Guitar Hero World Tour

PGNx Media

Ultimately, all of Guitar Hero World Tour’s components come together extremely well.

Play UK

Anything Rock Band can do, World Tour can do better. That said, the gap is only small and, unless you’re particularly fussed by Music Studio mode, your preference should ultimately be determined by your music tastes.

GameZone

From the Roland-modeled drum heads to the Line 6 effects, GHWT shines and elevates the musical genre of video gaming.

Game Informer

If World Tour has a trump card, it’s the groundbreaking new GHMix studio mode. It’s basically a full-on set of music creation software, that allows you to write, arrange, and record your own songs, then upload them to be freely shared with fellow players. Even better, the game instantly translates them into fully playable jewels charts on the fly. As much fun as I had tackling “Hot For Teacher,” this mode feels like the future of the franchise.

PSX Extreme

Do you like Guitar Hero's tracklist more, or Rock Band 2's? My personal choice is Guitar Hero: World Tour, as its louder and heavier soundtrack puts a bigger smile on my face than Rock Band 2's unusual mix. With fantastic multiplayer offerings, backwards compatibility with Rock Band peripherals, and flawless audio, World Tour is worth the money.

Gaming Age

The music creator itself could end up being worth the $60 price tag alone, but the core experience is just as fun here as it's been in previous Guitar Hero titles, and the small gameplay additions and changes are all welcomed.

ZTGameDomain

Guitar Hero World Tour manages to do a lot of things very well, but the problem arises when you realize that with so many options it is hard for one of them to stand out. The song list is excellent, but suffers now because of not being backward compatible with previous games. The music studio is an excellent first effort, but hurts from sound quality and complexity.

Playstation Official Magazine Australia

An absolutely awesome all-round package. [Christmas 2008, p.78]

Playstation Official Magazine UK

Like LittleBigPlanet the scope is there to make just about anything, and you can fully expect to see some amazing versions of familiar songs, but you'll need to put the hours in. [Christmas 2008, p.108]

Gameplanet

A huge leap forward in co-operative play, Guitar Hero World Tour is a worthy addition to the franchise and will offer hours of fun for anyone willing to pick up an instrument and invest some time. An awesome effort, although not without its flaws.

Jolt Online Gaming UK

For music game veterans, World Tour is still well worth getting, but not exclusively so and not if you’re looking for drastically new gameplay. 2008 has definitely been the year of music games, and while this one is definitely among the cream, it’s no longer alone.

Games Radar (in-house)

So, is Guitar Hero World Tour better than Rock Band 2? Not quite. Yes, the instruments are superior, and we love four-on-four online matches, varied tweaks to each instrument’s parts, character customization, and build-your-own-guitar options. But, we just don’t get as much out of the music editor as one would hope, and Rock Band 2’s better note maps, smarter interface and more musical “feel” resonate more with us.

GameSpy

Guitar Hero World Tour is often both exhilarating and frustrating.

VideoGamer

Okay, so the main bulk of it is yet another rendition of a game we all know by now, but it's easily the best rendition of that game that we've seen so far. When you factor in the Music Studio and all the creative doors that it opens, it's clear that this is by far and away the best rhythm game available on the market today.

Gamer.nl

Guitar Hero World Tour offers a more than welcome evolution to the series. With superior instruments, a powerful tracklist and extremely addicting gameplay it has already earned a place in Guitar Hero history. Playing the guitar is still going strong, but with the change to play the drums or even sing a line or two, the game offers enough variation. Not every new feature is a direct hit, but if you liked any of the previous Guitar Hero games than you will have no trouble in liking this one. And if you're looking for the best music-party game the choice is even easier. What are you waiting for? Rock on!

Eurogamer Portugal

Guitar Hero: World Tour is not just one of the most important games of the series but probably the most important for it could establish a before and after as it also assumes the same responsibility as the genre itself. The days of solitude are over (unless you don’t want them to be over) because now Guitar hero becomes the most enjoyable way to socialize bringing the worlds of videogames and music together.

MEGamers

Guitar Hero: World Tour is not without its flaws, but they’re hardly noticeable in the grand scheme of things. A strong playlist coupled with addictive yet simple gameplay make this a truly enjoyable game.

InsideGamer.nl

World Tour offers a ton of great additions to the Guitar Hero series. The GHstudio and Create-a-Rockstar mode are a real treat, together with all the minor improvements made to the key concept of the game. It’s even better than its main competitor Rock Band 2, because of the great track list, and the fact that players are given the chance to actually create music to a certain level.

Cheat Code Central

People who love music video games won't get tired of this one. Not only does it include standard modes of play, but there's also co-op, face-off, battles, several online modes, and a very compelling music studio that allows you to create and share songs with the world.

