Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock is a music video game developed by Neversoft and published by Activision and RedOctane. It is the third main installment in the Guitar Hero series, and the fourth title overall. The game was released for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360 in October 2007. Budcat Creations ported the game to the PlayStation 2, and Vicarious Visions ported it to the Wii. Aspyr Media developed the PC and Mac versions of the game, releasing them in late 2007. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock retains the basic gameplay from previous games in the Guitar Hero series. In it, the player uses a guitar-shaped controller to simulate the playing of lead, bass, and rhythm guitar parts in rock songs by playing in time to scrolling notes on-screen. The game includes a new Co-Op Career mode and 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 feature, which is enabled in the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii versions.

Initially the game offers over 70 songs, most of which are master tracks. The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions feature the ability to download additional songs. Avatars of the musicians Tom Morello (of the bands Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave) and Slash (of Guns N' Roses and Velvet Revolver) appear in Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. The PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 versions also include Bret Michaels (of Poison). Critics were generally favorable towards the game, but reviewers noted a difference in the game's style compared to previous installments, associating it with the change in developer between this game and the last. 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 is also claimed to be the first single video game to exceed one billion dollars in sales. The best-selling version is for the Wii, with two million copies sold, making it the best-selling third-party game 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 bar while holding down the correct fret 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-ons and pull-offs for sections with a rapid series of 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.