Game Details
Price
  • $50-$60
Available on
Genre
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Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2)

common sense media says

Edgier sequel still rocks the third time out.


parents & educators say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this very engaging musical rhythm game is best played on a guitar-shaped controller. The game includes sexual innuendo and alcohol references in the lyrics. One of the game's venues is a bar, and several of the characters are in sexy bar garb. More so than in the previous versions of Guitar Hero, name brands are everywhere, including branding the guitar controller as a Gibson guitar; most of the commercialism is confined to music-related products, but you will also catch a Pontiac truck.

Educational value: Children can fine-tune rhythm and coordination and learn some classic songs.
Positive messages: Doesn't shy away from the seedier side of the rock lifestyle, with references to drinking, sex, and trashing hotel rooms.
Violence: Not applicable.
Sex: Some sexual innuendo in the lyrics. Male and female characters sometimes sport skimpy, revealing outfits.
Language: Curse words are blanked out but you can guess what they are. An example is the punk character's motto: "I eat disco and s--t emo."
Consumerism: Songs are from commercial bands. Slash and Tom Morello are playable characters. The game is saturated with musical brand names including Gibson guitars, Ernie Ball strings, Zildjian cymbals and Paste magazine. There's also the occasional non-musical brand like the Pontiac truck that appears in the video shoot.
Drinking, drugs, & smoking: Numerous references to alcohol. The band plays in bar. Beer cans and liquor bottles are frequent parts of the scenery.

More on Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock

What to talk about

Talk to your kids
Families can talk about product placement. Did you notice the name-brand rock equipment? Would you look for those products in a store? How about the Pontiac truck? How do these products benefit from this type of advertising? Why do you think they're targeting kids? Did you enjoy "battling" other characters or would you have preferred that the game was only about playing songs?

What's the story?

What's the story?
GUITAR HERO III: LEGENDS OF ROCK is the first truly cross-platform Guitar Hero, with versions for PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and the Wii. Using a special guitar controller, you play along to a song by pressing the neck and "strum" buttons in time to the music. The career mode now features a beefed-up story that follows your band's rise to fame: You start out playing backyard parties and dive clubs and move up to shooting music videos and headlining sold-out venues overseas. The money earned from playing gigs can be spent on new characters, outfits, songs, videos, and guitars including Gibson's iconic Les Paul, SG, and Flying V (thanks to an in-game endorsement by the guitar maker).

Is it any good?

Is it any good?
 

A music game is only as good as its song list, and Guitar Hero III delivers a steady stream of guitar-driven classics from the likes of Metallica, Black Sabbath, Santana, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Rage Against the Machine, and the Smashing Pumpkins for a total of 42 songs. Guitar Hero III features a new co-op mode that lets a second person play along to the same song on a rhythm guitar or bass, and the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions support the ability to jam with friends online. Boss songs, where you must out-duel another character on the guitar to continue, are another new addition.

Guitar Hero III features four levels of difficulty ranging from Easy to Expert, which means that both music game veterans and guitar newbies can rock out comfortably. If players have guitar controllers from previous games, they can buy the game only for $49.99 (PS2) or $59.99 (Xbox 360). Bundles that include a wireless controller cost $89.99 (PS2 or Wii) and $99.99 (Xbox 360 and PS3).

Game themes & details

Game Details
Available on: Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2
Available online
Genre: Music
Developer: Activision
Released on: October 28, 2007
Price: 50-$60
ESRB Rating: T for Lyrics, Mild Suggestive Themes

This review was written by Erin Bell
 
 

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What parents & educators say