Game Chronicles

There is something that is totally addicting about participating in a multiplayer band, whether you are all in the same room or joining up with fellow rockers online. And if you are an aspiring musician or music producer, or like to play around with mixing boards and experiment with creating your own music, the Music Studio is a totally original addition to World Tour and sets this game apart from any of the competition.

PSM3 Magazine UK

A strange mixture of tracks but the instruments work brilliantly.

Gamers' Temple

Overall though, World Tour is a nice evolutionary step for the Guitar Hero franchise, and it's safe to say that if you're a fan of the series you'll enjoy World Tour.

Gaming Target

Guitar Hero has the more innovative drum and guitar hardware and a promising custom music feature.

IGN AU

There's something undeniably more approachable and mainstream about the Guitar Hero franchise that Rock Band simply can't quite match.

Game Over Online

The hardware, while noticeably more realistic than comparable sets, has been affected by technical problems in its initial run, and the software, while solid in its way, could benefit from some of the ambition seen in the hardware, particularly with respect to the Career Mode.

GameFocus

For NeverSoft and Activision’s first attempt at giving gamers the full band experience, they’ve done a good job. Unfortunately, when compared to the other band game on the market, it still doesn’t manage to better it. This is a still a very good game when viewed only on its own, but when you place it side by side with its competition you can see that there is still much that can be improved. Those loyal to the Guitar Hero series will not be disappointed but fans the other series won’t feel like they are missing anything.

The Onion (A.V. Club)

World Tour's primary failure is presentation. The menus lack elegance, and the career mode is a simple progression through the song list. Onscreen displays such as score multipliers are hard to read. Even good efforts, like the unique arena for playing Tool's songs, feel quickly done and clunky.

DailyGame

All in all, Guitar Hero World Tour is a fun experience.

Worth Playing

As of right now, World Tour puts on a solid show, but when the next game comes around, we're going to be expecting one hell of an encore.

Giant Bomb

There are some notable feature differences between Guitar Hero World Tour and Rock Band, and the attitudes are wildly different, but a lot of that feels a little academic in the grand scheme. Guitar Hero has some catching up to do when it comes to the full-band experience, but all the debatable points shouldn't keep you from rocking out.

GameSpot

That's one giant leap for a franchise; one small step for a genre.

DarkZero

Shortcomings aside, for a game that everyone thinks of as a shameless copy of Rock Band, Guitar Hero: World Tour has come off extremely well, and throws in more than enough good ideas of its own (and some slightly rubbish ones, admittedly) to make itself a worthy contender to the rhythm-action throne.

GameDaily

Not everything is great, however. The drum set takes a while to get used to, setting up an online match is complicated and there are several repeat tracks from Rock Band 2. However, the gameplay is satisfying, the Music Studio is a wondrous addition, the song list is sweet and the presentation isn't bad.

PALGN

Guitar Hero World Tour indeed rocks the house. It isn't as revolutionary as we may have hoped for, but it still packs in a whole heap of fun.

PS3bloggen.se

Heaps of new songs, a solid online experience and well-constructed drums make Guitar Hero: World Tour an enjoyable music game that works well at parties. Some more streamlined menu controls would be nice, but overall the game delivers an excellent multiplayer experience.

IGN

A fun title, to be sure, but it's also a disappointment in a lot of respects. A number of things it tries to accomplish were already done better in Rock Band, which you might figure would have provided a simple blueprint to be followed and expanded up, but that's not the case.

Gamer 2.0

While Guitar Hero World Tour might be a little rough around the edges, it is still a solid Guitar Hero game.

3DJuegos

World Tour will be well received by fans because of its fabulous selection of songs, and because of the new instruments. By the way the other gameplay additions are much more forgettable and it causes the title to be like a mere addition of songs. Activision needs to bring more new features to justify its policy of releasing a new episode every year.

Game Revolution

In its effort to contend with the Rock Band franchise, Guitar Hero World Tour takes several leaps forward, though it falls in some holes already made by the first installment of Rock Band.

Playstation: The Official Magazine (US)

If you want a challenge, World Tour will still rock your world. But a joyous homage to the music you love? Not so much. [Jan 2009, p.80]

LEVEL (Czech Republic)

Popular concept extended to a whole band experience – it’s World Tour. But the need for an overall improvement is obvious, otherwise next time it won’t be fun anymore. [Issue#174, Jan 2009]

GameShark

Guitar Hero: World Tour is Activision’s answer to Rock Band, and while adding drums, bass, and vocals was necessary to keep up with the Joneses, a whole host of new problems are introduced with their inclusion.

Video Game Talk

Guitar Hero used to be a pitch perfect game. Neversoft has not been able to replicate the level of critical success as Harmonix has, however, and World Tour is another disappointment.