Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Wii, 2007)

Stop reading now and go buy the thing.

Seriously, go.

I had heard about Guitar Hero, and being a musician and teacher, the concept sort of frightened me at first. I've seen all kinds of music "games" and learn to play this and that in thirty days, etc. Almost without exception, the game/program/video/toy is a complete joke, a waste of money, and usually not any fun.

My opinion started to change earlier this summer. My young nephews were visiting, and they brought along their Playstation 2. As I washed dishes in the kitchen, I heard Black Sabbath and Rush emanating from the living room. My curiosity piqued, I stepped into the living room to see my nephew sitting on the couch, plastic guitar in hand, jamming along to some of the greatest songs of my youth. Music I NEVER would have imagined him enjoying, let alone ever being exposed to.

I'm not advocating Guitar Hero as an educational game. Sure, it certainly can help to instill a better sense of rhythm, but playing the game is so unlike playing an actual guitar that any comparison is almost laughable. The greatest thing about Guitar Hero, other than it being a complete blast to play, is that it exposes today's youth to dozens of examples of GOOD music, from a time and place when actual talent was required to be a musician. Notice: not a sign anywhere of Britney, boy bands, or any of the typical atrocious pop that passes for music these days.

If you haven't played Guitar Hero, an explanation of the game won't do it any justice. It's like swimming in the ocean, it can be described a million different ways, but until you've experienced it, you have no idea.

This newest Guitar Hero doesn't seem to have that much more to offer, but it doesn't really matter. If they kept making Guitar Hero II over and over again with a new set of songs, I would buy every one. (The original Guitar Hero's multiplayer mode isn't as good as GH II.) There are new characters, new styles, guitars, and of course songs. But none of that really matters, because once the notes come flying at you, you won't even notice who you are and certainly not what you're wearing!

This new version supports multiplayer online play. Online play seems to be all the rage these days, but it's just not my thing. But the option to be able to play with a friend (or a stranger) in a distant part of the world only adds to the value.

The biggest, and to my knowledge, only problem with Guitar Hero III for Wii is that currently you cannot buy a second standalone guitar controller. My favorite part of Guitar Hero is the multiplayer mode, where you can compete or cooperate with a friend. Especially since Guitar Hero III has a COOPERATIVE CAREER MODE, you'd think offering a standalone controller at release would be a no-brainer.

If you've read this far, you've already wasted too much time. You could have been half way to the store. Go, go NOW! You won't regret it.