Another great feature that comes with the addition of the music creator is the ability to share your creations online. You will not see your favorite song from Rock Band or anything because no copy written material is allowed. However, getting to see some of the amazing tracks people have come with using these relatively simple tools is very impressive. I was particularly impressed by a version of the Super Mario theme I heard on there; sounded a lot like the real song. There are already a ton of songs on GH Tunes, and there will be lots more to come so you will never run out of new stuff to play.
In terms of visuals the game looks very good. It has that Guitar Hero style of characters, which you may love or hate, but everything looks nice. The venues look great as well. Playing in Times Square on New Years Eve is particularly awesome, and Times Square is well represented in virtual form.
Sound, of course, is awesome; it’s a music game by some of the experts in the genre, so you really shouldn’t expect anything less. Audio quality is top notch, and now there are no more cover tracks meaning it all sounds wonderful. They even included live mixes of some songs, and while I was a little skeptical about playing a live track over a studio one, it came out great. In fact, the live tracks are some of the more entertaining songs in the game to play.
A huge aspect of any music game is the hardware, and this is where Guitar Hero and RedOctane dominate. The drums feel incredibly good compared to the default Rock Band pads. The experience is made much more authentic by the dedicated cymbal pads. Each piece functions as an individual part of the set, so your red pad is always a snare, blue and green are always toms, and yellow and orange are always cymbals. The whole game feels a lot better this way because it actually feels more like you are really playing the drums. The guitar also feels very good. One major innovation added to the guitar is the tap pads. However, I did not like using these because I would lose track of where my hand was; since it’s a tap pad and not buttons, there is no physical feedback. Still, them being there doesn’t hurt the guitar. If you like it, great! If not, don’t use it, because it’s still a damn good guitar. The microphone is a standard USB microphone, very similar to other ones out there. Unfortunately the mic remains wired, which is annoying considering everything else is wireless. Even if you own a set of fake plastic instruments from the Rock Band series, if you’re a dedicated music gamer I recommend getting the World Tour bundle because the new stuff is awesome in comparison.
Overall, Guitar Hero World Tour falls short in a few areas. It is a great game and lot of fun to play, but there are just some things that need work. A lackluster career mode brings the game down quite a bit, but thankfully there is plenty here to make up for it, such as a great track list and the newly added music creator. The hardware is amazing to say the least, and if you love these types of games you should definitely go out and purchase the bundle.
Our Rating for Guitar Hero World Tour Video Game Review
9.0
Fun Factor In spite of some of the negatives, World Tour is still a ton of to play.
8.0
Graphics Very solid looking visuals. Characters and stages all look very good.
9.0
Sound It’s a music game, so of course the sound is awesome. The stellar track list and the addition of some live tracks definitely help things out a lot.
8.0
Multiplayer Still a lot of fun to play with friends, but it feels like every man for himself sometimes.
6.0
Single Player The career mode isn’t all that great. Compared to Rock Band it falls way short. A game like this is just more fun to play with other people.
9.0
Controls The new peripherals are amazing, and playing the game just feels right. The new drums, especially, raise the bar for what a fake instrument should be.
8.0
Overall A very well done music game. Lots of cool modes, but a lackluster career mode really bring things down. The addition of a music creator is great. Making and sharing songs is a lot of fun.
I am having a great time playing the drums, the cymbal pads really bring the game to life. Tapping on the guitar neck, eh not too much a fan of that myself. Great review!
I disagree with Dave on the single vs multiplayer issue. I for one have much more fun with World Tour single player and RB2 multiplayer. Who knows, maybe I just enjoy the GH drums more... Except for that damn green pad which requires a firm hit to register...
Community
I am having a great time playing the drums, the cymbal pads really bring the game to life. Tapping on the guitar neck, eh not too much a fan of that myself. Great review!