Unfortunately I didn't watch any movies this past week. Nor did I really play many video games! So what did I do? Television...gym...and lots of Christmas shopping. I went out a couple of nights and have almost completed my shopping. It's at the point now where all I can do is wonder around and find random things for people, which is nice.

However, I guess there was some Guitar Hero played. I was late in the release schedule picking up Guitar Hero II, as just a few weeks later Guitar Hero III came and (and purchased, of course). Subsequently, number II got pushed aside and we only really played the new one for hours on end. Well, after essentially conquering the game on Medium (and I just cannot play Hard for the life of me) I went back to number II.

It doesn't feel like it, but you can see a lot of improvement in your own skill when you look at your old scores. There were songs in there that I only managed to get about 40,000 points on. I probably never played that song again as it was just a roadblock in getting to more songs. Plus, it was probably quite difficult. However, now I go back and just devastate the song, getting about 150,000 points on it! And I wonder why there was so much difficulty the first time around, but that's the way things are.

Which is why I really appreciate these games: your skills do improve, and it's clearly evident in the finely tuned point system, which is seemingly basic on the surface but is an actuality...more complex? No, it really is quite basic. It's the star bonus points that really get things going and will make a big difference. And it's critically important as to when you activate it. That is, if you're going for points now.

And that's exactly what I do now: try to get 100% notes hit and massive scores. Because I'm stuck on medium. Like I mentioned earlier, I just can't do hard mode. It's the movement of the hand: I forget where my fingers are. I truly appreciate all guitar players for their skill. So I'm stuck on medium but that's alright: you have to come to terms with your maximum skill level, right? I'm just a "medium" guy; not hard, and definitely not expert. What's upsetting is that I can activate hyperspeed mode on medium and still do well, so I know it's not the speed of the fret board, it's that dirty orange note.

I could go into the differences between II and III to a great level of detail but what remains is the same: the core of the game is simple and to the point. Hit the notes, get points, activate star power. I've read some reading that has mentioned that III is a bit easier than II. Is this true? On the surface, it looks to be true, but I have one feeling: Guitar Hero II has placed harder songs in the sets. We're talking all those punk and real-heavy metal songs that are just not getting the same representation in Guitar Hero III. So kudos to all your metal guitarists: your songs are tough. And they kind of suck, sorry.

I just may have to take the plunge and purchase some of the song packs to get more tunes going on, as the wait for number four sets in...or at least, the wait to get Rock Band!