Guitar Hero: World Tour
Nintendo Wii
PG
Activision/ Red Octane



Realistically, this game needs no introduction. Unless you've been living under a large boulder of the rocky persuasion for the past few years, you've probably heard of 'Guitar Hero', the rhythm game rock experience. For the 0.2% of you who haven't, the basic summary is this: you play as a muso in an up-and-coming rock band, progressing from small town gigs up to stadiums and beyond, playing songs from various artists in typical rhythm game fashion.

Obviously, things have changed a bit in 'GH: World Tour' - the addition of drums and vocals has made the whole experience considerably more - ahem - like 'Rock Band', but no threats of plagiarism need to be levelled at Red Octane and co as, to be fair, 'Rock Band' is coming out here a year late, as the rest of the world gets the sequel. Plus, all reports suggest that the 'GH' gear is far sturdier than its 'Rock Band' counterparts. Other than that, the two games function in a fairly similar way.

The main concern, naturally, is the track listing, which is where 'GH: World Tour' trips a little bit. For every moment of brilliance (and there are a few) there's a bunch of tracks which feel really out of place. The balance between classic/ contemporary rock and emo/ metal feels very strange, and the gigs in the career mode are often organised into very strange combinations of songs, so don't be surprised if you find Wings sitting next to Tool, for example. Like 'GH III' before it, the game tends to tip more towards the metal end of the scale as the career mode gets towards the end, which is either brilliant or distressing depending on your opinion of metal.

Still, there are some great moments - all of the tracks are original recordings, so no dodgy covers this time around, and a few will have your jaw on the floor in "how-did-they-licence-that?" moments of joy (specifically two Hendrix tracks, one a live recording, along with an avatar of the man himself).

The bottom line is that, whether you're playing by yourself or with friends, 'GH: World Tour' is an absolute hoot. The drums feel particularly satisfying and, while they require a fair whack to get them to go, actually feel like, well, drumming. The new guitar is a vast improvement on the 'GH III' model and the microphone is serviceable. The much-touted music creator is overly complex and difficult to use, but already dedicated fans have started producing some pretty impressive content with it. The quality is MIDI-like, and the software isn't perfect, but it's a great extra feature to have. The Wii-specific "Mii Freestyle" mode (where you select one of your Mii's and jam with a friend) certainly isn't essential, but a nice distraction. Also worthy of mention is that this is the first rhythm game to offer proper DLC for the Wii.

'GH: World Tour' isn't a complete re-invention of the genre, but it has enough upgrades, fun distractions and, above all, a wonderful sense of involvement to make it more than worthy of your hard earned dollars. At nearly $300 for the complete band pack, it's a bit steep, but you'll get more than your money's worth, despite the occasionally inconsistent track listing.

Patrick Lang