Product ReviewsGuitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Nintendo Wii, 2007)

Wii Guitar Hero III - a lot of fun but not perfect

I have heard many good reviews about the "Guitar Hero" franchise and I was interested in trying this game out on my new Nintendo Wii.

For the one guitar and the game, I paid just under $90 (which is a lot for a video game), so I was really hoping I'd enjoy it. I wanted to rent it first, but no video stores in my city offered this game for rental.

PROS:
-on the whole, the guitar is quite comfortable and easy to use and hold

-there is a tutorial mode as well as a practice mode, so you can learn how to play the game, which is excellent for first-timers

-you can choose your difficulty: easy (3/5 frets), medium (4/5 frets) or hard (5/5 frets), which is very good to accomodate novice to expert players

-challenging game play...you're not driving or shooting or other 'typical' video game actions...you're trying to hit the correct notes at the correct time. Really helps develop a sense of rhythm.

-as an observer to the game (not playing it), it is interesting to watch the music video-like background that is happening at the same time as game play. Makes "waiting your turn" much more bearable.

-the music was a great assortment of "classic" rock from the 60s, 70s and 80s. There was some newer alternative rock as well, which I didn't like as much, but to each his/her own.

-overall, very easy to pick up and play. There is a "learning curve" involved and some people will take to it faster than others, but it is fun for all ages, teen through adult. (the game is rated T for teen, probably for some of the old rock lyrics)

CONS:
-I noticed that after playing about 5 songs in a row (about 20 minutes), when I stopped to rest my fingers, I realized that my vision was distorted. Looking over at the wall, it appeared to be moving and swirling. No doubt this is due to the nature of the game, which has you staring intently at approaching dots coming down the screen...rather like staring at cars on a multi-lane highway for long periods of time. I did not like this visual disturbance, so I limited myself to no more than 4 songs in a row, then I had to turn it off. I can see that a game like this could trigger conditions such as headaches and seizures and vertigo and even nausea, if played for an extended periods of time.

-at the end of the second 'round', where to continue, you have to have a guitar battle one-on-one against some contemporary rocker. I found this challenge to be boring and frustrating and the only way to get through it was to put the TV on "MUTE".

-I also didn't much care about gaining "star power" (obtained by hitting the correct notes and not making any errors). To activate it, you have to jerk the guitar upwards, and every time I do this, I ended up missing notes. I would rather continue "regular" play and get all the notes right than jump around in "star power" mode and miss notes in the process. I didn't think "star power" was all that important to the game.

-I found the background to be very distracting during game play, with the graphics changing while I was trying to concentrate. I have heard criticism that the graphics were not as good as they could be, but when you're playing, you can't/don't see any visuals anyway (too busy concenrating)

OVERALL:
I have to say I like this game. I am surprised how quickly I took to it, and I can't wait until the rest of my family comes over to give it a try. I'd give it a 4/5 or an 8/10 (whichever you prefer)Read full review...

Very fun game

First off, this is almost nothing like playing an actual guitar, but it still makes for an excellent game.
I've heard Guitar Hero III is the hardest of the bunch, and it is not suggested to start with this one, but only part of that is true. While it does look like the hardest, the easy and medium modes will more than get you ready for the hard and expert levels.
The song selection is very good overall, and some of the bonus ones are my favorites to play. This is also a game that has a very long learning curve. I've had it for about a month, play it every now and then, and am just getting where I am good on expert. Others can take three months before they can consistantly play on that mode.
The multiplayer is also very fun, and includes co-op, guitar battles, and head-to-head.
Overall, the game is very easy to just pick up and play on the beginning modes, but for the more serious gamer, it will require hours of practice. The only downside to the Wii version is a lack of being able to download new songs as with on the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions.Read full review...

Good game...but still room for improvement

We got Guitar Hero included with a used Wii that we bought from someone. We were SO excited to have Guitar Hero finally. The game itself is almost identical to the game for other systems aside from ONE major flaw. The game is only in mono sound meaning the same sound comes out of every speaker. For many who have their sound just coming through their TV you might not notice this, but for those who have their system hooked up to a stereo with surround speakers this is VERY noticeable. While the gameplay is pretty solid and the guitar has been durable so far, this is a glaring hole in the product.

