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| The Entertainment Review |
| Genre: Music Developer: Neversoft Interactive Publisher: Activision |
When Activision and RedOctane created the Guitar Hero franchise, it probably wasn’t planning on it going as far as it has, spanning
almost all available gaming systems. After a series of sequels, players have finally gotten the official sequel to “Guitar Hero III” with
songs, on top of the usual guitar and bass guitar. This may remind a lot of people of “Rock Band,” which it does have many similarities
too, but it has added some new things that even the Rock Band franchise hasn’t been able to do, not even with “Rock Band 2.”
There are so many new things added to the game, it seems impossible to touch on everything, however, the biggest improvement to
the game is the set list included in this version of the game. From Van Halen to Jimi Hendrix to Tool, the set list is long and varied.
There are even a couple of songs that would not be expected to be on a Guitar Hero game, such as Willie Nelson’s live rendition of “On
the Road Again,” which many players will probably find to be one of the most fun of all the tracks this time around. The music titles on
the disc are great, but many players will admit that the downloadable content is just as important. This time around the game has a
built in store that allows players to purchase new tracks without having to quit the game and purchase the songs through Xbox Live
Marketplace.
Players progress through the game is a little bit different than how they did in previous versions of the Guitar Hero franchise. Before
players were able to play a handful of songs at one time, being able to play them in whatever order they want to, and once players had
beaten all of the songs, the next set of songs would be unlocked. This time around songs are broken up into gigs. Players browse
through ads and flyers for shows on the wall that show what songs are available. Each gig has a group of songs and usually and
encore song. When a gig is chosen, players have to play through and beat all of the songs in order. Beating a gig will always open at
least one more gig, sometimes more than one. It gives the game a more non-linear feel than that of previous versions.
When it comes to games to play alone, this is a decent game with a very basic setup. Players don’t gain fans, don’t hire help, no
special gigs to win tour buses or planes, this is where it is nothing like “Rock Band,” which is unfortunate. It is at this point that the
game needs something more than just playing all of the songs one at a time until they have all been played. Players might as well try to
earn all the songs and simply play on Quick Play with their friends.
One thing that players may not enjoy about the full band mode is the fact that there is no band management. The band is assigned a
band leader and that person’s band information applies to everyone else. This works just fine except that the band info is attached to
that one character only, not the band.
Another element of the game that players will enjoy is the customization features this time around. Players can create their own rock
star from scratch, setting every detail of the face, hair, clothes and more. Most of the clothes are unlockables throughout the game, but
everything looks good in this area. There aren’t as many options as players would find in “Rock Band,” but there is a good amount to
work with. Players are also able to customize their instruments, from guitars, to the drums, all the way to the microphone. Though the
amount of customization gets to be less and less, with guitars being the most and microphones being the least, it is still pretty cool to
be able to have each individual rockers not only have their own physical look, but also have their own look for their instruments.
As far as the actual game play, there are a few new elements added this time around. One is that bass players will now find a bar
going across their note highway, just as drummers do for the kick drum. When this happens, players simply strum without holding a fret
button. It gives the bass player a sixth note to deal with, but it doesn't really up the difficulty at all. It does add a lot to the experience and
makes it more realistic.
While on the topic of instruments, the drums must be talked about. While the drums for “Rock Band” feature four pads on a flat surface,
the drum kit for “Guitar Hero: World Tour” has three drum pads plus two cymbals and a kick pedal. Having the cymbals raised above
the other pads feels much more realistic, but for those who are used to the old drum kit, it is difficult to transition to. It is also very quiet,
no annoy clacking noise every time the pad is hit. There also aren’t bars running across the bottom of the kit to attach the kick pedal to,
making it easy for the pedal to slide around. There was also a little bit of difficulty get one of the pads to register with the game. No
matter how hard it was hit, it only picked up the note every once in a while.
