Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock is a rock 'n roll rhythm game and the third game in the Guitar Hero franchise. Like the previous two Guitar Hero titles and the Rock Band franchise, Legends of Rock puts the player in the shoes of an aspiring guitarist on their rise to glory. Starting off as a lowly garage band playing gigs around town, you and your friends quickly rise to fame as you shred on your guitar. Guitar Hero 3 contains a variety of new modes as well, including a cooperative career as well as online multiplayer. For those who've mastered the first two Guitar Hero titles, Legends of Rock provides an ample amount of challenge, putting your fingers to the test. If you think you have what it takes to become a true rock legend, give Guitar Hero 3 a try!
Lots of advancements and additions have been made to the various Guitar Hero games over the years, but Guitar Hero III was the the game that really put Guitar Hero on the map. The prior games were pretty neat, and when the 1st ever Guitar Hero game came out, people were excited about it and how cool it was to be able to play some of the songs. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock shipped with the Gibson Les Paul controller. This guitar featured a new, smoother fret board as well as a detachable neck (which made for more easy storage). While the new fretboard has led it to be the guitar peripheral of choice for the competitive Guitar Hero players, the detachable neck has led to many.
Main Game Features
- Solo and multiplayer game modes
- Over 70 songs to play
- Multiple difficulty levels
Story
In the main Career mode, Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock follows your custom character trying to win fame and fortune as a member of a small rock band. In order to progress to the next level of your career, you successfully impress the audience at your concerts by performing well in various songs.
Along the way, you'll compete in guitar-battles against other legendary musicians, including Slash from Guns N' Roses and Tom Morello from Rage Against the Machine! In the Co-op Career mode, you and your buddy play as two friends who link up with a drummer and singer, film a music video, and even go on to play a gig in Japan. These extra scenes provide some great motivation to keep jamming on, as you skyrocket to fantastical levels of fame.
Gameplay
Just like in previous Guitar Hero titles, players use a guitar peripheral with five fret buttons, pressing colored notes in time with the current song. On easier difficulties, players are only required to tap a few buttons, but on the highest difficulty, advanced guitar skills are basically required. Playing notes in succession without a mistake raises your combo meter, which in turn increases your score. You can also collect “star power” by completing sequences of notes flawlessly, which can be activated to double your combo meter. If you fail to keep up with the notes or miss too many, the crowd will turn on you, failing the song. Luckily, there are four difficulty levels to choose from, each one providing a significant step up in challenge. At the end of each song, you're given a star rating based on your performance.
There are a variety of modes to choose from in Guitar Hero 3, providing plenty of different ways to rock with your friends. In addition to the single-player and cooperative Career modes, players can enjoy fierce, competitive multiplayer matches both locally and online. Besides the standard score-based face-offs, you can challenge opponents in Battle mode, where players earn power-ups that can be used to disrupt the other player. As you play Guitar Hero 3, you'll also earn coins which can be spent in the in-game store, unlocking new songs to play. There are over two dozen extra songs to unlock, giving players plenty of reason to keep coming back for more.
Conclusion
Whether you enjoy rhythm games or fancy yourself a guitarist, Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock continues to make it easy to live the life of a rock and roll star. The gameplay is as addictive as ever, providing a great mixture of intense and almost-zen moments of musical bliss. The long list of songs is well-curated, featuring tons of rock classics and modern hits.
Whether you're trying to get the max stars on every song in the game or just enjoying some casual competition with friends, Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock is tons of fun.
Pros
- Addictive gameplay
- Lots of replayability
- Good soundtrack
Cons
- Some songs feel unfair
- Limited music genres