''Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock'' (initially referred to as ''Guitar Hero 3'') is a
music
Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...
rhythm
Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular recu ...
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
developed by
Neversoft
Neversoft Entertainment, Inc. was an American video game developer based in Woodland Hills, California. The studio was founded by Joel Jewett, Mick West and Chris Ward in July 1994 and was acquired by Activision in October 1999. Initially, the st ...
and published by
Activision
Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one o ...
. It is the third main installment in the
''Guitar Hero'' series, following ''
Guitar Hero II
''Guitar Hero II'' is a music rhythm video game developed by Harmonix and published by RedOctane for the PlayStation 2 and Activision for the Xbox 360. It is the second main installment in the ''Guitar Hero'' series and is the sequel to 2005's ...
''. It is the first game in the series to be developed by Neversoft after Activision's acquisition of
RedOctane
RedOctane, Inc. was an American electronic entertainment company best known for producing the ''Guitar Hero'' series, beginning in November 2005. RedOctane became a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision in 2006. In February 2010, Activision clos ...
and
MTV Games
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
' purchase of
Harmonix
Harmonix Music Systems, Inc., doing business as Harmonix, is an American video game developer company based in Boston, Massachusetts. The company was established in May 1995 by Alex Rigopulos and Eran Egozy. Harmonix is perhaps best known as bei ...
, the previous development studio for the series. The game was released worldwide for the
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
,
PlayStation 3
The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...
,
Wii
The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other Regional lockout, regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major ho ...
and
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...
in October 2007, with
Budcat Creations
Budcat Creations, LLC was an American video game developer based in Iowa City, Iowa, United States and was a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision, though they formerly had partnerships with Electronic Arts and Majesco Entertainment. They were la ...
assisting Neversoft on developing the PlayStation 2 port and
Vicarious Visions
Blizzard Albany (formerly Vicarious Visions, Inc.) is an American video game developer based in Albany, New York. The studio was acquired by Activision in January 2005. After releasing its last game as part of that company, ''Tony Hawk's Pro Ska ...
solely developing on the Wii port respectively.
Aspyr
Aspyr Media, Inc. (pronounced " aspire") is an American video game developer and publisher founded by Michael Rogers and Ted Staloch in Austin, Texas. Originally founded to bring top gaming titles to macOS, the company, since 2005, has become a ...
published the
Microsoft Windows
Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
and
Mac OS X
macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac (computer), Mac computers. Within the market of ...
versions of the game, releasing them later in 2007.
''Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock'' retains the basic gameplay from previous games in the ''Guitar Hero'' series, where the player uses a guitar-shaped controller to simulate the playing of
lead
Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...
,
bass
Bass or Basses may refer to:
Fish
* Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species
Music
* Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range:
** Bass (instrument), including:
** Acoustic bass gui ...
, and
rhythm guitar
In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...
parts in
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
songs by playing in time to scrolling notes on-screen. The game, in addition to existing single-player Career modes, includes a new Co-Op Career mode and competitive challenges that pit the player against in-game characters and other players. ''Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock'' is the first game in the series to include an online multiplayer feature, which is enabled in the PlayStation 3, Wii and Xbox 360 versions. Initially the game offers over 70 songs, most of which are
master tracks. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions feature the ability to download additional songs. The musicians
Tom Morello
Thomas Baptist Morello (born May 30, 1964) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and political activist. He is best known for his tenure with the rock band Rage Against the Machine and then with Audioslave. Between 2016 and 2019, Morello ...
(of the bands
Rage Against the Machine
Rage Against the Machine (often abbreviated as RATM or shortened to simply Rage) is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1991, the group consists of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commerfor ...
and
Audioslave
Audioslave was an American Rock music, rock supergroup (music), supergroup formed in Glendale, California, in 2001. The four-piece band consisted of Soundgarden's lead singer and rhythm guitarist Chris Cornell with Rage Against the Machine membe ...
) and
Slash
Slash may refer to:
* Slash (punctuation), the "/" character
Arts and entertainment Fictional characters
* Slash (Marvel Comics)
* Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'')
Music
* Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band
* Nash ...
(of
Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1985. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band comprised vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKa ...
and
Velvet Revolver
Velvet Revolver was an American hard rock supergroup consisting of Guns N' Roses members Slash (lead guitar), Duff McKagan (bass, backing vocals) and Matt Sorum (drums, backing vocals), alongside Dave Kushner (rhythm guitar) formerly of punk b ...
) make appearances both as guitar battle opponents and
playable characters
A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not contr ...
in the game. The PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows versions also include
Bret Michaels
Bret Michael Sychak (born March 15, 1963), known professionally as Bret Michaels, is an American singer and musician. He gained fame as the frontman of rock band Poison who has sold over 50 million albums worldwide and 15 million records in the U ...
(of
Poison
Poison is a chemical substance that has a detrimental effect to life. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figuratively, with a broa ...
) as a non-playable character.
Critics and fans acclaimed the game, but reviewers noted a difference in the game's style compared to previous installments, associating it with it being Neversoft's first development attempt with the series. The game is often cited to be too difficult, creating "walls of notes" that are difficult to complete, and led to alterations in note placement for future games in the series. According to Activision, ''Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock'' is the best-selling video game of 2007, both in terms of units sold and revenue earned, and that it is the first single retail video game to exceed one billion
dollars
Dollar is the name of more than 20 currencies. They include the Australian dollar, Brunei dollar, Canadian dollar, Hong Kong dollar, Jamaican dollar, Liberian dollar, Namibian dollar, New Taiwan dollar, New Zealand dollar, Singapore dollar, Un ...
in sales. It is one of the
best-selling third-party games available for the Wii.