8

Most useful reviews by all members

guitarherostuff
kid, 12 years old
 
Guitar hero Madness
I LOVE GUITAR HERO 3!!!!!!!! most people say that girls suck at it but I am amazing!! not to brag.But this game is awesome. way better then the other ones. Sexualality: the girl usually dance in cages and they wear bras and fish net leggings. I hae that. so thats bad about the sexualtity part. Messages aren't positive- they aren't. well some of them are but most of them are bad. Like Number of the beast. I HATE THAT SONG!! I am a christain and that song talks about how ### is the number of the beast and they are prasing the devil so i hate that song. One by Metallica talks about war and living there lives in H3ll. Raining Blood is also bad. Those songs mainly talk about the devil and those are the song si mostly hate. Language: there are many songs that have curse words like h**l b***h and a$$ and many differnet other kinds. But they usually block it it's pretty obvious that It's a curse word. Drinking, drugs, smoking- They usually have ladies dancing in bars and songs talk about drinking and drugs. But if your kids no how not to take those and stuff then it's all good. so I love guiar hero 3 but sometimes it's gives a stong messgae but as long as you and your kids know that some of that stuff is wrong then it's ok. ROCK ON!

Spielberg00
teen, 14 years old
 
A good start to the Guitar Hero games on the Wii...should have been updated like the fourth or fifth was by now (except without all the other instruments).
My rating: E10+: mild lyrics; suggestive themes; alcohol reference

P dump
teen, 17 years old
 
Sport'n a pretty solid track list.
People should know that the Guitar Hero games aren't just filled with thrash'n hater songs. There's a pretty wide deal of music, like "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" and then there's "Raining Blood" by Slayer. You see the wide audience of appeal? Now chances are, if you like rock, you'll find something to like in this game. If you like classical music or don't have fingers this game is not for you. Some songs contain edited cuss words (i.e. "f---" in the song "Bulls On Parade" by Rage Against The Machines). Enjoy the game, and don't fool yourself and think you can play the guitar after this.

noah719
teen, 15 years old
 
GOOD GAME!!!
This game is awesome! The song list will not disappoint anyone, or bore them. It may feature some anti-religious material "The Number Of The Beast". But other than that everything is fine. Ages 6+

Bauer Power
teen, 14 years old
 
Songs get boring
I loved it when it came out.

soccer0202
kid, 12 years old
 
weird
it is an ok game but i like rock band better.

gamerzboyz
teen, 14 years old
 
goiod for 8+
great. some lyics have some swears but other wise ok for any one who can stum the plastic thing and press the buttons.

guitarherogirl
kid, 12 years old
 
awesome game. Buy it now
I LOVE GUITAR HERO 3!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm so good at it. I can play almost all the songs on expert and i'm a GIRL!!! even though most people think tht girls can't play because they dont like rock music and they r not skilled enougt but I AM people. so here are problems for me. Sexual content: There isn't that much sexual content but there are girl dancing in cages with only a bra on and fish net leggings and that is kind innapropriate but many people know not to do that unless your some freak who wants to be half naked at bars dancing for different types of bands. In one place in the bar there is this lighting thing with a girl holding a bar and sticing her leg up and down and dancing. People say she is practically pole dancing. rating:9+ Profanity: There are some songs with profanity in them and sometimes they block them out but you can easily spot a profanity right when one comes up. so they aren't that good at blocking out the curse words but as long as you know not to say them then thats ok. rating:7+ Messages in songs: MOst are not positive becasue they usually talk about bad stuff like the devil. Number of the beast is a song I HATE becasue it talks about how ### is the number of the beast so that song is a load of crap for me. There is also raining blood thats ba also I mean the title. Then there is one by metallica. It's about war and live your life in h3ll and stuff so thats another bad song. There are also bad names like sawyer and sabotage. Rating:11+ Drinking, smoking, drugs: Some songs talk about having drugs and stuff and sometimes people are singing there songs in bars and stuff and they are sometimes singing a song about bars and drinking. Rating:10+ Hilights There are some highlights in this game and it's not all about that downs. there are some perks. Education: You can learn many songs from this game and you may want to learn how to play them on an instrument. And they can make your child wanna start playing an instrument and get musically active. Easy: Tis game is easy to play. All you have to do is learn how to strum an press the buttons. There are tutorials you can take if you want to get better. You can also choose your level. Work your way to expert and with little practice you can be like me in no time. Safety: your safety is very important in guitar hero 3 but there is really no way you can be unsafe. You just play songs and sometimes if you have wifi you can play on the internet. as long as you dont put your rreal name in the boz for your screen name then it's not bad. You don't have to worry at all. So those are my reasons and stuff. You should buy this game. It is a load of fun. Sure there are ups and downs but sometimes there are good purposes to get this game. You will love it and it won't be a waist of time or money. ROCK ON!!!!!!

