I just finished (painted this past Saturday) two rooms in my basement. Each is about 12' x 22', and a stairwell. I hired a guy to help, and I wouldn't have done it by myself. When I see how someone who knows what they're doing, does it... well, I would have gotten the job done, but it wouldn't have been as nice.
Anyhow, there is a bit more to it, or rather to doing it right, than what's said above. The lightweight mud is great, but it needs to be thinned a bit to work well, and we used mud again, for the texturing, but that needs to be thinned too. And while mixing mud isn't rocket science, if it's mixed wrong, it's problematic.
Fresh from having just done this, in two fair sized rooms, I have to say that the hanging of it, is the lesser work. I enjoyed putting the drywall on, and taping it is no big deal. But the guys who mud and sand and texture for a living - they earn their money.
Quick tip. If you have a screw that's not quite seated, or any other bump, just smack it with a hammer. Much easier to fill a low spot with mud, than to sand off something that protrudes.