Now I know that both games are games and all that nonsense, but Guitar Hero is over-the-top cartoony. That doesn't make it bad, it just makes it different. The game even begins with a humorous animated cut scene in which a faux Kenny G is commissioned by the devil to brainwash kids into liking his music. Then, Team Guitar Hero is signaled on their matching watches as they come and rock out and brainwash kids into liking their music. That's the note the game starts on, and the gameplay compliments the opening's cartoony style.
The latest guitar adds numerous new gameplay elements with its new touch pad, which is similar to Rock Band's solo buttons but with more delusions of grandeur. The touch pad allows you to tap through designated sections that are signified by see-through notes. However, these sections often flow in-and-out of normal sections and are very difficult to jump back and forth to. Regardless of that, it is almost impossible to tell which section of the touch pad is which. Another thing the touch pad allows you to do is tap on it to play notes instead of strumming, which works well for the most part. The touch pad has great ideas, but none of them are executed in an exceptional manner.
The boldest addition to the game is the new drum set, which comes with a stamp of approval from former Blink-182 drummer, Travis Barker. My anticipation for this drum set was very high. The set up of three pads, two higher cymbals, and a bass pedal looked to be the perfect evolution from Rock Band’s drums. For the most part, this is true as the new drums look great and are easier to transport than their Rock Band counterparts. The cymbals are equally as fantastic, but the three pads have disappointed me a bit. While this might just be the fault of my particular drum set, the three drum pads don't seem to be too responsive. I have to basically beat the living hell out of the drum pad in the direct middle of it to register a note on a consistent basis. It doesn't help that the drum sticks that come with the game are light and cheap-feeling. Another bone of contention I have with the drums is that star power is activated by hitting the two cymbals; to me, it is very difficult to break my rhythm in faster songs to activate star power.
The vocals are what one would expect from a game in this genre. One thing that is nice with the new microphone that, as our own Jonathan Metts pointed out, you can activate star power by just hitting a button. Despite that nice addition, the vocals still bother me for one very specific reason: there is no way to easily determine if you're singing a phrase correctly. This isn't an issue in Rock Band because they have a circle that fills in as you go through a phrase. In Guitar Hero: World Tour, you find out if you got the phrase right when you see your multiplier or streak go up.
As far as the whole band gameplay goes, there are not many changes from the single-player affair. Everyone's star power goes into one pool and each player uses it on their own to boost only their score. Also, if one person fails a song, then everyone fails the song.
The set list is very impressive and pretty robust at 86 songs. Alongside newer hits, the game also has classics such as "Hotel California" by the Eagles and "Crazy Train" by Ozzy Osbourne. This is also the first game in the series that is made up entirely of master tracks. The guitar boss battles are back, as you do battle with Zack Wylde and Ted Nugent. Along with these two rock stars, numerous others make appearances such as Ozzy, Paramore's Hayley Williams, Sting, Smashing Pumpkins' Billy Corgan, Blink-182's Travis Barker, and the late Jimi Hendrix. There is also a venue designed by the band Tool.
The music studio, one of the much-hyped new additions to the game, is way too confusing for its own good. Even after going through its tutorials, I still have no idea what I am doing. GHTunes, the place where you can download user-created songs, is set up well and is easy to navigate. There are numerous video game themes ranging from Pokemon to Zelda to Mega Man, but it is only a matter of time before they all get taken down for copyright infringement. Once GHTunes is accurately policed, it'll probably just be a lot of generic original songs.
Another new addition is the Wii-exclusive Mii Freestyle Mode. This very simple mode is a lot of fun as it allows player to wail on their instruments however they like as their Miis act it out on screen. The guitar has some structure to it, as you play different cards with notes on them. As you successfully play these cards, you build up to big solos and chaotic rock endings. While it does add a lot of depth, this mode also provides nice, accessible fun.
All in all, Guitar Hero: World Tour is a good game that still has a ways to go until it achieves greatness. While the new instruments are wonderfully crafted, the actual gameplay can be too in-depth for its own good. The game’s arcade nature seems to focus on its competitive aspect, taking away from the fun of playing a rhythm game with your friends. Regardless, this is currently the best game of its kind on Wii. It is entirely full-featured with downloadable content and online play, but the series as a whole doesn't seem to understand the band experience as well as its main competitor.
Pros:
Lastability: 9.0
With downloadable content coming at a hopefully frequent pace, an already large setlist of 86 songs, and the music studio, any player should be able to find a lot to do in this game.
