[Kodilynn]

First off, this game overall is incredible, from the graphics, to the music, to the last detail. I highly recommend that if you played and like the first two, do what you need to do to get a copy of this game. Now, this is not to say that this game doesn't have its flaws. I spent time (and beating) the game on the 360 and PS2. Sadly I only got to demo the PS3 version and it was more of the same so I can't give a true opinion.

The 360 version of the game is graphically superior to the PS2. This is a given, but actually seeing it is what made the real impact. The animation matches to what's being done in song, playing, singing, etc.

The music this time around is much better than previous iterations. Some may disagree with me, but it hits a lot of different generations and even the covers actually sound good this time (Barracuda). With that said, the excellent tracks kinda end at the meat of the game. The bonus songs leave a lot to be desired. Out of all the bonus tracks purchasable, only 3 I had any actual desire to even attempt. The rest were no-name artists that they seemed to pick at random.

The skill required to play this time around has been changed. Expert on GH2 is now Hard on GH3. Expert on GH3 (those of you that know me know I only play expert) was out of this world in later tiers of songs. So much so that it took quite some time to beat some of the cockblock songs (Dead Kennedys/Tenacious D). This is also where the first major difference between the 360/PS2 version come out, but i'll address it shortly. It will take all your skill to beat GH3 on expert, and if you had trouble on freebird or can't beat it above 90%, I suggest starting on Hard. It is that difficult.

Referring to the above for cockblocks in this game, we're going to talk about the guitars. Both systems got new guitars if you bought the packaged games. The 360 guitar is excellent in feel and grip. The PS2 version is excellent as well, but I prefer the original guitar over it for the feel of playability. Some may disagree, but try one than the other. The issue I had with the 360 version was hit detection on the notes. Even calibrating it over and over to make small tweaks on HD, it still had issues detecting when I hit certain note strings, also the 360 seems to have a timing problem recovering from a missed note. If you miss one, and hit the rest, it will fail to account the other 3 and you end up missing the whole set. Hopefully that makes sense, it's almost as if the 360 can't process the error fast enough to get you back on a roll. The PS2 version did not have this problem. It was smooth playing and missed notes barely phased you. The hit detection was much smoother and cleaner on the PS2 version.

Even though it was the same game, the issues the 360 version presented made it much more difficult to complete. The PS2 version gave me next to no issues, and while the graphics aren't as stellar, I was able to enjoy the game more overall with less frustration.

Now my only real gripe about this game, the battle modes. You get to battle rock legends such as Tom Morrow and Slash (and a final one who I won't reveal, but omg it's fun!). The way both systems are set up (PS2 & 360) on Expert is that in the first 1-2 riffs if you miss once, you lose. The computer will win, garunteed. This sucks, bad. The powers to break whammy bars, wreck strings, double notes, all of it really ruined the experience for me. I would have rather it just been skill vs. skill battle with the pros, but instead I was tortured with this horrid poorly designed battle system. I found nothing about this aspect on either system fun. I was able to beat Tom, lost to Slash (they have a wuss out option after you lose enough times), and beat the final Challenge (again won't mention who but omg) who actually is fun because it doesn't reem you in 15 seconds like the other ones.

Overall, this game is a must have for any GH enthusiast. Overall, I would give it a 9/10. The lack luster bonus songs and the poorly designed battle system kept this from being a perfect game.

Edit: Forgot to add, while this is an excellent game, I don't have the drive to replay a lot of it like I did the previous versions. There are only a few songs at best I could see doing again, but the sheer length/difficulty doesn't exactly make me want to do it all again anytime soon.