Let it be known, I am addicted to this game. I have foregone school, sleep, and a social life just to keep playing. The only thing that makes me turn away from it is to tell everyone how great it is. If any of you have had a turn at this game then you know where I am coming from.

I was weary of this game going into it. I wasn’t sure if Neversoft could carry on the tradition that Harmonix had laid before them. I trust Neversoft when it comes to my Tony Hawk fix, but when I want to strap on my little plastic guitar and wail that is a different story. But through the doubts, they came through with what is arguably the best addition to the series yet.

Where this games strengths lie is, of course, in the song list. With tracks ranging from classic Sex Pistols to the more recent tunes from AFI and Muse, this game offers a new level of variety for all the potential rockers out there. From the second you strap on your shiny Les Paul controller you become immersed in this game.

The controller itself is a problem. While the Kramer looks sleek and shiny, it is an absolute test of your patience to try and get it to work. It had three of us in the office fiddling with it to try and make it work. The wireless is a nice feature to implement here, but if it is going to give us this much hassle then it just isn’t worth it. Give me my cord back please and I’ll happily rock on.

Graphically this game has improved slightly since the last installment. The character models have been given an upgrade but anyone that has seen the PS3 or 360 versions will chuckle at how murky this looks in comparison. One nice touch is the that the lead singer knows all the lyrics to the songs this time around, rather than simply bobbing up and down and smacking his jowls together. Anyone watching may be creeped out at this though, and may scream at the sight of this horrendously ugly man churning out lyrics performed by the likes of Davey Havok or Mathew Bellamy. The guitar players have received a facelift as well, and all look nicer than ever, my favorite is Casey Lynch since they stole Eddie Knox from me

The game also gives you the chance to face off against guitar pros in the new battle mode. After completing a couple sets you are treated with a chance to take on Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine. This mode doesn’t feel quite finished though, and you will either find yourself beating it rather easily, or screaming at the screen wondering why the other guy gets all the notes to play. You use weapons that you earn the same way that you gain star power on a normal song. These weapons range from simple things like upping the difficulty of the song the opponent is playing, up to causing all the notes to flip around to lefty mode. All of these are aimed at causing your opponent to fail the song before you. Even though this mode earns you the right to face-off against Slash from Guns N’ Roses, it just feels like a last minute addition that wasn’t really necessary. That being said, the last boss battle will destroy both your hand and sense of pride against the unnamed opponent. It is definitely the hardest thing you will do in the game other than tackling Dragonforce’s “Through the Fire and the Flames” on expert.

This game is substantially harder than the previous two, and may cause a newcomer to the series to reconsider their purchase. Playing on the hard difficulty on this game is close to playing expert on the previous installment. If you were one of those stuck on “Freebird” at the end of the last Guitar Hero, then you should probably stick to songs on medium until you build up your chops to tackle the hard setting. The jump in difficulty is substantial here, and there is no reason for it to be that way. The last game was hard enough without throwing more at us this time around.

Through these minor flaws though you still have an excellent game on your hands here. The series serves as a great way for aspiring guitar players to build up finger dexterity, trust me on that one. It also re-introduces people to songs they may have forgot about, or never heard in the first place. I myself have found a new friend with “Lay Down” by Priestess, and just can’t stop playing it. I came into this chomping at the bit to play “Knights of Cydonia” but I have found so much more with this game. I’m positive that I will be shredding on this until the next Hero graces my presence, unless a certain Rock Band can steal me away.