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The best version of Guitar Hero is definitely the one where they combined the track list from the original Guitar Hero with the multiplayer and improved controls of Guitar Hero 2. Unfortunately, that version never actually existed and I’m left with the versions that were made and their individual faults (and of course, individual Awesomeness).

It’s sort of meaningless to complain overmuch about the track list for a Guitar Hero game since it’s so much a matter of opinion. I do think that Guitar Hero 3 has a better variety of songs (and, I think, more well known songs) than its predecessor, but I somehow can’t get into it to the same degree. I’m not sure if it’s the actual song selection, or the gameplay changes.

The songs tend to be a lot harder than those in the previous games; some of the final songs on expert have literally screens and screens piled full of hammer-ons. To offset the increased song difficulty you’re given a lot more leeway when hitting notes. It’s possible to get all the notes in some of the faster runs by essentially just mashing the fret-board. The end result is that you end up getting “perfect” passages that you know you don’t deserve, and the whole experience is a lot less rewarding than nailing an easier passage from GH2 but knowing that you had the timing down.

The battle mode in the game is pretty pointless. I can understand wanting to compete with your friends to see who the better player is, but there’s always been a face-off mode for that purpose. Battle mode introduces the concept of “weapons” that you can fire at the other player that increase the difficulty of what their playing or somehow impairs their ability to hit their notes. Once someone screws up enough, the game ends and the other person wins. In practice, matches usually last about 30 seconds and go to whoever manages to fire off a weapon first.

Despite my complaints, GH3 is by no means a bad game. If you’re a fan of the series - or especially if you own a console that was never graced with the presence of the first two - it’s still worth the purchase.

At least until Rock Band gets here.