The franchise thats turned into a cultural phenomenon has seen its 3rd proper entry, as well as its debut on the Wii, but does the rock age well? Hit the jump to find out:

 Guitar Hero is a concept we’re all familiar with. Picking up the dance pad of dance dance revolution from under your feet and placing it on the end of a plastic guitar at your fingertips is all it takes to bring out your inner rock god. Though neversoft helming the third proper installment is new to the series, GHIII still hits all the right notes.It’s apparent from the start that GHIII is similar to its predecessors in all the ways that count. Five buttons are used to coincide with notes racing towards you on screen. Strumming via the strum bar while hitting the correct “fret” will result in the guitar part you’re playing successfully accompanying the song. However, if you happen to miss the note the game makes sure to let you know. Actually, exclusive to the Wii, since the wii remote is housed inside the guitar peripheral, whenever you miss a note the sound springs forth from the wii remote’s speaker. Though downplayed or tossed aside as trivial, it really is helpful as the player to have missed notes differentiated from all the nosie on your tv. The guitar also relies on the wiimote’s motion sensing capabilities for star power, feeling more precise than previous iterations. I know our average reader understands how the game works, though, so lets move onto what matters in any Guitar Hero game: the songs.

 Arguably the best tracklist yet, GHIII sports a diverse range of songs from classics all the way up to tracks from last year. Stand out tracks include, “When You Were Young” (by The Killers) for its sheer fun, “Welcome to the Jungle” (by Guns n Roses) for its complete package, and Eric Johnson’s “Cliffs of Dover” for being one big, awesome solo. The best thing about all of these songs? They’re the original master tracks. Boasting more original tracks than any previous Guitar Hero game, GHIII feels like the complete package when you aren’t subjected to a subpar cover of a song you love. That isn’t to say some of the covers are excellent, in particular whoever covered Ozzy on “Paranoid” by Black Sabbath blew me away by how similar he sounded to the Ozzman. One can imagine just how expensive some legendary artists’ master tracks are to license, so its understandable that Neversoft chose to include a lot of recent artists, as their fees would be considerably less. The hardcore tracks are insanely fun to play, too. Killswitch Engage’s “My Curse” and In Flames “Take My Life” are mainstays at my home and it doesn’t detract any that they aren’t of the typical classic rock vein. The glaring missed opportunity here is downloadable content. As of the writing of this review, there is still no definite decision on whether Wii owners will enjoy the luxury of downloadable content for GHIII. As frustrating as it is, 70+ tracks built into the game is plenty to keep even the most avid virtuoso going for a long time.

GHIII also boasts one of the most robust online systems available for the Wii to date. Players can go online and battle to the death via song against strangers and friends alike. Additionally, players are able to run through songs on co-op with friends. It’s easy to find someone to play with anytime of day, though if the Wii had voice chat it’d be much easier to coordinate with friends and strangers alike.

Guitar Hero has, without a doubt, has hit mainstream status. When you’re able to walk into a restaraunt/bar and see that they have a designated night for Guitar Hero competition, karaoke fans have to start worrying a little that there is a new king for drunken fun. Though going from restaurant to restaurant in your area may be anecdotal, sales numbers are anything but. To see that Guitar Hero III has nearly hit a million units sold in just three months on the Wii alone is staggering, and heartwarming. Neversoft/Red Octance/Activision have proven that if a 3rd party Wii game is given the attention it deserves, it can stand toe-to-toe with any 1st party release. We hope this serves as a wake-up-call for developers who have continually pushed shovelware onto Nintendo’s platform. Sales aren’t indicative of how good a game is in every case, but Guitar Hero III is deserving of every last copy.

For those about to rock, Wii salute you.

Visuals = 213
The visuals are passable, but its obvious that there’s no graphical upgrade between the PS2 and Wii.
Sound = 370
The best tracklist to appear in a Guitar Hero game yet. Yes we’re aware of the issues with Mono only sound, but Activision is issuing a replacement disc free of charge.
Fun Factor = 380
The formula isn’t stale yet. While its certainly not like playing a real guitar, one can’t help but let go while playing and just enjoy the ride.
Mechanics = 312
Hammer-ons and pull-offs are looser than previous versions, but note charts are considerably more complex across the board. Everything works fluidly.
Replay Value = 395
“I know its 4:30 A.M. honey, just one more song and then I swear we’re done.”

Total = 1670

Grade = A-