It is finally here, and it is time to shred as fast as humanly possible as we encounter insane solos, difficult hammer-ons, and the most sadistic battles we have ever seen. That's right, Guitar Hero III has been released on the consoles and the battle for dominance has already begun.

I have been lucky enough to get a copy of the game from a local Blockbuster, being the first person to rent it from the store since I don't have the money to actually purchase the game at this moment. I only had the preorder payment which goes towards the cost of the game at this point because I didn't get it for preorder. To put it simple, this morning I had the chance to look at the CD for the first time and put it into my PS2, read to make some noise.

The very first thing I noticed was how the game loaded since it was a lot different, and how the menus worked and such. As it had already been explained, there is a co-op play mode where people can go as a team and shred down six of the eight venues and make noise, though the co-op doesn't give you the bosses.

Speaking of the bosses, each of these three bosses have their own characteristics in the game in which they play a bit differently, but at the same time, it's going to take everything you have and more to be able to beat them at their own game. First of all, Tom Morello is good enough to kick your self up and down those stairs, not to mention make you shake with every note. However, if you're able to gain the courage to pick up the guitar and hit your insane solos, you will be able to put him away once and for all as you move on with the game.

Slash is where things start to become absolutely wicked as you face him, and there are quite a few difficult songs on the way to even making it to him so by now your hands may be tired. At this point, he is not going to be nice to you and he is here to stop you from where you stand. With his insane ability to strum that guitar, you're going to have to deal with the song he wrote and his ability to run up and down that guitar. The best way to defeat him is to just be confident, for without wanting to beat him and knowing that you can, you won't survive and he will shake you off in a single moment.

The final boss is a major pain in the rear, considering that The Devil, Lou, can throw everything including the Kitchen Sink at you all at once, and there is not a single thing you can do to stop him. He will hit you with left flips, strum bars, and even the double notes that will quickly disrupt your flow. He also taunts you with his quick fingering, and his ability to go from red to green in a mere second, which makes him seem almost impossible. The only way to defeat him is to outplay and outmatch him at every single part of the song, and send him back to hell where he belongs.

The music featured in this game is absolutely amazing as you will hear many originals as well as re-recordings of some famous tracks. The second you go head to head on Raining Blood, or even if you're going to be playing Welcome to the Jungle, you're going to feel the burn throughout your fingers as you try to catch up. Hell, these songs aren't anything to play with considering this game is much harder than the rest of the series.

My Rating: 10/10

Activision, you rule.

I might get this for christmas or something, it's a good franchise, but I don't think it's worth the $100 to buy it. I also hope that they have good songs in this one. The second guitar hero had songs I wasn't into and didn't like, but the first one was really good. I can't wait to play, especially with the online capability. I'll be getting for wii if I do, will be very fun if my friend gets it too so we can jam together online. Thanks for the review though.

In my opinion, it's definitely worth the $100 that it costs, but if you're purchasing it for the PS2 you can just go ahead and buy the game. It runs on the old controllers and everything.

Here's a song list for you though:

1. Starting Out Small

* "Slow Ride" – Foghat
* "Talk Dirty to Me" – Poison
* "Hit Me with Your Best Shot" – Pat Benatar
* "Story of My Life" – Social Distortion
* "Rock and Roll All Nite" – Kiss (Encore)
* "Sabotage" – Beastie Boys (Co-op Encore)

2. Your First Real Gig

* "Mississippi Queen" – Mountain
* "School's Out" – Alice Cooper
* "Sunshine of Your Love" – Cream
* "Barracuda" – Heart
* Guitar Battle vs. Tom Morello
* "Bulls on Parade" – Rage Against the Machine (Encore)
* "Reptilia" – The Strokes (Co-op Encore)

3. Making The Video

* "When You Were Young" – The Killers
* "Miss Murder" – AFI
* "The Seeker" – The Who
* "Lay Down" – Priestess
* "Paint It, Black" – The Rolling Stones (Encore)
* "Suck My Kiss" – Red Hot Chili Peppers (Co-op Encore)

4. European Invasion

* "Paranoid" – Black Sabbath
* "Anarchy in the U.K." – Sex Pistols (Re-recorded)
* "Kool Thing" – Sonic Youth
* "My Name Is Jonas" – Weezer
* "Even Flow" – Pearl Jam (Encore)
* "Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll" – Blue Öyster Cult (Co-op Encore)

5. Bighouse Blues

* "Holiday in Cambodia" – Dead Kennedys
* "Rock You Like a Hurricane" – Scorpions
* "Same Old Song and Dance" – Aerosmith
* "La Grange" – ZZ Top
* Guitar Battle vs. Slash
* "Welcome to the Jungle" – Guns N' Roses (Encore)
* "Helicopter" – Bloc Party (Co-op Encore)

6. The Hottest Band On Earth

* "Black Magic Woman" – Santana
* "Cherub Rock" – The Smashing Pumpkins
* "Black Sunshine" – White Zombie
* "The Metal" – Tenacious D
* "Pride and Joy" – Stevie Ray Vaughan (Encore)
* "Monsters" – Matchbook Romance (Co-op Encore)

