The Level Cap: Guitar Hero: World Tour Review
Guitar Hero: World Tour
Xbox 360/PS3
1 or 4 players/4 Player Online Co-Op
Neversoft
Activision
Like many fans of the Guitar Hero series, I greatly looked forward to this release. In Guitar Hero World Tour, not only can you play the traditional guitar and bass of the previous versions, but following suit of their newborn (and picking up much steam) competition Rock Band, you can now pound drums and apply your less-than-average vocal skills, giving the feeling that you are now a part of something bigger and not just the hired help for a couple of gigs. This seemed to be the start of a beautiful war. It is common knowledge that a little competition can ramp up a rate of advancement and evolution ten-fold, like the Olympics where every four years, records are broken and new legends are born. On several plains, this is what the fans of the RB and GH series wished for. Sadly, I’m not sure this is what any of us received.
I sat in my room with Agent Antskizz’ Kevin Pereira-signed Guitar Hero guitar in my arms. While clicking away at the strum bar, giving my all to keep up with the blistering speed of the games note charts, I realized I was playing a game. This feeling left me a bit confused. I am sure you must be asking yourself why this is a big deal. Well I’m not telling… Okay I’ll tell. When playing RB, this feeling doesn’t come over me. I am usually so immersed that I in fact forget I am playing a game, and I am having fun while doing so. It works as an escape from reality. This isn’t to say GHWT is a bad game; it is more or less to say, I’ve played better. If you haven’t played better or are a hardcore GH fan, this just may be the game you’ve been waiting for. There are a great deal of enjoyable songs and artists to look forward to in this edition, Jimi Hendrix and Tool to name a couple. But a playlist behind a music game is just one aspect [of many].
Needless to say I’m not rich [yet], so I won’t be reviewing the instruments that come with the game, just the game itself.
Players of the previous GH games will notice a few differences that are quite welcome. The Fret Bar is lower (also customizable), making it easier to see the notes as they are approaching.
It is possible to get several achievements (on the 360 version) before you even play your first note. You can acquire these through creating a character, a band, and customizing your instruments. The Create-a-Character options are broad enough that if you put in the time, you can make an avatar with your face. From head size and eye shape & color, to jaw size. Sadly it seems to stop at the face. There aren’t very many choices when it comes to hair, and clothing, but the skin color pallets do allow you to make a green chick with green boobs, and isn’t that what we all wish for?
Making a band can be a bit lack luster. We all know that band games are made to be played with friends, who make up the members of your noise squad. But, there are also those who would rather play alone, those who would like the ability to create their whole band and choose who are the reoccurring members are. In the modern age of interactive entertainment, games are becoming more simulation. When a band goes on a world tour, 9 times out of ten they will be on the road with the same band members for years on end; your band becomes your family. You come to love or hate them for who they are and what they do. This is a miss for GHWT. Though in solo mode there are gigs that display your band’s name and/or logo, the only returning band member is you. This takes away form the feeling that you are touring or that you are even in a band. At times your character will be outfitted one way and the rest of the band can look completely different, not fitting your style at all. It can make you feel as if you are just a hired instrumentalist.
The Instrument customization would have to be the gem of GHWT. To be able to modify your sound tools to the degree you can is actually absolutely pleasing. As you play through on different instruments you will unlock more add-ons, shapes, and types. Though these changes don’t effect the sound of your opted instrument, it does give it the feeling of it being more fitted to you. I only wish they had worked that deep with the hair and clothing of the characters.
It is a bit shocking how important cinematography has become in music games. But this along with sound quality does effect how engaging it can be. The venues don’t quite progress from smallest to largest as you play along. You are not a part of a band that is rising in the ranks to earn the right to tour the world. It’s more or less you’re in a band that will play where ever they can — the County fair, somewhere in china, or in a demon dimension of art inspire by the tunes of Tool. As far as video presentation is concerned [during game play], it is more miss than hit. Nothing about the displayed video makes you feel as if you are performing at, attending or watching (on television) a concert. From one stage to the next, things are very much boring almost monotone uninviting angles. Nothing about the camera work seems strategic, or directed. The same applies with the sound. With all the boasting done with their “No covers, all master tracks” policy, one would think with every track you would get nothing but amazing sound across the board. Yes, it is great in theory, but the way the different tracks were effected in the end is saddening. A track that was created in 1972 sound quality does not add up to a track that was digitally recorded in 2006. The quality and volume vary from song to song, which means you may have to jump from time to time to raise or lower your sound system’s volume. There is the option to activate the Dolby Digital sound feature. With it, you do get fuller, enriched sound, but not surround sound. Like the previous GH games, there is the return of the overdrive trigger. When executed, your instrument’s decibel level ramps up a few notches. This activation may drown out the other instruments and can ultimately dismiss you from the feel of playing with a band as team. At the same time the sound become more amazing, when you’re juice has run out the sound goes back midnight loud.
To one-up the competition, a music creator was added. As a music lover this can be a very exciting addition. Maybe to a music producer or composer this is an easy-access feature. To the average Joe? Not so much. Two seconds in the studio may have you thinking, “Why am I in here, I don’t belong here, this is making me feel stupid, where is the exit?” If you don’t feel any of these, you are either a great composer or fooling yourself into thinking so. And the fact that anyone can upload their tracks to be downloadable from the GHWT 
database proves that both of these types of individuals exist. There are some great user created tracks available for download. The content would sound much better if the instruments samples didn’t sound as if they were ripped from a 1985 Casio keyboard. Several musicians use machines to put together extra audio for their tracks, using samples that you’d never guess weren’t actually played by a human. This is the chink in the armor of the GHWT music maker. There is just something not fun about playing a song in GH that sounds like it was made for the Super Nintendo. If you enjoy creating music, this is very much a mode worth taking a shot at, but for you “Joes,” stick to simply playing the music.
Though Guitar Hero has a great following, with there being other band games out there, this one may come down to opinion — like Tekken Vs Virtua Fighter, King of Fighters Vs Street Fighter, or Skate Vs Tony Hawk’s pro skater. Some may try to debate that Rock Band doesn’t hold a torch to Guitar Hero. GHWT falls a bit behind Rock Band this time around. Yes, the set list is nice, but at what price does it come? (No, I’m not talking about the fact that you have pay in-game earnings for some of your favorite songs.) When a franchise has to throw more celebrities than usual at its product, and during a set you can see a Kentucky Fried Chicken advertisement in the distance, it makes you wonder, “Did they already know?” With all the money spent on getting those special guest stars into the game and commercials, wouldn’t it have been better to invest in deeper development, mixing, and research? In the long run, this is a war between Guitar Hero World Tour, Rock Band, and Konami’s very much insecure older brother Rock Revolution; then maybe Wii Music fits in there somewhere. GHWT takes the back seat. If you want a better rounded band game, you may want to stick with Rock Band. GH gets a pat on the back for a nice try, but trying is not doing. GHWT lacks soul. When it comes to music, the soul of it is what speaks to the fans. I’m sorry, but I’m just not hearing it.
~FLitz
4 Responses to “The Level Cap: Guitar Hero: World Tour Review”
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NK Flickr!
O snap. You just saved me money on my -kicks gecko- gaming library.
I’m not interested in RB and GH games anymore. They were fun, but so was DDR back in the day.
Yep. Thought the same thing when I played it at PAX. It’s still a good game, just no Rock Band.
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