Final: 7.5
Despite its imperfections, this is still the best rhythm game on Wii. It has all the features of its HD brethren and unique additions like its Mii Freestyle Mode.
Its not hard to see which player is failing when you can easily (for me, anyway) see your partners note highway flashing red out of the corner of your eye.
I don't think the band portion is shoehorned in either, just because there are segments where there is no music for one player..i mean really? Thats just how songs are structured and it happens in plenty of songs, not fault of the game. If anything, it adds authenticity ;)
Reading some of the consistent criticisms of World Tour is starting to push me towards just grabbing Rock Band 2 for the 360 rather than fool around with questionable hardware and crappy multiplayer on World Tour. The main reason I was going to stick with WT on Wii is that I already have GH3 and a Wii guitar, but that is easily remedied at GameStop...
The nice thing about RB2 on 360 is that I could rent/borrow the first game to move over the tracks. Also, more of my friends are likely to be playing this kind of game on 360 for online bands.
The nice thing about RB2 on 360 is that I could rent/borrow the first game to move over the tracks. Also, more of my friends are likely to be playing this kind of game on 360 for online bands.
Besides, I really want to play you one-on-one using that awful Bob Dylan "Tangled Up In Blue" song, and beat you at your own genre.
Reading some of the consistent criticisms of World Tour is starting to push me towards just grabbing Rock Band 2 for the 360 rather than fool around with questionable hardware and crappy multiplayer on World Tour. The main reason I was going to stick with WT on Wii is that I already have GH3 and a Wii guitar
QuoteReading some of the consistent criticisms of World Tour is starting to push me towards just grabbing Rock Band 2 for the 360 rather than fool around with questionable hardware and crappy multiplayer on World Tour. The main reason I was going to stick with WT on Wii is that I already have GH3 and a Wii guitar
That was my attitude as well. Plus Activision didn't f*ck over the Wii userbase for no reason so I felt they had earned my business. But I haven't been able to find the damn game. Most stores in my area either never got the full bundle with the drums or they did, only once at launch, and they only got like five of them which sold out immediately. EB hasn't even been able to fulfill their pre-orders. So it looks like before I can even find the game Rock Band 2 will be out on the Wii and I'll be able to find out how compatible the two games are. Ideally I would like to own both but only one set of instruments. Even then Rock Band 2 does support my Guitar Hero III controller for sure.
However, these sections often flow in-and-out of normal sections and are very difficult to jump back and forth to.
Regardless of that, it is almost impossible to tell which section of the touch pad is which.
Another bone of contention I have with the drums is that star power is activated by hitting the two cymbals; to me, it is very difficult to break my rhythm in faster songs to activate star power.
While the new instruments are wonderfully crafted, the actual gameplay can be too in-depth for its own good. The game’s arcade nature seems to focus on its competitive aspect, taking away from the fun of playing a rhythm game with your friends.
I am a big baby; the game is too hard for me.
There are numerous video game themes ranging from Pokemon to Zelda to Mega Man, but it is only a matter of time before they all get taken down for copyright infringement. Once GHTunes is accurately policed, it'll probably just be a lot of generic original songs.They haven't been super pro-active about this, and I don't see them (nor the video game companies that hold these copyrights) caring too much about this in the future. Where's the incentive?
The cymbals are equally as fantastic, but the three pads have disappointed me a bit. While this might just be the fault of my particular drum set, the three drum pads don't seem to be too responsive. I have to basically beat the living hell out of the drum pad in the direct middle of it to register a note on a consistent basis. It doesn't help that the drum sticks that come with the game are light and cheap-feeling.There's some info about manually tooling around with your drum kit in a thread around here; my experience with the drums has been pretty good, but probably only because I'm a hands-on game repair nerd. Also, one of my pads was just kind of stiff and needed to be broken in.
I also have this vaguely constructive post, but I like my other one better, because frankly I think GH:WT kicks the **** out of Rock Band and you rated it down because you can't take the heat. Woot.
Am I the only one that regards the Guitar Hero character models as "Nightmarish"? Maybe it's because I didn't play the series during the PS2 iterations, but all the 360 versions have characters that look like rubber zombies and that is what keeps me from getting into that franchise.
With this thread getting bumped I think it's important to note that IGN confirmed a few days ago that Rock Band 2 for the Wii is compatible with the Guitar Hero instruments. In other words you don't have to pick one or the other. I haven't found the full bundle for World Tour yet but I'm happy now that I can buy it knowing I can also get a disc-only copy of Rock Band 2.