Gameplay
Gameplay for ''Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock'' is similar to previous titles in the series. The player hits notes as they scroll towards the bottom of the screen in time with music to maintain their performance and earn points. To hit notes using the guitar controller, the player hits the
strum
In music, strumming is a way of playing a stringed instrument such as a guitar, ukulele, or mandolin. A strum or stroke is a sweeping action where a finger or plectrum brushes over several strings to generate sound. On most stringed instrument ...
bar while holding down the corresponding colored
fret
A fret is any of the thin strips of material, usually metal wire, inserted laterally at specific positions along the neck or fretboard of a stringed instrument. Frets usually extend across the full width of the neck. On some historical instrume ...
buttons.
If the player uses the standard controller instead of the guitar controller, the correct buttons need to be pressed, but the player is not required to strum.
Notes can be sustained, during which the fret button is held until the note is complete, and they can also form two- to four-note chords.
The game simulates
hammer-on
A hammer-on is a playing technique performed on a stringed instrument (especially on a fretted string instrument, such as a guitar) by sharply bringing a fretting-hand finger down on to the fingerboard behind a fret, causing a note to sound. This ...
s and
pull-off
A pull-off is a stringed instrument playing and articulation technique performed by plucking or "pulling" the finger that is grasping the sounding part of a string off the fingerboard of either a fretted or unfretted instrument. This intermediate- ...
s for sections with a rapid series of notes, allowing the player to forgo strumming on specifically marked notes. Missing a note causes the performance meter to drop. When the meter drops too low, the player fails the song, represented in-game by the band being booed off the stage. A string of 10 consecutive correct notes earns a multiplier to increase the player's score, which can occur up to four times.
Special sections, marked by starred notes, can be used to build Star Power. When the player has enough Star Power, they can activate it and further double the scoring multiplier either by tilting the guitar controller vertically or by pressing a specific button on the controller.
While Star Power enabled, the performance meter increases more quickly when a correct note is hit, and missing notes have a decreased penalty.
''Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock'' contains four difficulty levels: Easy, which uses three of the fret buttons; Medium, which makes use of four of the fret buttons; Hard, which uses all five fret buttons; and Expert, which adds no new fret buttons, but increases the number of notes and the general difficulty.
During a song, avatars of the virtual band, including one character selected by the player, will perform in time to the music, responding appropriately to the unleashing of Star Power or the failing of a song. ''Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock'' has a cast of thirteen characters, which the player can further customize with alternate guitar skins and stage outfits using in-game money earned from successful performances.
The player can access the game's three
boss
Boss may refer to:
Occupations
* Supervisor, often referred to as boss
* Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier
* Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization
* Fire boss, a ...
characters—
Tom Morello
Thomas Baptist Morello (born May 30, 1964) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and political activist. He is best known for his tenure with the rock band Rage Against the Machine and then with Audioslave. Between 2016 and 2019, Morello ...
,
Slash
Slash may refer to:
* Slash (punctuation), the "/" character
Arts and entertainment Fictional characters
* Slash (Marvel Comics)
* Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'')
Music
* Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band
* Nash ...
, and Lou the Devil—as playable characters once they have completed their respective Boss Battles in Career mode. Although
Bret Michaels
Bret Michael Sychak (born March 15, 1963), known professionally as Bret Michaels, is an American singer and musician. He gained fame as the frontman of rock band Poison who has sold over 50 million albums worldwide and 15 million records in the U ...
appears in the game and sings specific songs, he is not a playable character in the game.
Career Mode
The single-player Career mode in ''Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock'' features 8 tiers with 42 songs total. Within each tier, the player completes a number of songs, the number depending on the selected difficulty level, before they are offered an encore performance of one additional song and complete the tier. After a tier is complete, a new tier is introduced.
''Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock'' includes Career mode boss battles based on the game's multiplayer Battle mode; at three points during the Career mode, the player must compete against a boss character to progress.
Each successfully completed song earns in-game money that the player uses at the game's store to unlock new characters, outfits, guitars and finishes, bonus songs, and videos. Additionally, completing a song in Career mode unlocks it for play in all other game modes.
''Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock'' is the first game in the series to feature a storyline for the Career mode, portrayed through animated cartoon scenes between venues produced by
Titmouse, Inc. Studios.
The band starts as a neighborhood sensation, and after signing a recording contract with a shady music producer named Lou, gains worldwide fame, performing at venues around the world. However, when the band attempts to break the contract, Lou reveals himself to be the
Devil
A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of t ...
, and their recording contract is actually a contract for their souls. Lou forces the band to play against him in the netherworld at "Lou's Inferno", but the band is able to succeed, forcing Lou to break the contract. The band returns to the mortal world as "Rock Legends".
Two players using the same console can participate in Co-Op Career mode, with one player on
lead guitar
Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...
and the other on
bass
Bass or Basses may refer to:
Fish
* Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species
Music
* Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range:
** Bass (instrument), including:
** Acoustic bass gui ...
or
rhythm guitar
In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...
depending on the song. There are six tiers of songs which the players complete in the same manner as the single player Career mode. The encore song for each tier is unique to Co-Op Career mode. There are no boss battles in this mode.
