RB3 - Reception

Reception

Rock Band 3 has received universal praise from gaming journalists who considered the game to be a major jump from Rock Band 2 and a pinnacle of the rhythm game genre. Matt Miller of Game Informer called the title "a culmination of Harmonix’s efforts to bring music to the masses". Ben Kuchera of Ars Technica commented that for Rock Band 3, "This is the new state of the art for rhythm games, and it's hard to find fault with what's being offered." Joystiq's Griffen McElroy asserted that Rock Band 3 "is the greatest rhythm game ever made, and quite possibly the only rhythm game you need to own". Reviews praised the incorporation of realistic instruments and the education of how to play them into the video game setting, seeing the title as a means of preparing players to pick up real instruments. Chad Sapieha of The Globe and Mail said that with the release of Rock Band 3 "we are just a hair’s breadth away from moving beyond make believe" while the New York Times's Seth Schiesel stated that "Harmonix has brilliantly torn down the wall between music games and real music".

Reviews praised the introduction of keyboard and the new controller. Miller described the keyboard peripheral as "small and light" with a number of options for how one can play it, with Johnny Minkley of Eurogamer adding that the keytar approach makes the keyboard peripheral "gaming's next must-have shame-maker". Many reviews noted that while there are some enjoyable and difficult non-Pro versions of the keyboard charts, playing in this mode was not much different from the established "five button" guitar method, and that the real enjoyment from the peripheral was through Pro mode. IGN's Hilary Goldstein noted that the keyboard addition allows Harmonix to expand the types of songs that one would previously have never expected to appear in a Rock Band game, such as Warren Zevon's "Werewolves of London" or any Elton John song. Sam Machkovech for The Atlantic expressed similar sentiments, adding that with the ability to include more keyboard or synthesizer-heavy songs into the game, "the songs are just plain better".

The new Pro mode was critically acclaimed as the primary feature that distinguished Rock Band 3 from other music games in the field. Minkley stated that the inclusions of Pro features "at once dramatically expand the potential of the game and fundamentally change the approach required to play and enjoy it". Reviewers appreciated the training modes, including their integration into the overall game's career progression and the breadth of material that is covered. Nina Shen Rastogi of Slate commented that Rock Band 3's training modes helps to overcome the discouraging early period of trying to learn guitar as "the gaming elements will mask the rote, homeworklike nature of the guitar training process". Kuchera noted that the modes were aimed at those who have some understanding of music theory already; "If this is your first introduction to music theory, though, you may need a little more explanation", he concluded. This lament was similarly stated by Machkovech, who felt the lessons had "text that was written by a musical savant" that would be too confusing to those without musical backgrounds and too simple for those trained in music arts. Chris Kohler of Wired described the experience he and a friend had where after playing though Devo's "Whip It" on Pro guitar and keyboard, they were able retain enough muscle memory to play their respective parts on real instruments, albeit not perfectly; Kohler summarized his experience that "Just playing Rock Band 3 taught us a little bit of actual music".

A primary consideration for the game was the cost of entry to enjoy the new features of the game particularly in Pro mode; both the cost of the new keyboard and Pro guitars (ranging from $80 to 280) and the time investment to learn these aspects was considered high and may only cater to niche players. The Metro noted that if one does not purchase any of the additional hardware controllers, "it's not much different to Rock Band 2". Goldstein commented that the amount of investment into the game will affect one's perception of the game's value: "either something completely new and challenging or just more tracks to rock out to". Goldstein further noted that with the cost and time spent on the Pro guitar models, "why not spend a little more and buy the real thing". Several reviewers commented that the buttoned Mustang Pro guitar is not as sturdy as other instruments and does not have the same tactile feel as a real guitar. Specifically, the reviewers noted that the width of the button impressions do not vary in width as real guitar strings would, and there is no tactile feedback as one would have with a fretboard. These reviewers suggested that players, if dedicated to the Pro guitar mode, to wait for the stringed Fender Squier which had more favorable reviews.

The game's soundtrack was considered to be "the most unusual and varied in the franchise" by Miller, and "an eclectic collection that's a little more pop than metal" by Goldstein. Kuchera considered the set list to be one of the best in any music game, "spanning decades and genres and bringing a wide variety of songs to suit any taste".