I know most of you are already forming acerbic comments to assault me with, based only on my score and the title of this review, but please, try to at least read this review with an open mind.

I had high hopes for Guitar Hero, I really did. None of Konami's Session games have made it to America, and the market seemed ripe for the picking. With RedOctane, creators of the Ignition Pad, developing the controller, and Harmonix, responsible for FreQuency and Amplitude, developing the game, it seemed like the game would be perfect. Upon picking it up this Christmas, I have, to my dismay, found out, that this game is about as far from perfect as it is possible to be.

Without further ado, the sections of the review:

Gameplay - 3/10

Coming into it, the game seems interesting. The tutorial walks you through a few basic techniques, and then you're off. After playing one or two songs, however, the inherent flaws in the gameplay become readily apparent. First, the default configuration of the game has the columns of buttons on the screen going in the opposite direction of the buttons on the controller itself. This is rather jarring, until you take the time to go into options and set "Lefty Mode." Another immediately obvious flaw is the difficulty, or lack thereof. Save for the troubles of learning the control scheme (the higher difficulties, which add buttons, are rather hard to get used to), the game is painfully, absurdly easy. There are no timings in the game, as with Harmonix' other music games. However, in this game, the lack of timing detracts from the gameplay. Since every note is worth a flat rate, with a minimal combo system, achieving 95%+ of the max score on every song is very, very easy. The lifebar is also incredibly forgiving, even compared to other games by Harmonix. I never failed a song, and I don't think I ever got below 90%, even on the hardest difficulty mode. To summarize, the gameplay is simply boring, especially to someone with experience on other music games.

Music - 2/10

Ah, this is where the game really loses points. Instead of crafting an in-house soundtrack, or even going for some interesting stuff, Harmonix/RedOctane decided to license the blandest, most overplayed, and generally terrible, rock songs they could find. The only two songs on the game I would personally listen to are Killer Queen and Get Ready 2 Rokk, by Queen and Freezepop, respectively. I'll admit that taste comes into this to a point, but most of the songs are simply bad. Not to mention that all of the songs are covers, and most of them are poorly covered. They are also all FAR too long for a music game - this incredible length (not a single song is under 3 minutes long!) of the songs, coupled with the easiness of the game, serves to make a Guitar Hero experience very boring.

Graphics - 4/10

The graphics, for the most part, are loud and annoying. I much prefer the minimalistic style of Konami's Bemani series, over the loud, overdone style that Guitar Hero exudes. The notes themselves look good, but there's a lack of anything else going on in the gameplay field, where you should be looking - no combo indicator, no note explosions, nothing at all except the notes scrolling down. On the other hand, outside of the gameplay field, obnoxious characters perform inane acts that serve as nothing except a distraction. The theme of the game seems to be annoyance.

Controller - 5/10

Although the controller is well-designed, there are too many buttons. 3 or 4 would have been sufficient - 5 is overdoing it. The whammy bar serves no real purpose except getting in the way, and the motion sensor is very gimmicky. The fret is pretty good, although its implementation is far from perfect.

Overall - 2/10 (Not an average)

Guitar Hero has left a bad taste in my mouth. I don't have much hope for American-made music games after this. Maybe RedOctane and Harmonix can get their act together if they make a Guitar Hero 2, but I doubt it. It looks like it's up to Konami to save music gaming in America. Honestly, I don't see why the American gaming community has embraced this game so readily - I suppose it has to do with the mainstream soundtrack and overhype associated with it. (I suspect Penny-Arcade played a large role in its popularity.) If you're an American gamer interested in music games, but don't want to import, don't waste money on Guitar Hero. Wait for the US version of Beatmania coming out in March. You'll thank yourself for it.