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VIDEO GAMES - GUITAR HERO III: LEGENDS OF ROCK

Published: Nov 2, 2007

System: Xbox 360

Also available for: Nintendo Wii, Sony PlayStations 2 and 3, PC, Mac

Publisher: Activision

Reviewer's rating: ♣

ESRB rating: Teen

Game type: Rhythm action

Kind of like: "Dance Dance Revolution," but with your hands

Best feature: It's still really fun playing a favorite song.

Worst feature: The changes don't seem that substantial.

The bottom line: "Guitar Hero" is back with another installment, this time with some real-life rockers to make the game a little more interesting.

Guitarists Slash and Tom Morello appear as characters who take you on in a musical battle.

The game isn't much different from the other "Guitar Hero" installments. Your controller is shaped like a guitar, with buttons on the neck and a button to strum with on the body. Notes come down a track at you. You have to press the appropriate buttons and strum as the notes cross a glowing line.

The real appeal of "Guitar Hero" is the songs. Of course, since Slash and Morello are in the game, you can expect some Guns N' Roses and Rage Against the Machine. There are more than 70 songs total, and downloadable content is expected for the consoles that support it.

One addition to the game is a new battle mode in which you can interfere with the opponent. As you play, you earn weaponlike powerups. You can then tilt the guitar to deploy them against the opponent. Powerups do things such as add extra notes that the opponent has to play.

Doug Buel