by Eric Eckstein
Not content with ushering in a new era of bar games, Activision is unleashing Guitar Hero: World Tour with a slew of enhancements that will take the venerable music series to a whole new stage. What's changed, music fans? Just about everything. Take a look.
One game, four instruments
If you somehow missed the memo, Guitar Hero: World Tour is the franchise's first foray into full band simulation. That means you can play guitar, drums, bass and vocals, making this the first real competitor to the roost ruled by Rock Band.
Compatibility rocks...
Yep, it's official: all next-gen music instruments for Guitar Hero: World Tour, MTV's Rock Band 2 and even Konami's Rock Revolution are cross-compatible for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 (no word on Wii compatibility yet). May your living room live in peace!
...but so does the new guitar...
Sure, you can use your old Guitar Hero guitar in the new game, but serious players should really consider the new World Tour guitar. Fully wireless and sporting a bigger strum bar, the new axe's most exciting feature is the touch-sensitive strip at the top of the neck. Care to finger-tap a solo like Eddie Van Halen? Have fun trying.
...and the new drums!
Drummers are the ones who will have the hardest decisions to make, as Rock Band 2 and World Tour sport different drum kits. The difference lies with Rock Band's four pads (cymbals much be purchased separately) versus Guitar Hero: World Tour's all-inclusive three-pad, two-cymbal package. As the World Tour set was developed with popular drummers like Travis Barker from Blink 182, it's a legit kit all the way.
Exclusive artists
It's an arms race with music games these days. First, Rock Band 2 locked up its opening act with songs from AC/DC, Pearl Jam, and The Who. Not to be outdone, Guitar Hero: World Tour has its own exclusives, having secured Van Halen, The Eagles, Jimi Hendrix, and have previously added Aerosmith and Metallica. And if playing their tracks isn't enough, you can actually play AS legends like Ozzy Osbourne, Hendrix, Sting, Billy Corgan, and Ted Nugent, though presumably without the compound bow.
DIY music making
Wish you were a REAL guitar hero? Maybe one day you will be. Guitar Hero: World Tour is the first music game to let players to create their own tunes and share them with the rest of the world. Using a powerful built-in music editor, you can lay down tracks for lead and rhythm guitars, drum beats and a melody, then save it, tweak it, and upload it for all to rate and play. Musicians will gain all sorts of perks for composing popular tunes, but anyone can feel free to download the top songs to augment their library without ever creating a note.
The neverending tour
No one wants to throw down a wad of cash and be stuck with the same songs forever. With an archive of primarily guitar-only songs, Guitar Hero: World Tour has some catching up to do, and plans to do so with weekly releases. In an interesting move, Metallica released its new album, "Death Magnetic," for Guitar Hero III, which will be forward compatible with World Tour. In addition, songs from R.E.M. and Smashing Pumpkins will be available at launch, and rumors are that we'll see more from artists like Jimi Hendrix in the future.
Posted: 15 Oct 2008