The animated Co-Op storyline portrays the vocalist and drummer, who are looking for a guitarist and bassist. After their first performance, the drummer decides to make a video of the band. The video helps boost the band's popularity, and they soon earn a gig in Japan. The band is forced to take a three-month hiatus to reconcile their differences of opinion on the band's future. Their comeback performance starts a neighborhood fire and places the band in jail. Lou arrives, offering the band to be freed from jail if they perform for the inmates. However, after their performance, the band finds themselves in Lou's Inferno, and is forced to play a live show for the netherworld in order to return to the mortal world.
Multiplayer
The Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii versions of ''Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock'' feature online competitive play, in which the player can compete against another user through the console's network service. There are three modes of online play, Face Off, Pro Face Off, and Battle mode.
Face Off challenges are
score attack
In games, score refers to an abstract quantity associated with a player or team. Score is usually measured in the abstract unit of points (except in game shows, where scores often are instead measured in units of currency), and events in the ...
modes introduced in ''Guitar Hero II'' where two players attempt to gain the best score on a given song; in the standard Face Off challenge, the players may select different difficulty levels, while Pro Face Off requires the players to play at the same difficulty.
The Battle mode in ''Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock'' is a competitive mode between two players either locally or over network play. Two players compete against each other and attempt to make their opponent fail or lose by successfully playing Battle Power sequences, which replaces Star Power sections, to earn attacks that can be used against the opponent. Players can store up to three attacks at a time, and release them by using the same methods used to trigger Star Power in normal gameplay. The resulting effect may either make the song more difficult for the other player by adding additional notes or partially displaying the gem tracks, or may force the opponent to perform special actions to clear the effect, such as by pressing a fret button down repeatedly in response to a broken guitar string effect. Should a player fail the song, the other player wins. If neither player fails the song, they compete in a Sudden Death segment, in which the only attainable Battle Powers are Death Drain attacks, which inevitably makes the opponent fail by draining his or her Rock Meter.
Controllers
![Gibson Les Paul Xbox 360 controller](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/Gibson_Les_Paul_Xbox_360_controller.jpg)
''Guitar Hero III'' was bundled with newly developed
wireless
Wireless communication (or just wireless, when the context allows) is the transfer of information between two or more points without the use of an electrical conductor, optical fiber or other continuous guided medium for the transfer. The most ...
guitar controllers for the console releases, though previous controllers from other ''Guitar Hero'' games could be used.
Lee Guinchard, RedOctane's vice president of hardware, stated that wireless controllers were the "first, foremost consideration" for the game.
The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 version of the controller was modeled after a black
Les Paul
Lester William Polsfuss (June 9, 1915 – August 12, 2009), known as Les Paul, was an American jazz, country, and blues guitarist, songwriter, luthier, and inventor. He was one of the pioneers of the solid-body electric guitar, and his prototype ...
guitar, with faceplates that can be swapped out.
The PlayStation 3 version requires a
dongle
A dongle is a small piece of computer hardware that connects to a port on another device to provide it with additional functionality, or enable a pass-through to such a device that adds functionality.
In computing, the term was initially synonym ...
to achieve wireless capabilities.
The Wii version is also a Les Paul design, but features a special slot to insert the
Wii Remote
The Wii Remote, also known colloquially as the Wiimote, is the primary game controller for Nintendo's Wii home video game console. An essential capability of the Wii Remote is its motion sensing capability, which allows the user to interact with ...
into. This slot allows the game to offer several features exclusive to the console, such as by using the internal speaker and rumble on the Remote to provide feedback on missed notes and Star Power. The PlayStation 2 guitar is based on a
Kramer Striker model, and also uses a dongle to achieve wireless functionality.
All models features a detachable guitar neck that would make it easier to transport the controller.
The PC and Mac versions of the game are bundled with the same
USB
Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard that establishes specifications for cables, connectors and protocols for connection, communication and power supply (interfacing) between computers, peripherals and other computers. A broad v ...
-based
Gibson X-plorer
The Gibson Explorer is a type of electric guitar model by Gibson guitars, released in 1958. The Explorer offered a radical, "futuristic" body design, much like its siblings: the Flying V, which was released the same year, and the Moderne, which ...
model that shipped with ''
Guitar Hero II
''Guitar Hero II'' is a music rhythm video game developed by Harmonix and published by RedOctane for the PlayStation 2 and Activision for the Xbox 360. It is the second main installment in the ''Guitar Hero'' series and is the sequel to 2005's ...
''.
Development
Activision
Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one o ...
purchased
RedOctane
RedOctane, Inc. was an American electronic entertainment company best known for producing the ''Guitar Hero'' series, beginning in November 2005. RedOctane became a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision in 2006. In February 2010, Activision clos ...
in 2006 for
$100 million to achieve "an early leadership position in music-based gaming". In September of that year,
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
acquired
Harmonix
Harmonix Music Systems, Inc., doing business as Harmonix, is an American video game developer company based in Boston, Massachusetts. The company was established in May 1995 by Alex Rigopulos and Eran Egozy. Harmonix is perhaps best known as bei ...
, the developer of all ''Guitar Hero'' games up to that point; this purchase would later lead to the development of the competing music-game series, ''
Rock Band
A rock band or pop band is a small musical ensemble that performs rock music, pop music, or a related genre. A four-piece band is the most common configuration in rock and pop music. In the early years, the configuration was typically two guita ...
