Having never played Guitar Hero before, I was sceptical when I opened the wrapping to find it facing me. The experience was almost intimidating; the huge case picturing men with greasy, long hair and face paint on, screaming at me! The first thing that crossed through my mind was, if I did pluck up the courage to play it, would it last longer than the other fads such as EyeToy? Well, I dived straight in and I haven't looked back since.

The first striking thing about Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock is the beauty of the guitar controller itself. Jet black and shiny, it even comes equipped with decals so that you can customise its look, or if you are too lazy then you can buy a brand new, already decorated faceplate for it. The neck of the guitar also detaches, so it's easy to store or take round to a friend's house without everyone you meet requesting a chorus of 'Kum ba yah'. For anyone who has never seen the controller, it basically consists of five coloured buttons on the neck of the guitar that representing the 'frets', a 'strum bar' that represents the strings, and a 'whammy bar', which is the bit you see sticking out that makes the notes go all funny (I think that is the technical way to describe it!) The guitar also has a d-pad and start and select buttons.

Once you have familiarised yourself with your shiny new guitar controller, it's time to rock out. The menu screen is pleasing to the eye and functions perfectly, while the career mode will challenge even the most hardcore gamers. There are over forty different songs to complete in the set list, with an option to splash out on another thirty or so, if you can raise the funds after completing the initial set. It's most likely that you will not have heard all seventy songs in the game, but even the ones you haven't heard before will soon have you nodding your head in time to the music and singing along. The variation in song styles is pleasantly surprising; there's a song for everyone in Guitar Hero III, with just some of the tracks available listed at the end of this review.

The main objective of the game is to play your guitar in time to the music, holding down the corresponding coloured button as coloured notes scroll down the screen and strumming as they hit the bottom, almost like a dance game but using your fingers instead of your feet. Sounds simple, right? Well, Guitar Hero is a game that most definitely favours those who keep trying and keep practicing; it may even take a couple of goes to complete the first song on Easy, but believe me, invest the time and you will be completing songs on Hard soon enough. The Easy mode only uses the first three colours on the fret board, so it is really a mode to learn the basics of timing, technique, and when to deliver the killer 'star power'. Every now and then, a string of notes comes along in the shape of a star, and if you nail these notes perfectly you build up your 'star power' meter. To unleash the power, lift the neck of the guitar to the skies as your loyal fans go crazy - the notes turn blue and you rack up mega points for every one you hit. The volume also increases slightly and the fans' screams are twice as intense! If delivered at the right moment, star power has the potential to turn your performance from abysmal into song of the century, so use it wisely! The step up to Normal introduces the fourth colour into the mix and Hard throws in the occasional fifth colour - not so easy when you only have four fingers (not including the thumb of course!) and I haven't even mentioned Expert mode! But stick at it and the rewards will come your way; indeed, the challenging gameplay is incredibly rewarding when you persevere and perform a tricky track nearly flawlessly.

The sound in the game is amazing - you may wonder what's so great about a song playing in the background, but it's more than that - if you hit a bum note, it will be heard in the song, and if you miss a string of notes then you'll only be able to hear the drummer and bass player desperately trying to salvage the performance! The songs differ on how well or badly you perform. Then there's the crowd; hit a good combo or solo and you can hear them cheering and going crazy, but unfortunately they can turn very quickly and they're not afraid to express their disappointment at your mistakes! Without doubt, this is one game that will have you turning your TV volume up to full!

Other than the vast Career mode, you've got Quickplay and Multiplayer options available. Quickplay simply gives you the full selection of songs and sees you trying to compete for the highest score, a bit old-school really. You can also enter the Training mode, which goes through certain parts of the song at different speeds so that you can really nail that solo for the big performance, a mode that is highly recommended for those who are struggling.

Multiplayer meanwhile is tremendous fun, with a range of options available. The two players can choose to play lead guitar, rhythm guitar or bass guitar, which is an intriguing and welcome feature. The game really comes into its own online, where you can play co-operatively or battle it out in a mode that sees a string of notes flying across the screen at sometimes frightening speeds. If you hit certain notes you are granted power-ups that aid you in finishing off your opponent. These power-ups can stop your opponent from being playing certain notes or make all of the upcoming notes flash, making them harder to play. The battle doesn't use a song to play to; it's merely a competition to see who can play the quickest solos and it can be infuriating at times. Face-off on the other hand sees you and your opponent playing the same song, where the winner is the one who misses the fewest notes. Simple and very fun, it keeps the competitive streak running throughout the game. Be prepared however to face guitar experts who hit 99% of the notes on Expert! Thankfully you can choose a difficulty level that suits you, so you are never too far out of your comfort zone. And after all of that, if you fancy completing Career mode with a partner, you can also do that online - just remember that playing Guitar Hero III may cause a considerable loss of eating and sleeping!

The graphics, while fun, are nothing special - a group of slightly 'cartoony' characters in the background as you strum away. Don't get me wrong though, it works well and fits the style of the game - and besides, if you're taking time to look at the background then you're really not concentrating on the game enough! You can unlock characters and customise them for your tours, which is a nice bonus, but when the time comes for you to perform in front of thousands of cheering people (or your pet dog), you won't be looking at your character; I can promise you that you will enter into a zone where nothing else matters except for the notes that you need to hit in order to please your audience.

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock doesn't try to be the best looker - it just promises fun and it certainly delivers this in abundance. There is a depth to this game like no other, and with over seventy songs, each with four different difficulty levels, plus the versatile and insanely addictive online mode, this will most definitely keep you rocking for a long time to come.

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock - Track List

Welcome to The Jungle (by Guns N' Roses)
One (by Metallica)
Paint It Black (by The Rolling Stones)
Cherub Rock (by Smashing Pumpkins)
Sabotage (by Beastie Boys)
The Metal (by Tenacious D)
My Name is Jonas (by Weezer)
Knights of Cydonia (by Muse)
Even Flow (by Pearl Jam)
Lay Down (by Priestess)
Cult of Personality (by Living Colour)
Miss Murder (by AFI)
Through Fire and Flames (by Dragonforce)
Number of the Beast (by Iron Maiden)
3's and 7's (by Queens of the Stone Age)
Suck My Kiss (by Red Hot Chili Peppers)
Raining Blood (by Slayer)
Reptillia (by The Strokes)
Paranoid (as made famous by Black Sabbath)
Cities on Flame (as made famous by Blue Oyster Cult)
Mississippi Queen (as made famous by Mountain)
La Grange (as made famous by ZZ Top)
Rock and Roll All Nite (as made famous by Kiss)
School's Out (as made famous by Alice Cooper)
Rock You Like a Hurricane (as made famous by Scorpions)
Slow Ride (as made famous by Foghat)
Barracuda (as made famous by Heart)

And many more...

Reviewed by Ross Helsby for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).