Check that Rock Band 2 thread again. I brought up the fact that IGN took down that article at the devs request. Perhaps the instruments wont be cross compatible, but thats just me speculating.
Does everyone have that one friend who's a total wet blanket and is never willing to do vocals? We've only got him to sing one song. And not only is he not willing to sing but he's so oblivious to popular music that he knows almost none of the songs. But there are some songs none of the four of us know so someone volunteers to try to figure out the melody on the fly. He never volunteers for this.
That would probably be me. I'm not trying to be a jerk, but I can't make myself sing in front of other people.
Its frustrating when you're playing in a party setting and you keep failing songs because someone keeps overreaching their boundaries.
QuoteThat would probably be me. I'm not trying to be a jerk, but I can't make myself sing in front of other people.
Alcohol allows everyone to sing in front of anyone. ;)
I only have a few friends that play games. Most of the people I hang out with, the most they've seen of gaming are kiosks at wal mart. I'm really looking forward to no fail mode. Beginniner mode makes them feel stupid if I'm playing guitar on expert or drums on hard and they have this rainbow thing going on. I'm an awful singer and some songs just weren't made for me.
QuoteAnd not only is he not willing to sing but he's so oblivious to popular music that he knows almost none of the songs.
I don't know a good handful of songs in World Tour. The set list tends to suck for the most part.
QuoteAnd not only is he not willing to sing but he's so oblivious to popular music that he knows almost none of the songs.
I don't know a good handful of songs in World Tour. The set list tends to suck for the most part.
And not only is he not willing to sing but he's so oblivious to popular music that he knows almost none of the songs.
I don't know a good handful of songs in World Tour. The set list tends to suck for the most part.
Fixed your post.
I knew about half of the set list, the other half ended up being better than i thought. Take for instance Go Your Own Way by Fleetwood Mac; I've always heard of the band but never heard any music by them, that song freaking rocks and its one of my favorites to play to. Oh and i just downloaded Jessies Girl by Rick Springfield. What else do i have to say? ;)
I'll pick it up in a year or two when the price drops. I already have world tour. I actually like guitar hero's set list.
And not only is he not willing to sing but he's so oblivious to popular music that he knows almost none of the songs.
I don't know a good handful of songs in World Tour. The set list tends to suck for the most part.
Fixed your post.
I knew about half of the set list, the other half ended up being better than i thought. Take for instance Go Your Own Way by Fleetwood Mac; I've always heard of the band but never heard any music by them, that song freaking rocks and its one of my favorites to play to. Oh and i just downloaded Jessies Girl by Rick Springfield. What else do i have to say? ;)
EasyCure fails at fixing posts.
I like Jessie's Girl. So far it seems to me that the downloadable songs have better note charts. Maybe that's just because I stopped playing before getting all that far in the career because of gaming overload, though.
There's no way you hadn't heard Go Your Own Way before this..
If you're gonna play the Police, why not play something other than Roxanne or Message In A Bottle?
Influences/Inspiration: One of the best ways, just check out bands or artist that have inspired those that you already listen to.
Another trick I like is that some bands are really big in the UK for example but not the US. But these aren't like uncommercial underground bands. They're very accessible, they just have mainstream popularity in the UK but not the US. Well that's a great way to discover a band that will have radio friendly music but you never hear on the radio. I'd recommend American and British music fans to look into Canadian acts that aren't big outside their own country. As a Canadian I don't have that option. Those acts are mainstream to me and any mainstream act in the States is also going to be mainstream here. But it doesn't work the other way and I think Americans can benefit from that. Go look into Blue Rodeo for example and remember there was a time where Sarah McLachlan and The Barenaked Ladies were unknown in the States but were big over here (in both cases I'd say their best stuff was released then).
I don't know whether on downloading a Rick Springfield song to play for GH I'd first be overcome by: (http://instantrimshot.com/)
- nostalgia
- nausea
I sold back my GHWT band pack. Am still confused why you can use RB drums in GHWT on 360, but not Wii. It's not technical in nature because of the inclusion/exclusion of the Wii Remote in the instruments, as RB works w/ GHWT instruments.
Because GHWT came out first for Wii, the RB creators were able to code in support for those drums. It doesn't work the other way around because the drum sets are different.
Even on 360 and PS3, the games had to be patched for cross-compatibility.
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