- 8/10
Strumming notes while wielding a plastic guitar is really fun! When you can do a song really well you really get into the zone and start rocking out. The beginner difficulties are really easy so you can learn the ropes, and the later difficulties are really challenging to keep you coming back and practicing.

Songs are unlocked by playing in Career mode. You start off with 4 easy songs, and when you complete at least 3 the next tier of songs becomes available after completing the "encore song." You are prompted to play the encore song after completing your third song in that tier. When you complete a song, you earn money (the amount depends on how well you played). You also earn money from Sponsorships when you unlock a new tier of songs. Money can be spent at the store to buy different guitars, outfits, bonus songs, bonus videos, and extra characters that become unlocked and available for purchase later in the game.

After a few song tiers, you are forced to play a boss battle to continue with the career mode. In boss battles you fight another guitarist (A couple of them are famous people) and use attacks to try to mess them up and make them fail. You need to make the boss fail the song before it ends, or you lose. Boss battles can be fun, but if you get stuck it's rather annoying to not be able to progress.

There is also co-op Career, but the amount of songs you can play is limited. Online play is also available, but I haven't played online, so I can't tell you how that is.

Replay Value- 8/10
This game has incredible replay value. The song selection is superb, and it'll take quite a bit of playing to get sick of those songs. The harder songs also take a lot of practice to become good at, which extends the lifetime of the game considerably. There are also a few options for multiplayer to make it more interesting.

Pros-
Great song selection
Pretty nice visuals
The guitar really adds to the effect and makes it fun
Huge replay value

Cons-
Demands a pretty powerful PC
Extended play can make your arms/hands sore.
The guitar controller is rather expensive

As a final note, if you have console that has Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock available on it, you should probably get that. You don't have any framerate troubles if your PC is not too great, and apparently other versions come with a better guitar.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 04/25/08

Game Release: Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (US, 11/13/07)