Metacritic Games

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Wii)

Fire up the fretboard, crank up the amp and get ready to rock like never before. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock drops you into the spotlight of the largest and most legendary rock concert ever. The star-studded soundtrack includes master tracks by such legendary artists as Guns N’ Roses, The Rolling Stones, Beastie Boys, Muse and Pearl Jam, with added songs as made legendary by Kiss, Alice Cooper and Heart. Now drop that air guitar, tune your exclusive new Les Paul Guitar Controller and shred the night away with Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. [Activision]

Activision
Music
Players: 2
T (Teen)
Developer: Neversoft Entertainment
Released October 28, 2007

Overall Metascore

This is a weighted, normalized average of all individual scores given by critics, on a scale of 0 (worst) to 100 (best).

86 / 100

Critic Reviews

95 Nintendojo
The learning curve will be steep for some, but give it a chance. The satisfaction level is even higher, and that's always the best reward a video game can give.
93 netjak
Despite it's flaws, Guitar Hero 3 has it where it counts, which is a quality-and-quantity song list, tons of unlockables, challenge, and online play. It seems that every other day I am discovering a new "OMG, this is my favorite song!" track.
92 Cheat Code Central
You'll easily spend months playing through the different difficulty setting to unlock new tracks, guitars, playable characters, and other excellent features.
91 PGNx Media
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock is undoubtedly the best game in the series. The amazing soundtrack, superb wireless guitar, subtle tweaks, and excellent online multiplayer are exactly what fans have been wanting from the series.
91 NGamer UK
An incomparable gaming experience, well worth the expense. And Wi-Fi (co-op and competitive) means no need to splash out on a second guitar. Deserves to be a rocking hit. [Christmas 2007, p.40]
90 Game Chronicles
Neversoft did an admirable job, especially considering they had to take a legendary franchise and rebuild it from scratch and Vicarious Visions created an excellent Wii port. But for a series that I have traditionally given perfect scores and continuous editorial awards, I can’t help but feel a bit let down by some personally distasteful music and poor note designs.
90 NintendoWorldReport
It's so good, you won't care that you don't have two-channel sound. I don't, which I think is a testament to how amazing the Guitar Hero experience is.
90 Official Nintendo Magazine UK
Gripes about the lacklustre visuals and unwanted gameplay tweaks aside, Guitar Hero III is truly great, even if it's somewhat harder than we were expecting. [Christmas 2007, p.75]
90 DailyGame
Even with a new developer, the game doesn't miss a beat.
90 Games Master UK
There's nothing else like it. If you've never picked up the placcy guitar, now's the time. [Christmas 2007, p.66]
90 Zentendo
Veterans, this game is everything you could hope for an more. While Battle was a bust, what is still tried and true to the series is still amazing.
90 N-Europe
Despite a few shortcomings make no mistake Guitar Hero III is a must have.
90 Nintendo Power
For my money, though, thanks to its strong song lineup and wireless rock capabilities--it's the perfect progression for the series. [Dec 2007, p.84]
90 GameTap
If you’re looking for the best version of the guitar peripheral, then the Wii version wins out. Not only does it have a more weighty feel to it, but it also rumbles when you kick into star power--pretty cool.
90 GameSpy
Neversoft has done an admirable job of recreating Guitar Hero's gameplay, and the new guitars, fantastic setlist and challenging note charts push the series forward, even if some players may not be quite ready to rock that hard. Features like the boss battles, online play and co-op could have made Guitar Hero III a legend itself but end up feeling unpolished.
90 1UP
The Wii version has online play as well.
88 Game Informer
You're in for one hell of a good time. [Oct 2007, p.108]
88 n-Revolution Magazine UK
Brilliant fun. [Issue#17, p.76]
86 Da Gameboyz
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock is the first time that the franchise has made it to a Nintendo console, and it does so with a bang.
86 IGN
Online is a huge plus, especially on Wii, as not many games have excelled outside of local multiplayer play, and the massive amount of options, modes, and customization holds up to previous versions of the game, and should definitely impress any first-time Guitar Hero players on Nintendo’s console. What you won’t get, however, is downloadable content, which is a huge shame.
85 GameTrailers
