Is this the real life, is this just fantasy?
The great thing about Rock Band 3 is the feel of an organised game. Everything is set apart for easy access, and the idea of the whole game being a career mode is just simply clever. It makes you feel humble and good every time you complete a tour, from a bunch of 10 or 12 (I can't remember). These tours make you feel really part of a band, including the spray of the water in the crowd after the final songs. Also it's not very hard to finish these gigs, as you have the option of different setlists, even at your own choosings.
Moving to the setlist, it is quite outstanding. I'm very much into metal and all, but I seemed to find myself bobbing along to a mix of pop and alternative songs that make you go "oh yeah, I know that song!" And speaking of the career, all of your downloaded or imported songs can be played to contribute to your gigs, which I reckon is fantastic as you don't have to waste it away in quickplay. There are still some great metal songs like "Crazy Train" and "Beast and the Harlot" (and Misery Business? jks), so the fun isn't missing. This is definitely the type of tracklist, and if you have heaps of downloadable content, to keep you playing for ages. The level of difficulty isn't extended as such, but it feels as though you can fail much easier if you miss notes than in previous games.
In terms of the peripherals, I haven't got any of the pro instruments, but I can tell you this game is still terrific with my plastic instruments. I am very much looking forward to my keyboard shipping in December, but in the meantime I will still enjoy this. The keyboard is represented very well, with way over the half the songs supporting keys, and many most likely not expected, such as "Whip it" and "Imagine". This game seems to have you keep changing your choice of instrument around all the time, which of course keeps the interest afloat.
The online multiplayer is somewhat good as well, with the choice of quickplay or the career gigs available to play. This is probably the only downside in the game, but it shows the quality of the gameplay for this to not be a major problem.
Really, Harmonix don't need to bring out Rock Band 4 for another 2 years again, as this is a long lasting rhythm game to keep you interested for a long time. It has encouraged me to buy downloadable content too, and the imported songs from number 1 feels like it belongs to 3. Trust me, if you love seeing your character getting pissed after a gig then you will love this game. A joy to play.