Guitar Hero is all about living the life of a rock star from the comfort of your chair. There’s just something about playing the classics, such as Rock You Like a Hurricane and Welcome to the Jungle, emulating the crazy, unlimited movements that real guitarists tend to make. The premise behind Guitar Hero 3 is as simple as it can get. There are 5 fret buttons, color coded to the screen. As the notes come down, you have to strum while holding the proper fret(s). Without downloadable content (which is not accessible on the Wii and PS2 versions), the song list contains 73 songs, including hits from the household names Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, KISS, Metallica, and Guns n’ Roses to more new-age acts such as Senses Fail, Killswitch Engage, and, most predominantly, Dragonforce.

In terms of difficulty, this game has the hardest career mode and bonus listing of the entire series, including that of Rock Band. Through the Fire and Flames, the representative song of Dragonforce, is known for being nothing less than a nightmare to countless aspiring Guitar Heroes. Of course, the lower difficulties are still just as doable as the ones in other games in the series. There’s a reason this series is a household name, though; it’s easy-to-pick-up game play is very attractive to casual gamers, whereas the harder difficulties provide challenge to more seasoned gamers. It’s nothing like playing a real guitar, though, so purists need not pick up this game, for you will be disappointed.

Also of note on the 360 and PS3 versions, Downloadable Content includes songs from Def Leppard, Muse, Motorhead, and many more. There are many free songs that pertain to other games, as well. I Am Murloc, inspired by World of Warcraft, is on the list, as is the Top Gun Anthem from the namesake movie. As with many video games nowadays, songs also split off into console exclusives; 360 gets a guitar-heavy mix of the Halo theme, PS3 gets a song inspired by God of War 2. Choose wisely!

All in all, I’d rate it a 7. The price for the game and guitar bundle is fairly steep, but it’s well worth it.