The series comes to the Wii with success, but definitely lacks the powerhouse tracks of previous installments.
User Rating: 8.5 | Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock WII
I rented Guitar Hero II for the Xbox 360, since my brother has one, and literally played it for hours on end, without getting tired of it. Guitar Hero III? Not so much. I was extremely excited that what became one of my favorite games was coming out for my system, and in that respect I was not disappointed. The guitar plugs into the Wii remote just like the nunchuck, then you secure the remote in the guitar itself so that you can still use the buttons. It comes with stickers, if you like them, and unlike I was led to believe by some reviews, there ARE customizable faceplates you can purchase for the Wii Guitar, if your basic white-on-black doesn't quite get you in the rockin' mood. As for the game itself, it is pretty much the same as the previous games. Buttons all work the same, the whammy bar seems a little more stable (but maybe that's just because I'm used to playing on rental or really old guitars!), otherwise it plays pretty normally. Having played through half of the Easy tour, and completed the Medium tour already, I can say that for me, it feels a little easier than Guitar Hero II. The tracks are a little more straightforward. And that is the weakest point I think. Aside from some gems like "School's Out", "Rock and Roll All Nite", and "Devil Went Down to Georgia", the third installment of the game is severely lacking in songs that anyone who isn't a diehard metal or punk rock fan will recognize. Admittedly, the songs are all pretty good - but coming from GHII; which had tracks like "Freebird", "Sweet Child of Mine" and "You Really Got Me" to name a few; the setlist of the third installment simply doesn't hold up. For people owning a PS2 or X360, it's no big deal, because the previous games are still available for those systems, but Wii owners can only hope that there is more in store for our fingertips.
On the positive side, the cutscenes are now animated (and very originally!) and quite fun to watch. There is a great deal more customization available as far as the characters and their outfits, which is excellent because the in-game animation is also improved.
The big positive change for GHIII is the multi-player and battle modes. In career mode, you have three battle challenges, which resemble the existing challenge mode, but you now have battle tokens instead of star power, which will do different things to the opponent's fret board to mess them up. I haven't been able to try out the multiplayer modes because I only have one guitar at the moment, but I'm really looking foward to checking out the Co-op Career mode, where you work together as Lead and Rhythm or Bass guitarists to help your band reach stardom.
Overall, it's still a great game - and if you've never played it, you definitely should. However, if you're a long time follower of the series, don't expect glorious new things - just more of the same good stuff. 
