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Admit it. You've bounced around your apartment flailing your invisible air guitar to Master of Puppets. You've put an empty hand up to your mouth and belted out the lyrics to Back in Black. Finally, for the rock star in all of us, there is a game. That game is Guitar Hero.

Nice Axe

What sets Guitar Hero apart from the dancing and karaoke games is its peripheral--a guitar. Sure, you've played Konami's Guitar Freaks, and truth me told, Guitar Hero isn't all that far removed from it. The premise is still the same. Notes come streaming towards you and you must pluck the strum point on the guitar while pressing the right notes in time on the guitar's neck.

The big difference is the actual guitar. Guitar Hero's guitar has a working whammy bar, which allows you to add some of your own personality to each song. It's also a more difficult game because the guitar has more buttons on the neck, requiring you to use your pinky finger in the higher difficulty settings. If your pinky finger is as retarded as ours, it will take some time for it to snap to attention.

Garage Days Re-Re-Revisited

The primary option that most will play first is the career mode. Without conquering it, you cannot utilize the game's impressive song library in the other modes. Here you choose from a handful of pre-fabbed rock-wannabes, select one of the game's licensed guitars, and get to rocking. At first the songs are simple, using only three of the controller's five neck buttons. As you step up the difficulty setting, the notes come faster and the number of neck buttons required increases. No matter what difficulty it's set on, playing the solos takes some serious digital dexterity.

As you jam to each song a star power meter gradually increases until it's maxed out. At this point, you literally rock the neck of the guitar up and down to unleash the star power--rewarding you for every note you hit correctly with bonus points. This adds a great deal of strategy to the game, as you'll want to unleash your star power just before a barrage of notes to maximize your bonus.

Points are ultimately the key to moving your on-screen axe grinder to the upper echelon of rock. Each song has a point requirement that you must meet, and each difficulty setting has a set number of songs that must be completed before you can move on. You begin playing in dingy basements for a handful of people, but as you progress you'll be putting your licks to the test in huge arenas and festivals.

If you're not interested in turning an introvert into a rock sensation, you can always just strum along to your favorite songs in the quick play option, or trade off solos with a fellow brother in rock in the two-player option.

For Those about to Rock

Whoever was in charge of selecting the music for Guitar Hero deserves a Grammy Award--or at least a raise. For a game like this, the soundtrack is practically impeccable. Rather than going for the MTV crowd, this game is chock full of riffs that will open your stance and get your head banging back and forth.

None of the songs are the original recordings, but the recreations have been so lovingly crafted that you'll have a difficult time telling the difference. The track list runs the gamut from metal romps like Judas Priest's "You've Got another Thing Coming" to Joan Jett's seminal '80s rocker "I Love Rock and Roll" to recent jams like Franz Ferdinand's "Take me Out." The list goes on and on with favorites like Motorhead's "Ace of Spades," The Ramones' "I Wanna Be Sedated," and a smattering of power punk hits from groups like Sum 41. If you're even vaguely into rock music, we guarantee you'll find something to like across the game's 30-plus songs. The only downer is that there are no AC/DC tracks, but there has to be something for the sequel, right?

Pyro

Rhythm games are typically sparse on the visuals, and few complain because there's not much of an opportunity to gaze upon them when you're intently studying which notes or steps need to be made next. Guitar Hero bucks this trend by offering a variety of locales and guitar players. If you pay special attention to your band you'll even find that the drummer plays on beat and your guitar player strums in time. As you set the stage ablaze with your axe-grinding abilities the crowd will begin to raise their hands, the stage lighting will become more dramatic, and your on-screen persona will flip the guitar around like a majorette. Is it going to win any best graphics awards? Probably not, but it's head and shoulders above any other game in the genre.

We Salute You

It's hard to put into words just how good it feels when you have the stereo cranked and you nail a solo, or cruise through the bridge and get back to the heavy riffs. This game makes you feel like a rock star. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Its difficulty ramps up perfectly, the song selection couldn't be better, and the gameplay is fun and addictive. If you ever wanted to be in a band but never had the skills or simply want a party game that will bring down the house, you can't go wrong with Guitar Hero.