7. Live In Japan

* "Before I Forget" – Slipknot
* "Stricken" – Disturbed
* "3's & 7's" – Queens of the Stone Age
* "Knights of Cydonia" – Muse
* "Cult of Personality" – Living Colour (Re-recorded) (Encore)

8. Battle For Your Soul

* "Raining Blood" – Slayer
* "Cliffs of Dover" – Eric Johnson
* "The Number of the Beast" – Iron Maiden
* "One" – Metallica
* Guitar Battle vs. Lou
* "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" – Steve Ouimette rendition, inspired by Charlie Daniels Band (Encore)

Bonus Tracks

* "Avalancha" – Héroes del Silencio
* "Can't Be Saved" – Senses Fail
* "Closer" – Lacuna Coil
* "Don't Hold Back" – The Sleeping
* "Down n' Dirty" – LA Slum Lords
* "F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X." – The Fall of Troy
* "Generation Rock" – Revolverheld
* "Go That Far" - Bret Michaels Band
* "Hier Kommt Alex" – Die Toten Hosen
* "I'm in the Band" – The Hellacopters
* "Impulse" – An Endless Sporadic
* "In Love" – Scouts of St. Sebastian
* "In the Belly of a Shark" – Gallows
* "Mauvais Garçon" – Naast
* "Metal Heavy Lady" – Lions
* "Minus Celsius" – Backyard Babies
* "My Curse" – Killswitch Engage
* "Nothing for Me Here" – Dope
* "Prayer of the Refugee" – Rise Against
* "Radio Song" – Superbus
* "Ruby" – Kaiser Chiefs
* "She Bangs the Drums" – The Stone Roses
* "Take This Life" – In Flames
* "The Way It Ends" – Prototype
* "Through the Fire and Flames" – DragonForce

That would've most likely been great for the first post. Sorry for the lack of it.

I haven't really been drawn to the series of Guitar Hero, but watching my friend jam to it, it didn't seem so bad. Though the game itself seems to be a game you play within your own privacy without your girlfriend/boyfriend watching you. Anyways taking a crack at the game I would like to say the songs chosen for this franchise is top notch, I would just maybe rent this game but I won't buy it... Not that it ain't good but once again I say it's just strange....

There are quite a few stranger games out there such as the Beatmania series as well as the Dance Dance Revolution series, so this is actually one of the more moderate musical games out there. I was quite impressed with the very first game, which is what got me into it from the very start, but I may not have been interested in the game if it weren't for the fact that I was already hopelessly hooked on the DDR series. Needless to say, I play the games quite a bit and will continue to play on the Guitar controller even when Rock Band comes out on the consoles, which in my opinion may be the superior game.

May I also add on that the final encore is not a single song, you are battling against Lou (the devil) on The Devil Went Down To Georgia, which is the metal version of the song. Unlike the other battles in the career mode, you don't get to play a song at the end.

Everything about the new guitar hero sounds and looks great. The only thing that I think isn't great it the price 100$ dollars, ehh.... I don't think I'd be getting it anytime soon. I know a bunch of people from school have it, and they are all bragging about their skills. Some have it for the Wii, while others have it for the 360 so it's becoming more of a general system game, then just a ps2 fanboy type of thing.

It's definitely a game that is starting to spread around since I now know at least fifteen people out of my friends who own it, and they are all out of copies at our local Gamestop. The only other thing I can suggest when it comes to the price is to get the PC version which I hear is going to be cheaper, not to mention people who have a good PC or Mac will be able to play it. I don't have any of the details regarding the system requirements, but I will post them as soon as I figure them out so people can find out whether or not they want to buy them.

The developer has stated that they are wanting the most amount of people to be able to play it, so I am guessing the requirements are going to be rather standard, AKA if you can play games like Counter-Strike: Source and such, you should be able to play it. Even then, there's always Frets on Fire using the USB guitar controller which allows you to import tracks from other sources.

Just beat Cliffs of Dover; this game is amazing. You will notice immediately that it is much easier to hit notes than it was in Guitar Hero 2. However, you will also notice immediately that this game is much harder than Guitar Hero 2. The songs are intensely difficult by the 4th tier, and it simply gets more and more intense from there.

The most apparent change is the addition of boss battles. These seem like a revolutionary addition that will change the mechanics of the game forever but you soon realize that it is a much better in concept than in execution. The boss battles will be decided quickly through luck with a negligible amount of skill.

The soundtrack is the best its ever been, and it has stayed fresh for the last month and a half I've been playing. It never gets old to play through classics such as "One" or "Paint it Black" and it's even more satisfying to actually beat these on the highest difficulty. There are even new fresh bonus songs such as "Impulse", which is reminiscent of the late 80s early 90s video game revolution; I'm sure many of you on trap17 can relate to that time period

The controllers that come with the game are much better than any other guitar controller yet. The buttons feel perfect and its detachable neck makes it easy to take over to your friend's house for that Rock Band jam session. Yes, that's right, if you buy this game with the guitar, you will have all of the instruments you need for rock band. So in my opinion, yes, dish out the 100$. You won't regret this insane amount of fun unless you downright hate guitar hero (Which is impossible )