Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock

Aside from the “who the hell thought this was a good idea” boss battles, Guitar Hero III is a must-buy for vets and newbies alike.

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

Everything just screams high production values, which is pretty awesome. The song list is also impressive and features a good mix of the old and the new.

Overall while the game hasn’t moved forward much in the graphical sense, Neversoft has done a good job with keeping the integrity of the Guitar Hero series in tact.

Better songs, better guitar, online play and co-op make this game a blast to play—a definite purchase for anyone who's dreamed of rocking out on stage.

Multiplayer modes and online support already take the game to another level, and coupled with a revitalised track-list, lovely visuals, a great new controller and and an attention to detail and polish previously unknown to the genre, what we have here is the return of a true hero.

Guitar Hero III won't disappoint either diehard fans or people new to the series. This is the latest step in the stairway to heaven of home rocking.

A great addition to the series, Guitar Hero III offers some great new tracks for hardcore fans, while the more responsive controls are great for newcomers.

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.

The second way the songs are better is how they're played. The notes and chords are laid out in natural and engaging patterns that make sense musically and with the way your hands are moving.

As far as the actual game goes, the Xbox 360 version is the best since it looks better and its online functionality is substantially smoother than that of the Wii version.

The best Guitar hero game so far. The song list is full of great hits and the raised difficulty level makes playing even more enjoyable than before. The new battle mode is boring, though. The new Les Paul controller has annoyingly sharp edges that eat through players' wrist in longer sessions. Otherwise, it's a slam-dunk hit. [Nov 2007]

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock will have you addicted until Guitar Hero IV comes out, and I can guarantee that your money will not go to waste on this game.

With the new songs and modes, Guitar Hero III is the party game supreme.

The best game in the series so far and well worth adding to your collection. If you are new to the series however, I would recommend starting with an earlier iteration, simply because the learning curve is quite unforgiving for an absolute newcomer.

As a freshman effort in an established franchise Neversoft has done just about everything perfectly. The game feels like Guitar Hero with just enough new spice to make it feel fresh at the same time. The track list is absolutely amazing and the addition of online and co-op career are much welcome additions.

Developer Neversoft has taken the formula that Harmonix started and managed to keep the greatness of the Guitar Hero franchise intact. Killer yet unique gameplay combined with a to-die-for song list, makes this title a must own 360 game in my opinion.

Despite sharing the exact same innards as Guitar Hero II, Legends of Rock is, in every conceivable way, a better product than its predecessors. It's better presented, better put together, more professional, more complete.

The proof is in the songs, better balanced and offering enough range to please everybody. Here's to another six months of hard rock heaven.

By failing to cater for one-off coop songs and leaving the boss battle songs out of multiplayer altogether (until you get the DLC pack at least, which is something PS2 and Wii players won’t be able to do), Legends of Rock doesn’t come across as quite as huge a step up from II as that in turn was from the first game. Don’t get us wrong, though – it’s clearly amazing and the new guitar is to die for.

The greatest Guitar Hero yet. Amazing songs, phenomenal gameplay, and it's online too! [Issue 27, p.86]

Guitar Hero may not be a universal pick-up-and-play party game in the way that, say, SingStar is, since there’s an initially steep learning curve, but for the inducted it’s a master in its class and no worse for a change of developer.

Even with a new developer, the game doesn't miss a beat.

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock delivers on nearly all counts. A fix for the online issues and this could very well be the best of the franchise.

GH III is drop-dead knock-down dragout gorgeous to behold. I’m still doing double takes to make sure the venues are polygonal, and the player models have reached a high that will make you smash your old GH II axe Pete Townsend-style. [Nov 2007, p.72]

The soundtrack is fantastic and the new online additions are going to take the Guitar Hero community to the next level. It really is hard to argue with any facet of the gameplay. Everything outside of the game itself, though, is in need of an overhaul as the presentation is growing a bit stale.

The wireless controller and online gameplay are nicely engineered. Beyond that, it’s mostly in the same vein as the previous Guitar Hero games.

You're in for one hell of a good time. [Oct 2007, p.108]

The new wireless Les Paul guitar alone is reason enough to shell out the money for this game; it can also be used when replaying a little GH2. An amazing track list, new boss battles, characters, and an entirely new online mode just keep the list going of reasons to buy this game.

While I may not enjoy all of the new tracks, this is certainly the strongest song lineup with the most master tracks we’ve seen to date.

All told, Guitar Hero 3 is another solid, worthy entry into an already highly-successful series. While not all of the changes and additions made benefit the game, the core gameplay is still there and that’s more than enough to make the game appeal to Guitar Hero veterans.