''. Without Harmonix's availability, Activision selected
Neversoft
Neversoft Entertainment, Inc. was an American video game developer based in Woodland Hills, California. The studio was founded by Joel Jewett, Mick West and Chris Ward in July 1994 and was acquired by Activision in October 1999. Initially, the st ...
to develop ''Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock''. Neversoft president Joel Jewett stated his company was asked to develop the game because of a conversation that Jewett had with RedOctane's founders Kai and Charles Huang at the 2006
E3 Convention, in which Jewett mentioned how the first ''
Guitar Hero
''Guitar Hero'' is a series of music rhythm game video games first released in November 2005, in which players use a guitar-shaped game controller to simulate playing primarily lead, bass guitar, and rhythm guitar across numerous songs. Player ...
'' game helped reduce the stress in the Neversoft offices during their development of ''
Tony Hawk's Project 8
''Tony Hawk's Project 8'' is a skateboarding video game and the eighth installment in the '' Tony Hawk's'' series. It was developed by Neversoft and published by Activision in November 2006 for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, an ...
''. Several months later, Jewett was contacted by the Huangs, asking if Neversoft wanted to work on ''Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock''. Dusty Welch, head of publishing at RedOctane, recognized Neversoft had a "10-year track record of launching a game every single year and being in the top of the charts" and felt that the development group "brought a better and deeper sense of music sensibilities" to the series. Despite the experience from the previous games, Alan Flores, head of development at Neversoft, commented that the game was "deceptively simple" and that it took much work for their 30-person team to recreate the gameplay for ''Guitar Hero III''.
Though they "wanted to take the Guitar Hero experience to the next level" by adding additional instruments in the same manner as ''Rock Band'', they opted to focus on perfecting the guitar gameplay.
In 2010, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick stated that they believed Neversoft would help them to develop great games for the series, but has since come to regret their failure to seek Harmonix for further development responsibility and believed this would have been a better move for both companies.
The note tracks, on-stage motions of the band, and stage lighting and effect synchronization were created by the same team of developers who were all musicians and had previous experience in note tracking either from other music video games or from
MIDI
MIDI (; Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a technical standard that describes a communications protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, computers, and re ...
tracking.
The note tracks were developed by placing notes in time with the song; for sections that had difficult parts to track within the game's engine, they opted to use sequences of notes that would seem to the match the music but still be playable.
Hammer-ons and pull-offs ("HOPOs") for the previous ''Guitar Hero'' games were automatically placed by the software; in this iteration, the engine was designed to allow manual placement of HOPOs to make it easier to create certain effects in songs, such as sustained
string bends.
Character animations were selected from several made available by the animation team, while stage lighting and effects were selected to mimic those used in live performances from
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
or from concert appearances.
A separate team came up with the concepts for the various stages and arenas in the game.
The team wanted to keep the same art style as the previous ''Guitar Hero'' games but add "a certain spark" to improve upon previous designs. Once a stage idea was brainstormed, the team sought visual references from real stages to expand upon, and a
2D drawing of the envisioned stage was prepared for review and to remain a constant goal of the stage design.
From that, a "
pop up"
three-dimensional
Three-dimensional space (also: 3D space, 3-space or, rarely, tri-dimensional space) is a geometric setting in which three values (called ''parameters'') are required to determine the position of an element (i.e., point). This is the informal ...
version of the stage was created, and elements from the 2D concept art were added to determine the appropriate placement of set decorations. This team worked with the animation department to place the band members, stage lighting, and other effects in the game before the final 3D version of the stage was completed. The final stages included several animated elements to help further bring the stage to life.
For the game's characters, the developers intended to keep the comical looks from the previous games, but they decided to update their appearances with realistic materials and textures to take advantage of the more powerful level of graphics capabilities of
seventh-generation console
The seventh generation of home video game consoles began on November 22, 2005, with the release of Microsoft's Xbox 360 home console. This was followed by the release of Sony Computer Entertainment's PlayStation 3 on November 17, 2006, and Ninte ...
s.
The designers first drew character sketches to determine the characters' looks and clothing, creating a main and an alternate outfit for each character, which were then made into reference artwork. Afterward,
low-level meshes for each character were created, with details added with
Zbrush, resulting in characters that, before being scaled down for the game environment, had more than six million
polygons
In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure that is described by a finite number of straight line segments connected to form a closed ''polygonal chain'' (or ''polygonal circuit''). The bounded plane region, the bounding circuit, or the two toge ...
.
Texture of Couches and
pixel shader
In computer graphics, a shader is a computer program that calculates the appropriate levels of light, darkness, and color during the rendering of a 3D scene - a process known as ''shading''. Shaders have evolved to perform a variety of spec ...
s were added using the team's previous work on ''Tony Hawk's Project 8'' to match the style of earlier ''Guitar Hero'' games.
Unlike the ''Tony Hawk'' games, each character in the game was given a unique
skeleton
A skeleton is the structural frame that supports the body of an animal. There are several types of skeletons, including the exoskeleton, which is the stable outer shell of an organism, the endoskeleton, which forms the support structure inside ...
to match their variations in sizes and shapes, allowing the animators to create unique moves for individual characters.
''Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock'' introduces three new characters modeled after real-life musicians.
Slash
Slash may refer to:
* Slash (punctuation), the "/" character
Arts and entertainment Fictional characters
* Slash (Marvel Comics)
* Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'')
Music
* Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band
* Nash ...
