Guitar Hero World Tour

"Guitar Hero plays catch up, well attempts to"

First and foremost let me say that I was both a Guitar Hero fan and a Rock Band skeptic before accepting and admiring Rock Band as the wave of the future in terms of next-gen ryhthym games. I disliked the way MTV seemed to jump on the rythym game bandwagon simply to exploit the booming industry. I later however realized that they managed to do something fresh, new and exciting, adding to and improving upon the Guitar Hero system. After Rock Band 2's release, I quickly gave it my so called "stamp of approval", although it didn't improve much off of its predecessor, it's large and strong setlist and promised DLC made it worth buying. But enough about Rock Band, let's talk about GH:WT. World Tour seems like Activision Blizzard's attempt to get back in the game, much like Guns n' Roses upcoming album Chinese Democracy (which is not very good from what I've heard of it). It adds all the instruments that Rock Band did and attempts to improve upon it, unfortunately it fails, utterly. Guitar Hero: World Tour is simply a very, VERY average/mediocre game.

Gameplay-Same old Guitar Hero, same old Rock Band. It all just feels so recycled and like such a re-up of Rock Band. I don't know exactly what it is about it, I appreciated GH3 even though it did nothing apart from a new setlist upon GH2. Oh wait, maybe that's it, the setlist. A solid 1/2 of the setlist is recycled from Rock Band 2. I think that if you DIDN'T play the crap out of RB2 you may like it, but I think Rock Band 2 is the stronger of the two games. Really though, same old system, same old guest appearances and same old IN GAME ADVERTISING. From the KFC bucket of GH:WT to the Pontiac Garage of Guitar Hero 3, the game just feels way too corporate. This game is about being a REBEL c'mon Activision? I do like that GH stayed true to itself and didn't add as much metal as RB2 did.
FINAL GAMEPLAY SCORE- 6/10

Hardware-Everything feels pretty spot on, surprisingly in this category. The guitar has a nice feel to it especially if you liked the GH2 guitar like I did. The slidescheme for the guitar is shaky at best, like the lower frets in RB but less benefical in general. The drums are, without question superior to those of RB and about equal to those of RB2. They have a very realistic feel to them and they're nice and quiet so no need for a sock mod. Hardware is definitely a strong point for this game.
FINAL HARDWARE SCORE- 9/10

Setlist- Copy/pasting half of RB2's setlist immediately lowers my opinion of it. Apart from that, pretty low on metal, which is a major plus in my book. Too much pop garbage though, if you adored GH2's and GH3's setlists, it's safe to say you'll like this one okay. Really a personal question of music tastes, but in my opinion, not all that great.
FINAL SETLIST SCORE- 2/10

Graphics- Really pale in comparison to those of RB2, but as a standalone piece of work, not a real gripe of mine, you're rarely looking outside of the note chart anyway right? Either way not a major step forward from GH3.
FINAL GRAPHICS SCORE- 5/10

Story- The inclusion of Ted Nugent automatically makes this an epic fail.
FINAL STORY SCORE- /facepalm/10, but really 1/10

OVERALL- Yes it's a Guitar Hero version of Rock Band that solemnly disappoints. Althoug I did very much enjoy GH: Aerosmith and wouldn't mind a Hendrix version much at all. I think that GH needs to stay Guitar and master it rather than just trying to stick around Rock Band. Rock Band is like that really cool kid that you're mom says is a bad influence but you start hanging out with anyway. One day you two are hanging out and he starts shooting up heroin right there on the couch next to you and then he starts punching you right in the face. So if you enjoyed playing Guitar Hero before it became Rock Band, pick this up as a rent and play the solo tour. Apart from that, if you want a revolutionary party game, pick up RB2 instead.

VERDICT- 4/10

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 11/10/08

Game Release: Guitar Hero World Tour (US, 10/26/08)