When you strip away the meat from the bones you might be left with essentially Guitar Hero II 'deluxe' but for fans of the series we doubt many will be disappointed with what Neversoft have achieved.

While the game provides hours of blissful fun, it would've been nice to see some more substantial improvements and gameplay changes over what "Guitar Hero II" offered.

Neversoft played it pretty safe with Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. It doesn’t break new ground and it didn’t need to. The existing formula has made the franchise a huge success. They did add a local co-op Career Mode, boss battles to the solo Career Mode, and a multiplayer Battle Mode. They also focused on improving the look and feel of the game with tremendous results.

Neversoft did an admirable job, especially considering they had to take a legendary franchise and rebuild it from scratch. 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.

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.

On one hand, it's Guitar Hero. Messing it up would've been sacrilege, and Activision did a pretty good job of not doing that. It's just as fun as it ever was, and the song selection is pretty great. On the other hand, they could have done a little more. Revolutionary new steps forward weren't exactly expected, but Guitar Hero III feels a little too much like more of the same.

I came into this chomping at the bit to play “Knights of Cydonia” but I have found so much more with this game. I’m positive that I will be shredding on this until the next Hero graces my presence, unless a certain Rock Band can steal me away.

Guitar Hero III offers few surprises and it feels like NeverSoft decided to ‘tread lightly' and not upset the apple cart (so to speak).

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.

As fun and addictive as the previous ones, although the increased difficulty might be a little intimidating to anyone who intends to join the Guitar Hero cult at this later stage. But the new Les Paul guitars, the co-op career and the fabulous track list form, once again, an incredible experience. [Dec 2007]

With online play, cooperative career, and a flesh-melting soundtrack, this is the best installment of the series yet.

Expect Guitar Hero to be around for awhile—and I'm cool with that, as long as they keep making fun and challenging games like Guitar Hero III.

The new songs will keep you coming back, and the cooperative offline mode adds a lot to the experience. But will it be enough to stem the tide of Rock Band? Only time will tell.

The “ain’t broke, don’t fix” approach is evident: The fundamental rhythms and patterns of the game haven’t changed, the structure of the career mode remains intact, and the set list is stocked with hits (as well as a few stinkers). [Dec 2007, p.102]

Be a Rock-Star! Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock is entertainment de luxe. Just: Buy the game with a guitar!

While it doesn't bring any major innovation to the franchise, Guitar Hero 3 is a solid successor and an excellent first outing of the franchise by Neversoft.

This is the Guitar Hero to have. While it may not be a true revolutionary step forward, it does take its strides towards what I one day hope the Guitar Hero series will achieve.

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.

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.

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.

Overall, Guitar Hero 3 is a mixed bag. While it is a lot more of the same from the past, it also has some issues. The battle modes can be slogged through, but do get annoying quite often. The ramping up in difficulty may turn some players off too.

Easily leapfrogging the performance of Guitar Hero II with room to spare, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock thrashes out a strong mix of classic and modern tracks, and is further enhanced with the online features its predecessor should have had.

The co-op career and battle modes are great fun, but had the new tracks been released for GH2 as downloadable content, we would no doubt have had just as much fun.

The few features Neversoft has introduced are less than dazzling. They are what they are – nice additions. [Chrismas 2007, p.108]

Although Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock for the Xbox 360 is a great game, it didn't improve necessarily on every aspect of the game, but it did enough to make the multiplayer and online content worthwhile.

If there is one major gripe that positively must be fixed before the inevitable release of Guitar Hero IV, it's product placement. Guitar Hero III jams AXE body spray, 5 gum and Red Bull cans into your face so hard that it's almost offensive.

Our wireless guitar kept losing connection with the 360 when the neck wobbled, and it happened an awful lot. [Jan 2008, p.76]

Sadly, Neversoft finds themselves unable to find that perfect balance with Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, cutting corners in places that really affect the feel of the game.

Ultimately, GHIII succeeds as a polished technical workout for top-tier shredders, but the game's magic was never really about pressing buttons anyway--it was about making the player feel like, well, a guitar hero. Now, we just feel unworthy. [Dec 2007, p.64]

While the formula works, it's starting to get a little stale so while I fully expect to see a Guitar Hero IV I hope the developer takes the game and add something truly new to the series.

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.

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.

No, it’s not nearly as fantastical as the originals, but it’s still not bad. If nothing else, the new guitar and online play make this a worthwhile purchase.

The note charts, which everyone was the most worried about with a new developer, were surprisingly well done and most importantly fun to play.

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]

Gamestyle would like to say NeverSoft have done the series proud, but the truth is everything that's great about this game has simply been taken from Harmonix's template, and the new stuff that has been added almost saps the enjoyment back out of it.