,
Tom Morello
Thomas Baptist Morello (born May 30, 1964) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and political activist. He is best known for his tenure with the rock band Rage Against the Machine and then with Audioslave. Between 2016 and 2019, Morello ...
, and
Bret Michaels
Bret Michael Sychak (born March 15, 1963), known professionally as Bret Michaels, is an American singer and musician. He gained fame as the frontman of rock band Poison who has sold over 50 million albums worldwide and 15 million records in the U ...
, each performing one or more songs from their past recordings. All three were brought into the game using
motion capture
Motion capture (sometimes referred as mo-cap or mocap, for short) is the process of recording the movement of objects or people. It is used in military, entertainment, sports, medical applications, and for validation of computer vision and robo ...
from the Motion Analysis Corporation.
Soundtrack
''Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock'' features 73 playable songs; 42 are part of the main setlist, 6 are exclusive to the Co-Op Career mode, and the remaining 25 are bonus tracks. In total, 54 of the game's songs are master recordings. In addition, the Career mode includes three guitar battles, one against each boss: Slash, Tom Morello, and Lou the Devil. Slash and Morello both wrote and recorded original battle music for the game. Guitarists
Steve Ouimette
Stephen "Steve" Ouimette (born June 18, 1968) is a rock guitarist. He is known for performing a cover version of the hit song "The Devil Went Down To Georgia" (which was originally by the Charlie Daniels Band) for the video game '' Guitar Hero ...
, Ed DeGenaro and Geoff Tyson play as Lou the Devil for the final battle, and re-recorded a
metal
A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...
guitar version of "
The Devil Went Down to Georgia
"The Devil Went Down to Georgia" is a song written and performed by the Charlie Daniels, Charlie Daniels Band and released on their 1979 album ''Million Mile Reflections''.
The song is written in the key of D minor. Vassar Clements originally wr ...
" for that purpose. The soundtrack features songs such as "
Paint It Black
"Paint It Black" is a song recorded in 1966 by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. A product of the songwriting partnership of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, it is a raga rock song with Indian, Middle Eastern, and Eastern European infl ...
" by
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...
, "
Cherub Rock
"Cherub Rock" is a song by American alternative rock band the Smashing Pumpkins. It is the first single from their second album, ''Siamese Dream'' (1993) and is the opening track. It was written by lead vocalist and guitarist Billy Corgan. It w ...
" by
The Smashing Pumpkins
The Smashing Pumpkins (also referred to as simply Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band from Chicago. Formed in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, bassist D'arcy Wretzky, guitarist James Iha and drummer Jimmy Chamb ...
, "
Sabotage
Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. One who engages in sabotage is a ''saboteur''. Saboteurs typically try to conceal their identitie ...
" by
Beastie Boys
Beastie Boys were an American rap rock group from New York City, formed in 1978. The group was composed of Mike D, Michael "Mike D" Diamond (vocals, drums), Adam Yauch, Adam "MCA" Yauch (vocals, bass), and Ad-Rock, Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz (voca ...
, "
The Metal
''The Pick of Destiny'' is the second studio album by American comedy rock band Tenacious D, the soundtrack for their feature film of the same name. The album was released on November 14, 2006, through Epic Records, and debuted at number 8 ...
" by
Tenacious D
Tenacious D is an American comedy rock duo formed in Los Angeles, California in 1994. It was founded by actors Jack Black and Kyle Gass, who were members of The Actors' Gang theater company at the time. The duo's name is derived from "tenacio ...
, "
My Name is Jonas
"My Name Is Jonas" is a song by the American rock band Weezer. It is the first track on the band's self-titled 1994 debut album, also known as ''The Blue Album''. It was written by guitarist/vocalist Rivers Cuomo, drummer Patrick Wilson and guit ...
" by
Weezer
Weezer is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1992. Since 2001, the band has consisted of Rivers Cuomo (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Patrick Wilson (drums, backing vocals), Scott Shriner (bass guitar, keyboards, backing v ...
, "
Rock and Roll All Nite
"Rock and Roll All Nite" is a song by American rock band Kiss, originally released on their 1975 album '' Dressed to Kill''. It was released as the A-side of their fifth single, with the album track "Getaway". The studio version of the song pe ...
" by
Kiss
A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...
, "
School's Out" by
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...
, "
Talk Dirty to Me
"Talk Dirty to Me" is a single from American glam metal band Poison. Released on February 18, 1987, it was the second single from their debut album ''Look What the Cat Dragged In''. The song peaked at No. 9 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, becomin ...
" by
Poison
Poison is a chemical substance that has a detrimental effect to life. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figuratively, with a broa ...
, "
Slow Ride
"Slow Ride" is a song by the English rock band Foghat. It was the lead single from their fifth studio album, '' Fool for the City'' (1975), released on Bearsville Records. In 2009, it was named the 45th "Best Hard Rock" song of all time by VH1 ...
" by
Foghat
Foghat are an English rock band formed in London in 1971. The band is known for the use of electric slide guitar in its music. The band has achieved eight gold records, one platinum and one double platinum record, and despite several line-up c ...
, "
Barracuda
A barracuda, or cuda for short, is a large, predatory, ray-finned fish known for its fearsome appearance and ferocious behaviour. The barracuda is a saltwater fish of the genus ''Sphyraena'', the only genus in the family Sphyraenidae, which was ...
" by
Heart
The heart is a muscular organ in most animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste such as carbon dioxide t ...
