Tech News on G4 'World Tour' expands rhythm game genre Jan 26, 2009 By John Powell - G4 Canada

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You knew it had to happen sooner or later. With the advent of 'Rock Band', the rhythm - music video game genre was taken to a whole new level. Not wasting any time, the 'Guitar Hero' has answered back with its version of the virtual band experience - 'Guitar Hero - World Tour' - providing players with drums, guitars and microphones. There are no synthesizers yet but we all know that unless you are Rush or Yes, they are for sissies any ways. Just because all of the instruments are provided though doesn't mean you have to do the whole band thing. If you don't have any friends or just want to give it a try yourself, you can play as a solo artist but then you miss out on ragging on your pals when they get the lyrics to 'Last Train To Brooklyn' all wrong. Losers. Although the instruments are the same there are some tiny differences and some work better than others. To activate Star Power on the drums you must hit both cymbals at the same time. This can be a little bit cumbersome when drum you are trying to keep a beat. It is not the most convenient way to rack up some extra points. The 'World Tour' guitar is outfitted with a new touch sensitive slider bar that allows you to slide or tap through certain special note combos, if you wish too. If you are really into simulating a bass, slider bar will do that nicely but all in all, the slider bar seems to miss more notes that it nails.  With the exception of the occasional whole note for bass players, the rest of the game functions pretty much as you would expect it to when it comes to the mechanics. Yeah, that's a good thing. Career mode requires you to blitz your way through song packages but Neversoft got smart and removed the gimmicky special attacks from the boss battles. Now, it is just a matter of keeping up the pace. Not all the special appearances turn out to be battles though. Throughout the game stars like Billy Corgan will jam with you...just because. Wicked. If the 80-plus-track list encompassing everything from The Eagles to Metallica and Blondie is not enough for you, 'World Tour' has a music studio where you can record your own songs using the drums and guitars but strangely, the microphone is useless, as you cannot add any vocals to your tracks. When you are done you can share your tuneage with others and them with you, if you so desire. The studio is a bit complicated to figure out and creating a song is a laborious process but if you get it right, all of the effort can be worth it in the end. With the release of 'World Tour', 'Guitar Hero' has taken a great leap forward. Expanding the experience to compete with 'Rock Band' now at least gives rhythm game fans a choice. While 'World Tour' doesn't add anything revolutionary to the genre it is nice to have that variety available and that rocks. Guitar Hero: World Tour Format: Xbox 360 Publisher: Activision Developer: Neversoft ESRB Rating: T for Teen Official Site: http://worldtour.guitarhero.com/us/ Rating: 9 / 10

 

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About G4 in Canada
G4 Canada (formerly TechTV Canada) launched in September 2001. G4 is the one and only television station that is plugged into every dimension of games, gear, gadgets and gigabytes. Owned Rogers Media Inc., the channel airs more than 24 original series. G4 is available on digital cable and satellite. For more information, see www.g4tv.ca.