Ask a casual gamer (or any gamer for that matter) what they've played recently and you're likely to hear Guitar Hero at the top of the list. RedOctane's smash hit has taken music gaming to an all new level and Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock hopes to continue that trend. A smattering of new features promises to make this third installment worthwhile for both newcomers and those already on the Guitar Hero bandwagon. While we're not entirely convinced it innovates as much as claimed, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock should be a solid encore to the young, popular series.

For anyone familiar with the previous two Guitar Hero titles, Legends of Rock essentially enhances the core ax-grinding gameplay with added characters, new boss battles, and multiplayer modes. You can select from 13 different playable rock stars, most held over from the previous games with the exception of Midori, a Japanese punk rocker. Lead Designer Alan Flores explains that the goal is to offer a basic persona that you can customize to match your own inner thrasher with items unlocked through the course of the single player game.

Legends of Rock will feature a single player career mode and a handful of multiplayer modes, both local and online. Working through the career mode involves performing sets and unlocking new songs with passable performances. New to the mix will be boss battles against three legendary guitar players, including Slash. Head-to-head boss battles have you taking turns playing riffs on your guitar with the winner determined by whoever has the highest point total. Expect the battles to be difficult, as Mr. Flores states that they're intended to be challenging. In fact, Slash wrote custom riffs just for the game, and we saw one during the E3 demo. The other two bosses are still being kept under wraps.

Minor alterations have been made to the interface, namely the addition of a note counter and new artwork for the star power gauge. The new note counter tracks consecutive notes played, which Mr. Flores hints at various note counts being tied to achievements in the Xbox 360 version. Functioning in a manner in line with the two previous games, the changed appearance for the star power gauge uses light bulbs to relay how much power you've accumulated. Triggering star power is still done by tilting your guitar.

A new battle mode complements the cooperative play brought over from Guitar Hero II. Battle mode can be played online, as can cooperative matches. In the new competitive game type, you and a friend are given identical note tracks and must square off to see who the better player is. Making things a bit complicated are new powers that can be used during battle mode duels.

Powers range from "Double Notes," which increase the number notes flooding your friend's track, "Amp Overload" that shakes the screen, "Lefty Switch" to mix up the orientation of the notes, and the self-explanatory "Broken Whammy." You'll be able to store up to three powers and use them at any time during the battle. While Flores claims the powers add a unique dimension to the game, they seem to up the difficulty on what looks to be an already challenging game.

In the end, Legends of Rock will likely appeal to hardcore followers of the series. What appears to be a jump up in difficulty combined with no fundamental changes to gameplay will make it perfect for those already experienced at digital rocking. As for those new to the shredding scene, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock could be a steep introduction when it hits this fall.