I would still recommend the product, but I anxiously await for the new versions to come out in hopes that this will be fixed. The eventual release of Rock Star on Wii will only drive Guitar Hero makers to put out a better product so I highly anticipate the future releases and hopefully special edition releases like the 80's version that came out on other systems.Read full review...

GUITAR HERO III Legends of Rock Wii

Guitar Hero's main component to its design is, of course, the guitar peripheral. The key gameplay revolves around pressing the corresponding buttons on the guitar neck and strumming to the beat of the song, and this just wouldn't feel the same using a traditional controller. You really won't feel like a guitar hero without that meaty axe in your hands to wail away on the notes that come zipping in on-screen. Guitar Hero III for the Wii will be the "unique" one of the bunch as it's the only version that requires players to plug in a Wii remote before they can start rocking out.

The back of the Wii guitar has a compartment that's made specifically for the Wii remote. It only takes a few seconds for preparation before rocking: plug the connector into the bottom of the controller, rest the controller face down, put the wrist strap in the handy nook, and snap the compartment door back on. Easy.

The Wii version of the Guitar Hero guitar is essentially the same shape as the Les Paul Gibson guitar that will ship with the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the game. This updated, wireless guitar has a few unseen features, most notably the ability to pop off the neck for easy storage and presumably upgrading purposes as well as the ability to take off the faceplate so you can swap on available, customizable replacements. The device has been improved since the past versions of Guitar Hero: the "flapping" sound of strumming has been muffled significantly, and the buttons have been slightly modified with slightly smaller and slicker buttons to make it easier to maneuver along them quickly.

Along with the storage place for the Wii remote, the Wii version of the guitar has one other addition: an analog stick. Why? When your Wii remote's plugged into the guitar, you lose the Wiimote's pointing ability - the analog stick is for players to maneuver the Wii's menu system so they can select the game while the Wiimote's properly plugged into the guitar.

What the Wii Remote/Guitar combo gets the game is, naturally, the inherent ability to be a wireless controller right out of the box since it's essentially using all the wireless tech in the remote to talk with the Wii system. The motion detection for when you want to trigger the star power in-game (by lifting the controller) is now provided by the accelerometer within the Wii Remote. But this combo also adds a couple of features that won't be in the other versions of Guitar Hero. First: rumble. The Wii version will be the only Guitar Hero game that will feature force-feedback thanks to the rumble in the controller, and believe it or not, in our hands-on, you really could feel the guitar shake to the beat when you rocked out with Star Power, as well as "buzz" when crazy effects are going on in the game.

The second feature? The Wii Remote speaker is used for the game's "squelch" when you miss a note. Hearing it come from your guitar makes two player co-op and two player competition a bit more fun since you can easily tell which player's the one that's screwing up the notes - if player one misses a few notes, the "squelch" will come from his guitar and not player two's. Players can bring the squelching back to the television speaker by turning off the remote's speakers - since the mis-note sound effect is integral to the game, it will recognize if you've kicked off your Wiimote speakers and send the sound back to the main audio output.Read full review...

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Wii): Rock Wirelessly

This is the first Guitar Hero that I've owned, any previous experience I've had was on the demo guitars in the stores (which I picked up for a song or two any time I saw one). I have a blast playing this game and it's completely addicting. The time I want to play is only limited by my left wrist starting to hurt. I would highly recommend it, especially if you haven't owned one before, but there are always areas for improvement. Here are my humble opinions:

Controller:
For those of you who haven't caught on, the controller is a small guitar. The Wii-remote is inserted in the back almost like a battery. It's wireless like everything else for the Wii. From playing in the stores, I know that the cable connection to the guitar is a common point where the controllers break. I anticipate the life of these new controllers will be extended as a result. Also, the guitar strap fits securely to the guitar. I'm not really crazy about the Wii remote snapping into the guitar. It's easy enough, but it takes away the "pointing" ability. They've included a joystick on the guitar so it's still possible to navigate menus, but with all of the functionality of the remote, it seems pretty pointless (no pun intended) to use it just to broadcast the signal and detect the occasional tilt. I don't really understand why this guitar should cost the same as the other systems if it basically functions similarly to a large nunchuck or classic controller. However, one major video game website said it was the best guitar controller of all the systems by a slight margin, so maybe they improved on other areas. My biggest gripe is that although there is a multiplayer function, separate guitars will not be available until the end of January. This is utterly braindead. You can be sure I will get one though. Overall, the controller plays really well and it feels really good to strike rock poses.