While “Guitar Hero: World Tour” is a fun title, it has a lot of disappointing features. A number of things that it tried to add, have already
come out with “Rock Band.” The music creation tool, another new feature, is a great idea in theory, but the end result isn’t as great as it
was being hyped up to be. The game does have a lot of good things going for it, and hopefully it will serve as a stepping point for next
year’s game.
almost all available gaming systems. After a series of sequels, players have finally gotten the official sequel to “Guitar Hero III” with
songs, on top of the usual guitar and bass guitar. This may remind a lot of people of “Rock Band,” which it does have many similarities
too, but it has added some new things that even the Rock Band franchise hasn’t been able to do, not even with “Rock Band 2.”
There are so many new things added to the game, it seems impossible to touch on everything, however, the biggest improvement to
the game is the set list included in this version of the game. From Van Halen to Jimi Hendrix to Tool, the set list is long and varied.
There are even a couple of songs that would not be expected to be on a Guitar Hero game, such as Willie Nelson’s live rendition of “On
the Road Again,” which many players will probably find to be one of the most fun of all the tracks this time around. The music titles on
the disc are great, but many players will admit that the downloadable content is just as important. This time around the game has a
built in store that allows players to purchase new tracks without having to quit the game and purchase the songs through Xbox Live
Marketplace.
Players progress through the game is a little bit different than how they did in previous versions of the Guitar Hero franchise. Before
players were able to play a handful of songs at one time, being able to play them in whatever order they want to, and once players had
beaten all of the songs, the next set of songs would be unlocked. This time around songs are broken up into gigs. Players browse
through ads and flyers for shows on the wall that show what songs are available. Each gig has a group of songs and usually and
encore song. When a gig is chosen, players have to play through and beat all of the songs in order. Beating a gig will always open at
least one more gig, sometimes more than one. It gives the game a more non-linear feel than that of previous versions.
When it comes to games to play alone, this is a decent game with a very basic setup. Players don’t gain fans, don’t hire help, no
special gigs to win tour buses or planes, this is where it is nothing like “Rock Band,” which is unfortunate. It is at this point that the
game needs something more than just playing all of the songs one at a time until they have all been played. Players might as well try to
earn all the songs and simply play on Quick Play with their friends.
One thing that players may not enjoy about the full band mode is the fact that there is no band management. The band is assigned a
band leader and that person’s band information applies to everyone else. This works just fine except that the band info is attached to
that one character only, not the band.
Another element of the game that players will enjoy is the customization features this time around. Players can create their own rock
star from scratch, setting every detail of the face, hair, clothes and more. Most of the clothes are unlockables throughout the game, but
everything looks good in this area. There aren’t as many options as players would find in “Rock Band,” but there is a good amount to
work with. Players are also able to customize their instruments, from guitars, to the drums, all the way to the microphone. Though the
amount of customization gets to be less and less, with guitars being the most and microphones being the least, it is still pretty cool to
be able to have each individual rockers not only have their own physical look, but also have their own look for their instruments.
As far as the actual game play, there are a few new elements added this time around. One is that bass players will now find a bar
going across their note highway, just as drummers do for the kick drum. When this happens, players simply strum without holding a fret
button. It gives the bass player a sixth note to deal with, but it doesn't really up the difficulty at all. It does add a lot to the experience and
makes it more realistic.
While on the topic of instruments, the drums must be talked about. While the drums for “Rock Band” feature four pads on a flat surface,
the drum kit for “Guitar Hero: World Tour” has three drum pads plus two cymbals and a kick pedal. Having the cymbals raised above
the other pads feels much more realistic, but for those who are used to the old drum kit, it is difficult to transition to. It is also very quiet,
no annoy clacking noise every time the pad is hit. There also aren’t bars running across the bottom of the kit to attach the kick pedal to,
making it easy for the pedal to slide around. There was also a little bit of difficulty get one of the pads to register with the game. No
matter how hard it was hit, it only picked up the note every once in a while.
While “Guitar Hero: World Tour” is a fun title, it has a lot of disappointing features. A number of things that it tried to add, have already
come out with “Rock Band.” The music creation tool, another new feature, is a great idea in theory, but the end result isn’t as great as it
was being hyped up to be. The game does have a lot of good things going for it, and hopefully it will serve as a stepping point for next
year’s game.
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