, and "Down 'n Dirty" by L.A. Slum Lords. It also features re-recordings of "
Anarchy in the U.K." by
Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...
and "
Cult of Personality
A cult of personality, or a cult of the leader, Mudde, Cas and Kaltwasser, Cristóbal Rovira (2017) ''Populism: A Very Short Introduction''. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 63. is the result of an effort which is made to create an id ...
" by
Living Colour
Living Colour is an American rock band from New York City, formed in 1984. The band currently consists of guitarist Vernon Reid, lead vocalist Corey Glover, drummer Will Calhoun and bassist Doug Wimbish (who replaced Muzz Skillings in 1992). S ...
specifically for ''Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock'', as the original master tracks could not be found. This game is the second game in the series to feature a bonus track (
The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Manchester in 1983. One of the pioneering groups of the Madchester movement in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the band's classic and most prominent lineup consisted of vocalist I ...
' "
She Bangs the Drums") that is not an original recording. The first being a remake of 'Drink Up' performed by Ounce of Self on Guitar Hero 2.
The game also supports downloadable tracks for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions; several free and for-cost downloadable songs and song packs are available on both the
Xbox Live Marketplace
Xbox Games Store (formerly Xbox Live Marketplace) is a digital distribution platform used by Microsoft's Xbox Series X, S, Xbox One and Xbox 360 video game consoles. The service allows users to download or purchase video games (including both ...
and the
PlayStation Store
The PlayStation Store (PS Store) is a digital media store available to users of Sony's PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 game consoles via the PlayStation Network.
The store offers a range of downloadable content ...
.
In July 2008, Activision announced that it would release downloadable content for the Wii in the first quarter of 2008, but eventually was unable to do so because of limitations with the Wii's internal memory storage, an issue that was overcome in the sequel, ''
Guitar Hero World Tour
''Guitar Hero World Tour'' (initially referred to as ''Guitar Hero IV'' or ''Guitar Hero IV: World Tour'') is a music rhythm video game developed by Neversoft and published by Activision. It is the fourth main installment in the ''Guitar Hero'' ...
''. When heavy metal band
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...
released their album ''
Death Magnetic
''Death Magnetic'' is the ninth studio album by American heavy metal band Metallica, released on September 12, 2008, through Warner Bros. Records. The album was produced by Rick Rubin, marking the band's first album since '' ...And Justice for Al ...
'' on September 12, 2008, it was also made available as a downloadable song pack for ''Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock'', ''Guitar Hero World Tour'' and the 2009 spin-off ''
Guitar Hero Metallica
''Guitar Hero: Metallica'' is a 2009 music rhythm video game developed by Neversoft and published by Activision. The game was released in North America on the PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360 on March 29, 2009 and on PlayStation 2 on April 14, ...
''. In addition, the compact disc soundtrack for the game offers a code used to redeem three exclusive playable tracks on the Xbox Live Marketplace.
Release
Activision's original announcement of ''Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock'' indicated a planned release in their 2008
fiscal year
A fiscal year (or financial year, or sometimes budget year) is used in government accounting, which varies between countries, and for budget purposes. It is also used for financial reporting by businesses and other organizations. Laws in many ...
, ending on March 31, 2008.; RedOctane later clarified a release in the last quarter of 2007, and further revealed that all versions of the game would feature wireless controllers as well as online multiplayer and downloadable content. The game was officially announced by Activision and RedOctane on May 23, 2007, for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Wii and Xbox 360.
Budcat Creations
Budcat Creations, LLC was an American video game developer based in Iowa City, Iowa, United States and was a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision, though they formerly had partnerships with Electronic Arts and Majesco Entertainment. They were la ...
ported the game to the PlayStation 2, and
Vicarious Visions
Blizzard Albany (formerly Vicarious Visions, Inc.) is an American video game developer based in Albany, New York. The studio was acquired by Activision in January 2005. After releasing its last game as part of that company, ''Tony Hawk's Pro Ska ...
ported it to the Wii.
In September 2007,
Aspyr
Aspyr Media, Inc. (pronounced " aspire") is an American video game developer and publisher founded by Michael Rogers and Ted Staloch in Austin, Texas. Originally founded to bring top gaming titles to macOS, the company, since 2005, has become a ...
announced they would be publishing ''Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock'' for the Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X ports. Demos of ''Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock'' appeared in ''
Tony Hawk's Proving Ground
''Tony Hawk's Proving Ground'' is a 2007 skateboarding video game developed by Neversoft for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, Vicarious Visions for the Nintendo DS, and by Page 44 Studios for the PlayStation 2 and Wii. ''Proving Ground'' is the ni ...
'' for the Xbox 360 in the
Xbox Live Marketplace
Xbox Games Store (formerly Xbox Live Marketplace) is a digital distribution platform used by Microsoft's Xbox Series X, S, Xbox One and Xbox 360 video game consoles. The service allows users to download or purchase video games (including both ...
, and from the Internet as an
ISO image
An optical disc image (or ISO image, from the ISO 9660 file system used with CD-ROM media) is a disk image that contains everything that would be written to an optical disc, disk sector by disc sector, including the optical disc file system. IS ...
. The demo features five songs ("
Lay Down
"Lay Down" is a single by the Strawbs which reached No. 12 in the UK Singles Chart in October 1972 - their first hit. It was included on their 1973 album '' Bursting at the Seams''.