Guitar Hero III abides to the “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” approach by sticking to the tried-and-true formula established in the first game and honed in the second. A few minor tweaks to pre-existing modes, like the ability to jump to practice mode mid-song and sift through organized song sets, tighten up the presentation a bit, but for the most part the features sing to the same old tune.
85 GameZone
Co-op and competitive multiplayer modes ensure you’ll want to pick up a second guitar controller.
85 PALGN
The Wii version doesn't support downloadable content right now, but with a huge track list, a solid mix of songs, and the trusty Guitar Hero formula basically untouched, Legends of Rock is well recommended.
85 Extreme Gamer
Guitar Hero 3 is addictive and fun for all gamers, including those who don’t regularly play games. Guitar Hero 3 has its own unique magic that has found its own niche at the top of the charts. If you haven't experienced this solid rock performance, purchase a ticket and get ready for the button pressing time of your life.
83 The Onion (A.V. Club)
It hits all the right notes, but gets no points for style.
83 The Wiire
This game is a must-have for Wii-only gamers. Bring your friends over, turn the volume up to 11, and dream of being on stage. Maybe you, too, can stand atop Mount Olympus with guitar in hand jamming out to Dragonforce's Through the Fire and Flames.
81 Pelit (Finland)
The same highly addictive and fun game as on other platforms, but the Wii-only features in the guitar are just mostly irritating. The only new thing that works is the vibration that handily announces the availability of star power. On the other hand, the sound from the controller makes you want to smash the whole thing in true Nirvana style. The visuals are ok on old television, but on never HDTV sets the picture quality so bad that the game becomes almost unplayable at times. Also the sound is only mono, which is a really strange thing for a music game. Worst version of a great game. [Jan 2008]
80 VideoGamer
Guitar hero 3 should most definitely be praised - for its almost entirely original recording song list, for its attempts to introduce something new into a near perfect formula, and for picking up where Harmonix left off effortlessly. The songs are diverse, hard-rocking and challenging, but in all honesty, these new tracks are the most exciting new thing about GH3.
80 GameSpot
Guitar Hero III ups the ante with increased difficulty and new modes, and though not everything it adds is fantastic, the excellent tracklist and stellar gameplay are sure to keep you hooked.
80 Games Radar
By going real with the songs, next-gen with the graphics and online with the gameplay, it leaves the wishlist relatively barren. At the same time, it's not delivering us much new on the gameplay front, and in fact lags a bit in terms of smart strumming mechanics.
80 GameDaily
While we appreciate the new star power, the new too-difficult two-player Battle mode fails to impress and the new guitar, while sturdy and reliable, feels small in comparison to Rock Band's more realistic axe. Regardless, Guitar Hero still has that addictive quality. Combine that with an excellent soundtrack and online play, this mock rock simulator will have you jamming for months.
76 Gamer 2.0
There are two good reasons why you might need to ignore our “rent it” recommendation and go buy Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock right now. One, you’re absolutely sure you’ll have a blast playing with and against people online and moving up the leaderboards for a very, very long time to come (again, this isn’t an option on the PS2 version). Two, you can’t wait another minute to have your fingers tied in knots by the three-note chord and wiggly solo onslaughts this maniacally challenging game throws your way.
75 Hardcore Gamer Magazine
I got a gang of friends together to test it out and we spent hours unlocking songs and fooling around, but, because some of us are guitar heroes and some are guitar zeroes, having a truly quality time is a tougher than it should be. It's still well worth a look. [Nov 2007, p.63]
75 Game Revolution
Playing Guitar Hero III is like picking up a brand-new, fashionable (wireless!) guitar. It may have a light but solid body, a sexy and sophisticated shape, more durable strings, more easily adjustable tuners, and hell, it may just sound better, but it doesn’t have the spit and polish - that look of a mature instrument which reminds you of all the years you’ve spent with it, of all the sweat and beer stains.
75 GamePro
Guitar Hero 3 for the Wii rocks. While the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions are easier on the eyes as well as the ears, the Wii version is home to the best guitar controller of the lot, features an engaging online mode, and plays just as nice.

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