PYEsinc
teen, 14 years old
 
Pretty good...a few bad things...
Language: Many swear words appear throughout the whole game, e.g.: "s--t", "f--k", "b--ch", "a-s", "h3ll", "d@mn". Every single swear is omitted, but sometimes it is sort of obvious to tell that it's a swear. Sex: One or two mentions of "wh--es" and "h--s". The characters also wear risque clothing no matter how you dress them. One of the songs is called "Suck My Kiss". Drugs/Alcohol: Mentions a few drugs (pot, crack, etc.). Violence: Some of the songs are called "Raining Blood", "Sabotage", "Paranoid", and "Through the Fire and Flames", and some of the bands are called "Slayer", "Rage Against the Machine", and "Black Sabbath". Consumerism: Here and there, musical brand names are mentioned, such as Line 6, Yamaha, etc.

WWEFan800
kid, 12 years old
 
guitar hero rocks!!!!!!
i love guitar hero! i have been playing it since third grade. it does have some smoking and it might have people dressed inappropriately and some lyrics are inappropriate too.

 
Best Guitar Hero game!
This is deffintly the best of the 5 guitar hero games with a great soundtrack and the online play is a nice addition to the game too. The songs are not too explicit besides a few where swear words are blanked out (In The Belly Of A Shark is an example). There is nothing to be worried about in the game and the most suggestive thing is when dances come out and dance somewhat suggestively on stage. VERY VERY FUN GAME!

Spongebob Fan
kid, 13 years old
 
Like it a lot but it depends...
I always played it and my parents didn't point anything inappropriate out, but some people are sticklers for some of the things. All of my concerns are just warnings, you know...

Nintendo_DSiXL
teen, 15 years old
 
Pick up your copy TODAY!
Got Guitar Hero, VERY EASY To play, Great selection of songs, The ONE thing I would really be concerned about is the Devil, But is great for kids 10+

katelyn99
kid, 12 years old
 
tweens
there is a bit of sexy part because there is a woman dancing in a cage a girl in bikini umm and some showy parts for those you moes and dads play the whole game first before kid do

manchild
teen, 14 years old
 
love it fun mild lyrics but overlookthat becuase awsome game

jacob0929
parent of 16 year old
 
gh3 rocks
good but some sex innuendos and some mild language (think d word or a word)

Commoncensor
teen, 16 years old
 
Best Guitar Hero Ever!!
Easy to play , teaches you coordination , and very fun ! Just a little worse than others . Still age appropriate though .

reveiwer123987
kid, 13 years old
 
ai love it and think that its fun.

gamesrater55
parent of 15 , 16 , and 18 , 18 year old
 
Best video game to even be created.I beat it on expert.
This game is the most fun and simple- to-play music game there is to buy.With songs like "Barracuda","Welcome to the Jungle",and "Rock you like a hurricane". This game gives kids the chance to learn new songs we adults liked from the past.I rememberd when I saw Guns & Roses in concert and they were playing "Welcome to the Jungle" that rocked my soul all night long.For adults this game lets us relive those old classic days with each live performance recorded and put into the game.Must by for adults and/or kids.And the only reason I suggested 7 and up is because there are female characters in skimpy and scantily clad clothing.

Andres76407
kid, 13 years old
 
Good But Not Great
It's fun but not a great game. It is not bad I reccomend it for 8 plus.

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