The lyrics are loosely based on the 23rd Psalm in the Old Test ...
", "
Rock You Like a Hurricane
"Rock You Like a Hurricane" is a song by the German hard rock band Scorpions, considered their signature song. The song was released as the lead single from their ninth studio album, '' Love at First Sting'' (1984). It was written by Klaus Meine, ...
", "
Even Flow
"Even Flow" is a song by the American rock band Pearl Jam. Featuring lyrics written by vocalist Eddie Vedder and music written by guitarist Stone Gossard, "Even Flow" was released in 1992 as the second single from the band's debut album, '' Te ...
", "
Hit Me with Your Best Shot
"Hit Me with Your Best Shot" is a song recorded by American rock singer Pat Benatar and written by Eddie Schwartz. In 1980, it was released as the second single from her second album ''Crimes of Passion'', which became her biggest-selling album. ...
", and "
The Metal
''The Pick of Destiny'' is the second studio album by American comedy rock band Tenacious D, the soundtrack for their feature film of the same name. The album was released on November 14, 2006, through Epic Records, and debuted at number 8 ...
") played within the Desert Rock Tour venue. As shipped, the game did not offer offline Co-Op Quickplay mode, a feature that was included in ''Guitar Hero II''. This mode was added to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions via a patch.
Activision called ''Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock'' its "largest product launch ever", selling more than 1.4 million copies, and making over $100 million in its first week of release in North America;
another 1.9 million copies were sold in the following month.
Subsequently, the company was concerned that they were unable to meet the game's demand for the 2007 holiday season. As of July 15, 2008, the game has sold more than eight million copies. During the first seven months of 2008, the game sold 3.037 million units in the United States, 412,000 in the United Kingdom, and 26,000 in Japan, for a total of 3.475 million units, according to the
NPD Group
The NPD Group, Inc. (NPD; formerly National Purchase Diary Panel Inc. and NPD Research Inc.) is an American market research company founded on September 28, 1966, and based in Port Washington, New York. In 2017, NPD ranked as the 8th largest mar ...
,
GfK
GfK (originally german: GfK-Nürnberg Gesellschaft für Konsumforschung e.V., lit=Nuremberg Society for Consumer Research, label=none) is a provider of data and intelligence to the consumer goods industry. It is headquartered in Nuremberg, German ...
Chart-Track
GfK Chart-Track is a market research company that monitors music, videos and software sales in the United Kingdom and was formed in 1996. In July 2008, GfK took a majority stake in the company.
In the UK the company produces the Official UK Sof ...
, and
Enterbrain
, formerly , is a Japanese publisher and division of Kadokawa Future Publishing founded on 30 January 1987 as . Magazines published by Enterbrain are generally focused on video games and computer entertainment as well as video game and strategy ...
. More than two million copies of the game were sold for the Wii platform, making it the
best-selling third-party title for the platform. Game sales during the first 12 months after the game's release were over $750 million. At the 2009
Consumer Electronics Show
CES (; formerly an initialism for Consumer Electronics Show) is an annual trade show organized by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). Held in January at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Winchester, Nevada, United States, the event typi ...
, Activision CEO Mike Griffith stated that ''Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock'' is the first retail video game to exceed one billion dollars in sales.
According to accumulated data from NPD Group in January 2010, ''Guitar Hero III'' is the second best-selling video game in the United States since 1995, following ''
Wii Play
''Wii Play'' is a party video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii console. It was released as a launch game for the console in Japan, Europe, and Australia, and was released in North America in February 2007. The game features ...
''. In March 2011, the title had become the top selling game with $830.9 million in lifetime sales.
Reception
''Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock'' received acclaim from critics and fans, although it scored lower than its predecessors on review aggregator
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
. The
Gibson Les Paul
The Gibson Les Paul is a solid body electric guitar that was first sold by the Gibson Guitar Corporation in 1952. The guitar was designed by factory manager John Huis and his team with input from and endorsement by guitarist Les Paul. Its typi ...
controller included with the game's bundled version received particular praise.
GameSpy
GameSpy was an American provider of online multiplayer and matchmaking middleware for video games founded in 1996 by Mark Surfas. After the release of a multiplayer server browser for the game, QSpy, Surfas licensed the software under the GameS ...
, in a review of the four console versions, favorable reviewed the new controllers, and called the Wii guitar the best guitar peripheral that they had seen, praising the vibration option.
Several reviews criticized the changes made to ''Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock'' compared to previous games in the ''Guitar Hero'' series. IGN's review of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions considered the game a "pretty safe effort" from Neversoft, doing little to change the game due to it being their first time working on the series. They also criticized the lack of customizable characters.
IGN's review of the Wii version described the game's presentation and art direction as feeling "forced", and, as a result, less visually appealing than previous installments. ''GameSpy'' criticized some of the difficulty tweaks in the game, stating that "Medium simply feels like Hard-minus-the-orange-button," and that the Star Power phrases were too long, comparing the overall game to a "
trial by fire" in contrast to the previous games in the series.
They were critical of the dongle approach used for the PlayStation 3 controllers, and failings in the online support for the PlayStation 3 version.
They also stated that the PlayStation 2 version received "the short end of the stick" because of a lack of online play. ''GameSpot'' criticized the game for its "heavy dose of
in-game advertising
In-game advertising (IGA) is advertising in electronic games. IGA differs from advergames, which refers to games specifically made to advertise a product.Matthew Yi (2005-07-25). "Advertisers pay for video games - Product placement tradition no ...
