Guitar Hero World Tour

"This is one tour I don't want to follow."

I have been an avid fan of Guitar Hero games since the first iteration of the franchise. In 2005, I was almost dumbfounded at the simplicity, yet entertainment value of the franchise. Never had I thought a Rhythm Game could reach out to so many people. As the years went on, we got a second GH & third GH game, and way too many spin-offs to count. As the series grew bigger and bigger, it notably garnered more criticism with every newly-released game. I can safely say that although Guitar Hero: World Tour is entertaining, its shortcomings are way too unsettling and awkward.

==GAMEPLAY: 7/10==
Guitar Hero: World Tour follows the same gameplay as Guitar Hero 1-3, and it's competitor, Rock Band. Players can listen to popular rock songs, as they play along with the music via pressing a combination and pattern of buttons. The main "screen" consists of a band playing in a venue, as one or more note highways appear on screen, and notes fall towards the bottom of the highway. Players must strum their guitar, hit the drums, or belt out vocals at the right time.

Guitar Hero: World Tour offers a bit of variety, as a few new gameplay modes are available. Players can now sing and play the drums. They're exactly the way they work in Rock Band/RB2, so I shouldn't delve into this that much. To add, players can now create their own music in the "Music Studio" section of the game. This was a massive disappointment, as many of the songs sound like crappy MIDI-ish tunes heard in an elevator, or a low-budget direct-to-video film. Another new feature has been requested for a long time, and it's the option to create a character. This feature works....but not quite. There is an extreme lack of different clothes, hairstyles, and facial features, so most characters end up looking goofy. Other new gameplay mechanics include Sliding, which is basically an awkward attempt at copying Rock Band's Solo Tap feature. I must say that Bass has been improves, as you can play open Bass notes, etc.

In terms of Multiplayer, it works in the same vein as other games in the genre, but it doesn't feel too well. Everything seems too cluttered and slow, as the different controllers make WAY too much noise, and the fact that there are multiple flaws in the GUI, which will be discussed later. Online Multiplayer is crippled as well, for the same reasons.

==PRESENTATION/GRAPHICS: 6/10==
To be blunt, this game looks ugly. Although it's a minor upgrade to Guitar Hero 3, GH: WT just looks so odd, awkward, and discomforting. The character models are highly jagged and odd-looking. Lip-Syncing was improved in this game, but the characters show no emotion. I must praise the motion-captured animations, however. The overall design in character department is just terrible. Previous GH characters return, but they seemed to lose their charm and almost cartoon-ish look.

The venues in this game also look kind of weird. This will be mentioned multiple times, but I truly believe that the designers tried too hard to make the game look unrealistic and edgy compared to Rock Band. A lot of the ideas for venues are unimaginative and lame. The dynamic lighting system seen in GH2 + 3 doesn't even seem to look that great as well.

Finally, the Graphical User Interface (GUI) can only be described as abysmal. I don't know if it's because I have played the competing games, but the GH franchise needs a massive overhaul in this department. I can't keep track of the score, and my note combos, since they're placed in the weirdest locations. To add, you can't even look at on-screen vocals that well, and it's hard to distinguish Drum Pedal/Open Bass notes from other on-screen notes. The menu in this game is ugly, and like I mentioned before, the designers took too many pages from the "1996 Guide To Appealing To Teens" handbook.

==SOUNDTRACK: 8/10==
I was pleased with the soundtrack to GH: World Tour, but not so much. The soundtrack to this game is clearly a step forward from the mess that was GH3. I seriously enjoyed a majority of the songs in the game, but my only complaint is how foolish Activision was to license all the "legendary" songs at once. This game has Hotel California, Crazy Train, Stranglehold, and countless others that have been requested since GH1. At this rate, the next GH game will be filled with obscure classic rock and obscure 90's B-sides, which seems to be the case here. My only complaints are that the re-recording of Stranglehold was not good, and that the note charts are horrible compared to GH3's, and Rock Band's.

==OVERALL: 6/10==
I am a massive fan of the Guitar Hero franchise, but even I have to say that it's becoming somewhat stale. In theory, this game seems like it should get perfect 10's, but it's executed so poorly, and it incorporates minor [by today's standards] features that should have been included in the genre from the first game onward. As unsettling as it sounds to many fans, this game might be the first nail nail in the self-sealed casket of Guitar Hero.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 12/11/08

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