Rock Band 3 features a great set of new features based around the new controllers and the included Pro mode. The idea here appears to be to help people learn to play real music with instruments much more realistic than any of the previous versions. Although this is a huge step forward I suspect a number of people will be left behind. The pro instruments don't come with the game and can be expensive; and a number of people will just want to stick with the traditional experience anyway. Also, if you want pro versions of the songs you download you'll need to buy them twice which continues to add to the costs. It's a hefty investment, but worth it if you are excited about that feature. The base game is much the same as Rock Band 2. I prefer the career mode in Rock Band 2 over the challenge-style feel in Rock Band 3. That's going to depend on the player though. The music; features; variety in instruments; multiple singing parts (using additional microphones), etc. are all well done and a lot of fun if you put them all together. If you're looking for the traditional experience keep in mind you can find Rock Band 2 for the Wii for around 20 bucks rather than Rock Band 3 for $60 which, at the core at least, are pretty much the exact same base game. Of course, like most of these music games my preference is to own both to increase my library of songs and incorporate some of the new instruments. If you love the band games then you won't be disappointed with this one. If you are into casually playing a few games with your friends and don't have Rock Band 2 I recommend getting that instead. You can take the $40 you save and download 20 additional songs which will not only give you well over 100 songs to play, but it will also customize the playlist more to your taste in music.