."
''Official Xbox Magazine'' also criticized the game for being "too competitive", a facet not readily found in the previous games.
The PC version has been criticized for its high system requirements, and for
lag
Lag, or similar, may refer to:
Lag
* Łąg, Poland
* Lag (company), a French guitar maker
* Lag (cue sports), a brief pre-game competition to determine which player will go first
* Latency (engineering), a slower response time in computing, commu ...
and slowdown problems even on high-end systems.
Guinness World Record
Recognizing the game's popularity, ''
Guinness World Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
'' created a category for the Highest Score for a Single Song on ''Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock'' in its ''
Gamer's Edition'', using the song "
Through the Fire and Flames
"Through the Fire and Flames", often abbreviated as TTFAF, is a song by English power metal band DragonForce. The song is acclaimed as the most successful song by the band. The song was the lead single and opening track from DragonForce's third ...
", noted as the most difficult song in the game. The record has been traded back and forth between
Chris Chike, who also won the 2008
Play N Trade National Guitar Hero III Tournament, and Danny Johnson, the present holder of the record. Both Chike and Johnson have completed the song without missing a note, documenting their performances on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
, though both Chike and Johnson have hit 100% of the notes at an official event leading to a hard world record breaker.
Lawsuit
In November 2010,
Axl Rose
W. Axl Rose (born William Bruce Rose Jr.; born February 6, 1962) is an American musician. He is best known for being the lead vocalist and lyricist of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, and has been the band's sole constant member since its incep ...
sued Activision for $20 million for misuse of
Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1985. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band comprised vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKa ...
music and its musicians (specifically Slash) in ''Guitar Hero III''. In the lawsuit, Rose claims that when he learned that a Slash-like character and other
Velvet Revolver
Velvet Revolver was an American hard rock supergroup consisting of Guns N' Roses members Slash (lead guitar), Duff McKagan (bass, backing vocals) and Matt Sorum (drums, backing vocals), alongside Dave Kushner (rhythm guitar) formerly of punk b ...
songs would be included in ''Guitar Hero II'', he refused to allow Activision to use "
Welcome to the Jungle
"Welcome to the Jungle" is a song by American rock band Guns N' Roses, featured on their debut album, ''Appetite for Destruction'' (1987). It was released as the album's second single initially in the UK in September 1987 then again in October ...
" within ''Guitar Hero III'', nor promotional images of Slash that had already been created. According to Rose's claims, Activision stated that these would only be used as promotional material for a trade show, but ended up using them within the game. Furthermore, Rose asserts that Activision had used "
Sweet Child o' Mine
"Sweet Child o' Mine" is a song by American rock band Guns N' Roses. It appears on their debut album, ''Appetite for Destruction''. In the United States, the song was released in June 1988 as the album's third single, topping the ''Billboard'' ...
", which was only licensed for use on ''Guitar Hero II'', for promotional material within ''Guitar Hero III''. The judge in the case allowed the trial to move forward after an initial hearing in March 2011. A jury trial was expected to start in May 2012.
At initial hearings in August 2012, the judge dismissed a fraud claim made by Rose, considering that it took three years for Rose and his publisher Black Frog Music to file these claims after the release of the game, an excessively long time for such a claim. The judge maintained the likelihood of the breach of contract argument, setting a jury trial to likely occur in early 2013. In January and February 2013, the judge dismissed the case, indicated that the lateness of the filing of the lawsuit, about three years since the release of the game, gave him grounds to throw out the suit, though Rose stated that the delay was due to promises made by Activision for a Guns N' Roses-themed game as compensation for the violation of contract terms.
Technical issues
Although the Wii version of the game was advertised as supporting
Dolby Pro Logic II
Dolby Pro Logic is a surround sound processing technology developed by Dolby Laboratories, designed to decode soundtracks encoded with Dolby Surround.
Dolby Stereo (also known as ''Dolby MP'' or ''Dolby SVA'') was developed by Dolby in 1976 fo ...
, players reported that the game would output audio in neither Pro Logic II nor
stereo
Stereophonic sound, or more commonly stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configuration ...
, providing only
mono
Mono may refer to:
Common meanings
* Infectious mononucleosis, "the kissing disease"
* Monaural, monophonic sound reproduction, often shortened to mono
* Mono-, a numerical prefix representing anything single
Music Performers
* Mono (Japanese b ...
sound. Activision had offered a free replacement remastered game disc that corrects this issue for North American and European releases. Later, Activision further extended the replacement program to include a full refund of the game's purchase price as an alternative to obtaining a replacement disc. A class-action lawsuit over the mono sound issue was settled out of court, and Activision agreed to ship free faceplates for the Les Paul guitar controller to those who requested a replacement disc. Additionally, during the first few days of the game's release, players experienced difficulties uploading their scores to the official ''Guitar Hero'' website. Neversoft attributed the problem to "heavy amounts of traffic".
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guitar Hero 03
2007 video games
Activision games
Cooperative video games
03
Guitar video games
Music video games
Video games based on musicians
Neversoft games
Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection games
MacOS games
PlayStation 2 games
PlayStation 3 games
Slash (musician)
Wii Wi-Fi games
Windows games
Xbox 360 games
Multiplayer and single-player video games
Video game sequels
Aspyr games
Video games using Havok
Video games developed in the United States
Budcat Creations games
Vicarious Visions games