This is better than the original Jam Sessions as a simulator (overall) since you can now strum strings individually. You get fewer chords, but most songs can be handled with the eight slots provided. If you want more, shifting on the fly is relatively quick, once you practice it. However, the worst thing about this game is that you *MUST* play the "game" mode in order to unlock all the various guitars and effects, which is IRRITATING (assuming you buy this for the simulation aspects, which I did). The game is guitar hero-like, but the accuracy doesn't always seem to be correct, requiring one to play certain songs over and over if your strum doesn't match *exactly* with what the game is expecting. Also, some of the songs are just hard-- I could learn, but I didn't buy the game to be forced to play the "game" over and over again just so I can fully use the simulation aspects. I'm hoping some cheat codes will come out that will allow one to bypass the tedium and just unlock the guitars and effects, since that's all I really am interested in. Either that, or I'll have to hire some kid who is a much better gamer than I am to unlock them for me.