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Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock wii Game Reviews
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
Critic Score
Metascore: 86 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
8.1 out of 10
based on 36 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 50 votes
Read user comments
Rate this game

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]

PUBLISHER: Activision
DEVELOPER: Neversoft Entertainment
GENRE(S): Music
PLAYERS: 2
ESRB RATING: T (Teen)
RELEASE DATE: October 28, 2007

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

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.
Read Full Review
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.
Read Full Review
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.
Read Full Review
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.
Read Full Review
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.
Read Full Review
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.
Read Full Review
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.
Read Full Review
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.
Read Full Review
90
N-Europe
Despite a few shortcomings make no mistake Guitar Hero III is a must have.
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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.
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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.
Read Full Review
90
1UP
The Wii version has online play as well.
Read Full Review
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.
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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.
Read Full Review
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.
Read Full Review
85
GameZone
Co-op and competitive multiplayer modes ensure you’ll want to pick up a second guitar controller.
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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.
Read Full Review
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.
Read Full Review
83
The Onion (A.V. Club)
It hits all the right notes, but gets no points for style.
Read Full Review
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.
Read Full Review
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
NTSC-uk
Arguably, Guitar Hero III has the best selection of music in the series so far, and although there are fewer slow-paced songs than before, there is a nice mix of modern and classic tracks within the 70+ licensed soundtrack.
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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.
Read Full Review
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.
Read Full Review
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.
Read Full Review
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.
Read Full Review
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.
Read Full Review
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.
Read Full Review

What Our Users Said

Vote Now! The average user rating for this game is 8.1 (out of 10) based on 50 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Polecat gave it a10:
An excellent music game, and the best on the system. I can't say my opinion should be the alpha and the omega of reviews, as I really can care less if the sound coming out of my 2 speakers is slightly different, it's really a bummer about the lack of DL-able tracks on the system, but I imagine that access to the SD slot is more difficult to institute into games than I can account for. Solid title though, and an excellent addition to any music aficionado's collection.

Mike G. gave it a10:
Best of all GH games, i wish they'd left out the boss battles (lou on expert is cheap).And Dan, instead of playing ANY video game, go do IT in real life: sports, racing, gutiar, etc. For the rest of us who aren't good at these things, there's video games.

Ray gave it a9:
Good game, Solid mechanics. Sometimes expert mode looks unbeatable, however many songs are possible once you discover a technique that works for you. Being a bassist myself I was slightly amused at how the notes correlated with the drum beats most of the time at the higher difficulties. While it is more difficult then Guitar hero 1 or 2, Guitar Hero 3 is overall more challenging and at the same time a bit more fulfilling when you finally nail that song you thought was impossible.

Michael S. gave it a9:
Don't be confused this isn't anything like a real guitar, a real guitar has too steep of a learning curve to be fun for a pickup game where all ages can play and have some sense of satisfaction from beginning to end....people shouldn't give this a zero because of this but should give it a good rating. Sadness...It improves on a tried and tested platform for a game and thats all we want from it.

Dan J. gave it a0:
You want to play guitar, get a REAL guitar. These Guitar Hero games are nothing but crap. You will get more satisfaction from playing songs on a real guitar then you would pressing a bunch of buttons. Guitar Hero is pathetic.

Hannah A. gave it a10:
BEST! BEST BEST! Guitar Hero 3 is the most wonderful game ever! Aside from fun its fun to battle against friends and against Former Guitar Hero record holders as well as horses and animals playing the guitar. Easy to learn buttons and directions (theres not really any) make this the most outstanding game! You can play (as I did) for 8 hours in one period and not be boredwith it. The track list is one of the best. Paint it Black, Welcome to the Jungle, Schools Out, Baracuda and much more make this the absolutly most bestest game ever!

Bradley G. gave it a10:
For all of you out there who have some sort of technological flaw in the game you felt like exploiting in your reviews like long load times or the inability to finish certain songs I have the answer right here. Sell your crappy PS2 and buy yourself a Wii. I have had absolutely nothing but fun with the game and NO i don't think they did better in the other two games. I bought the game for the Wii and it works, feels, sounds, and plays better than the previous installments (which has alot to do with the beefed up hammer on and pull off system). I have however had a multitude of problems with my friends PS2 version of the game being is that i can't even finish my favorite song "Cliffs of Dover" because the sound cuts out in the middle. Don't blame Activision for the flaws in your copy, blame Sony's late console.

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