Gameplay:
Playing the game feels great. In single career mode, you choose the name of your band (you can have up to five different bands) and start out as no-names. If you pass songs, your band is signed to labels and you increase popularity. You get money for playing songs and getting signed. The better you play, the more money you get, although it's pretty arbitrary. For those who haven't owned the game before, it's definitely challenging. I started on medium and was at least able to pass almost all of the songs on the first go. My roommate started on easy and had to use two or three tries for some songs. We both found levels that were challenging but not so much so that they were too frustrating. The one exception may be the legendary battles. These were much harder than the songs because you have to make the other person fail by using various "attacks". In some cases, it seemed like this was easier on medium, because some of the attacks were less effective on easy. I liked that you had to use a different strategy than with the regular songs (focusing on attacks rather than playing everything perfectly) but I think the concept could have been more polished. Both the these attacks and star-power in regular play were activated by tilting the guitar almost vertically. This felt cool sometimes but often messed up the playing. I accidentally paused the game with the side of my hand many times, which is especially disruptive in a rhythmic game.

With the money you earn, you can unlock songs, outfits, guitars and characters. I purchased all off the songs first, since thatRead full review...

Great game, fun, but....

This was the first guitar hero game I ever played...lots of fun, good set list...I just got back to playing guitar hero after a few years off having kids and such. Now that I have played some of the newer guitar hero games out, I realize that there are some frustrations with III. First and foremost - Battles! You have to beat these dudes like Morello and Slash in a battle before you can play any other songs or do anything else...the battles suck and definitely take away from the game - you can only play the songs you have beaten already...sucks!

Second is the graphics and cover songs...quite a few cover songs, and graphics are way below the newer guitar hero games. All in all, a good game and good songs, just find a cheat for the setlist so you can play anything you want without having to beat the boss, and don't worry about the graphics. Worth the money to buy used and have around!Read full review...

Guitar Hero III vs. Rock Band for Wii

don't know what happened but the plastic instrument game bug bit me a few weeks back and within 1 week I bought Rock Band AND Guitar Hero III for the Wii. To break it down:

Guitar Hero III
Pros: Very fun to play; the guitar feels sturdier than Rock Band's; the character options and in-game animations add an extra level of fun.

Cons: The song selection is limited (and what's up with no on-line song buying option?)

Rock Band
Pros: Needless to say having the full band (drums, mic, and guitar); the drums in particular are a blast; larger song selection than Guitar Hero III; personally, I prefer the bands and songs on Rock Band and there's a better mix of classic and contemporary rock
Cons: Like GH III, cannot buy songs on-line; characters, animations, touring are embarrassingly generic and the graphics look pretty bad

Bottom Line: When you look at the fundamentals of the game - gameplay and song selection - I give the edge to Rock Band. The drum option alone is worth it. Another slight edge for Rock Band is that the instruments will be compatible for Rock Band 2. That's not going to be the case for Guitar Hero.

That said, you can rock it out and have a blast with both games, so its hard to go wrong either way.Read full review...

Wow. This IS fun.

I used to rag on Guitar Hero. Because I am a lead guitarist in a speed metal band and I just thought the concept was silly. I finally broke down and played it and I see why it is so addicting. It takes mad skill! Features online competition and multiple modes of play such as battles and face-offs. This game also rung my bell because of great music I hadn't heard in awhile such as Social D, Rage and Foghat! Character figures are customizable with outfits, guitars and different paintjobs. Features many unlockables and of course this leads to lots of fun gameplay. Worth a shot.Read full review...

Guitar hero 3 on the wii

guitar hero itself is challenging game. i enjoy it as much as anyone else. The Wii version however has a different sized and shaped guitar which is somewhat harder to get used to especially if you've become use to the ps2 versions guitar. the music and characters are creepier looking then ever with amazing players you can unlock. Its got pretty good graphics, and the songs are actually a really good selection. i prefer guitar hero 2 or Encore, Rock the 80s.. but this one takes a bit of getting used to. But its equally as fun and challenging.Read full review...

Guitar Hero Revival During Covid Fall

This game is an oldie but a goodie. The entire family is playing together. My only disappointment is with the Aerosmith and Van Halen titles where you think it will be all of those bands music but only a couple of their tracks are included. Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: andy-_7523