Rock Band 3

If your bank account can withstand the investment for those pro instruments, or even if you want to keep playing the old way, Rock Band 3 is now the new benchmark of music games for groups. The Keyboard is a true bonus, especially in pro mode, and the Pro Guitar a real challenge for die hard gamers. Still blessed with its spot-on gameplay, as a videogame, it is beyond reproach and will entertain you for hours. But in terms of music teaching tool, we're not quite there yet. Only time will tell if the public will follow, and if the pro mode will indeed lead to new vocations, like the drums addition in the original Rock Band did. But Harmonix made progress and invested in innovation, while its competitors laze, and one may only applaud for that.

Rock Band 3 continues to delight my gaming senses and eardrums, and I look forward in watching my wallet deplete of funds with new DLC songs and instrument options on down the line.

Rock Band 3 is what we've been wanting since the release of the first Guitar Hero; it's what we've needed. The perfect music game is here, right now.

Still nobody does this better than Harmonix, and with Rock Band 3 they are at the top of their game.

Rock Band 3 is a complete package and quite possibly the definitive music game. Once again, Harmonix defines and sets the bar for what the music genre can achieve. It will be hard pressed for anyone, Harmonix included, to top this game.

Rock Band 3 is a knockout in just about every way it can be. If you enjoyed anything from Harmonix in the past, you owe it to yourself to rush out and buy this.

Rock Band 3 is simply perfect. It's the final evolution of the music games, the perfect harmony between game and study, the perfect party experience and an awesome game. Everything is packed with love and attention, from the smaller thing to major features. If you love music and videogames, buy it and love it.

Truthfully, the entire game feels like a defiantly kickass celebration of music. Combined with the complete success and undeniable innovation of Pro Mode, how could anyone resist Rock Band 3?

The best music game ever. Harmonix have outdone themselves with new instruments and an insane Pro Mode that will keep us playing for months, perhaps even years to come.

Rock Band 3 is quite possibly the most successful music game ever. It keeps the old Rock Band formula wholly intact, and adds upon it a whole new layer of gameplay that carefully leads you across the slow, rickety bridge from simple imitation to real creation.

Rock Band 3 have an amazing track list, an exciting new support for instruments and many challenges and rewards that will keep us busy for months. This is the best iteration in any musical saga to date. A must-have.

Rock Band 3 is simply the best there is in the music genre.

It may be far less glamorous than new setlists and instruments, but the revamped user interface that underlies the whole experience is the game's most unqualified success. Fixing nearly every problem from previous installments, and layering in a whole new career structure, the new format is brilliant.

The only thing I'm left wondering is where Harmonix can go from here with the series having pretty much crammed everything you'd want out of the series.

As a standalone game it's the best music game available, even though it arguably has the weaker soundtrack compared to Rock Band and Rock Band 2. But it feels a little hollow as a standalone game; it needs you to build a massive library to fully exploit it. [January 2011 p76]

Rock Band 3 is an excellent game and it's a great iniciative by Harmonix to try learning us how to play a real instrument. The familiar Rock Band formula is there, but some new changes to the franchise really spice things up. It's probably the best music game on the market.

Closing your eyes and softly whispering Space Oddity: brilliant. [Christmas 2010]

None can deny that it's a huge step forward.

Multiplayer is always a blast.

The fact that Rock Band 3 is both easy to pick up and play while offering an intricate learning tool is a remarkable thing.

The unavoidable reality is that, for all Rock Band 3's considerable refinements and intuitive advancements, your current games and equipment will probably suffice if you're just after banging a few plastic keys to the odd tune every now and then.

This one is easy, Rock Band 3 simply rocks!

Rock Band's greatest achievement may be that it's not just another Rock Band game; it's an ambitious step forward for the genre. [Dec 2010, p.80]

Rock Band 3 is the ultimate music experience. New instruments are solid, the keyboard is fun to play, and the tracklist is splendid and varied.

What I can say about Rock Band 3, though, is that it's excellent, and a ton of fun in both single and multiplayer.

A fantastic music game with a nice new way to play the career mode. The game also has a pretty nice soundtrack from normal to hardcore metal tracks. The game also features new instruments like the Keytar and you can play with the professional instruments in the Pro-Mode of the game.

Pro mode is something new in a genre in a desperate need of innovation. Maybe it won't be able to teach you how to play music, but it's the nearest thing in videogame industry. Unfortunately, if you already are a musician, you will find yourself a bit frustrated by the rigidity of the system. Also, the keyboard hasn't been fully supported with a lacking tracklist and a limited peripheral.

Rock Band 3 is the best music game option around. The more you put into it, the more you'll get out of it. But my bet is that most people will just buy the game and nothing more. And while that experience is still solid, it's not all that different from Rock Band 2.

The best thing you can say about Rock Band 3 is that it's more of the same. [Issue#199, p.90]

If Rock Band is an every-Friday-night thing for you, then grabbing Rock Band 3 would be a good call as the evolution the fanchise has made will be much appreciated by fans. If not, then you might want to pass.

Thanks to a bevy of pre-loaded Setlists and Road Challenges, you now have an attractive and instant alternative to World Tour – which is still there and as rigorous as ever.

Rock Band 3 focuses more on the music, providing a fun and streamlined experience. However, taking full advantage of the game comes with a rather large pricetag, and it's up to you whether it's the worth the extra cash to upgrade from plastic to fantastic.