I've never tried Guitar Hero, so I don't know how this compares to the originals.
Before I get to the game I want to say a little about the guitar. It is very well designed and feels good in your hands. It works like you would expect and of course has the essential xbox guide button as well as a spot for a wired headset. It runs on two AA batteries and performs about as well as a regular controller does on them. To set it up you simply turn it on and hold down the signal reset which finds your 360 automatically. The guitar itself is black, but the game comes with some stickers you can customize the look with. Faceplates can be purchased separately but none come with the game. It also comes with a simple black strap.
The game itself has some great things going for it. The biggest one is probably the songs in the game. There are a lot to choose from and a great variety that should be able to please just about anyone. The game also has co-op play with a friend. You can play over xbox live or local. I've played local and it works real well, and there are several achievements based on playing as a team. I have not tried this over Live yet, but I imagine this would be more useful if your friends also have the game on the 360. The achievements on this game are very challenging which should have you playing this game for a long time.
The major downside to this game, especially if you're a newbie like me, is the steep learning curve. The game does try to help a little with a tutorial mode. It isn't very thorough, but it still helps. Probably more helpful is the practice mode. In practice mode, you can play a whole song or just certain sections of a song, as well as change the speed. Of course you have several difficulties, with the normal difficulty being fun and rewarding. Easy might be a little boring, even to beginners. I've played through some of the game on hard, but thats the farthest I've got. Expert is said to be much harder.
The other downside is their boss battles. It might not be as bad as some people say, but it is very irritating at times. The bosses will hit every note without you interrupting them with some kind of power up. If you aren't able to stop them in time they will always win, even if you've taken them down nearly all the way. It just gets annoying sometimes. Anyway, if you can get past the guitar duels quickly enough they aren't too bad, and can even be mildly entertaining.
The end result is a very fun game that you'll be glad to own and play again and again. Its worth learning how to play the game even though you might be slightly frustrated at first. The game lends itself to those who prefer a challenge, but from my experience isn't too much for newcomers. It is a very fun game that lives up to the hype surrounding the series. I know I've had a lot of fun playing this game and I'd recommend it to everyone!