Guitar Hero World Tour

BigPond GameArena

Pure, unadulterated joy.

PGNx Media

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

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.

Games Master UK

A stunning entry into the Guitar Hero-verse with essential new features. [Christmas 2008, p.80]

Xbox World 360 Magazine UK

An essential rhythm action game. [Jan 2009, p.80]

1UP

Guitar Hero delivers exactly the things I want out of a rhythm game: great peripherals and fun-to-play music. It's not perfect, but I have a great time whenever I turn it on -- and that's what's most important.

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.

Eurogamer

The game, as a whole, does not just play to the most talented and devoted. Difficulty can now be adjusted when you fail a song, even if it's the middle song in a set-list. Faced with one of Guitar Hero's notorious difficulty spikes, of which there are a few here, the option to try again at a human level is very welcome.

GameSpy

As a band game, the unpolished, unintuitive feel of the interface may likely send many players back to "Rock Band" as their party game of choice – now that Guitar Hero World Tour has delivered its opening number, we'll have to see if it can deliver a superior encore.

GameZone

Guitar Hero: World Tour is a great step for the music game genre, offering some excellent new features and tons of songs. While there are a few stumbles along the way, this is a title that fans will want to check out.

Yahoo! Games

We played with hardcore and casual rockers alike, all of which had loads of fun regardless of what songs we were playing. Whether you want a good time with friends or a tense battle of the bands, Guitar Hero: World Tour offers an unparalleled experience. Just check your ego at the door.

GamePro

While never quite proving itself as the penultimate virtual rock experience, Guitar Hero: World Tour is a blast in its own right that definitely deserves a look from both veterans of the series and newcomers alike.

360 Gamer Magazine UK

Guitar Hero World Tour is a superb game, on a par with Rock Band in so many ways, ahead in others, but we’re unable to proclaim it as a huge leap forward in game design. Factor in the slightly schizophrenic choice of music, the disappointment of the studio component and the layout of Band mode and it falls slightly short of Rock Band levels of genius, but it’s an unregrettable purchase all the same.

Kombo

This Guitar Hero might be on its first World Tour, but it is assuredly world class.

X360 Magazine UK

The gameplay you’ve come to know and love is better than it ever has been and the new additions are downright fantastic. Another step up for the now veteran franchise.

Official Xbox Magazine UK

There's a massive amount to say about GHWT, from the factoid videos teaching you the real guitar, and the vastly improved backdrop for gigs, to the superb way you can play as a band. This is a vastly entertaining package and a must buy for music lovers and GH fans.

games(TM)

With its sense of fun, complex tools, and balance of enjoyment and depth, World Tour contains the ability to both teach and entertain. [Dec 2008, p.94]

Gamestyle

Simply put, GHWT is the best rhythm action title on the market right now.

Cynamite

Guitar Hero: World Tour wants everything, but can’t reach one little thing: to dethrone the big competitor Rock Band in terms of group fun. Too many technical difficulties with the drum set , too little “We are rock gods”-feeling.

Planet Xbox 360

If you have ever played a Guitar Hero game, then you will feel right at home with the game play because it is completely unchanged. To me this is a good thing.

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.

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.

MS Xbox World

Making things better is the fact that they are compatible with Rock Band, as well, which goes a long, long way in justifying the price tag if you want to make the most of your money.

Play.tm

If you're looking for a crowd pleasing game for those Christmas parties that will still entertain long into the new year then you can't go far wrong with this; just don't blame us if you've can't get a go yourself.

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.

TeamXbox

For its first band-in-a-box release, GHWT does a good job of getting on the map. In my view, though it does some things better, it doesn’t quite reach the sheer playability and enjoyment of Rock Band’s two releases and its broad DLC catalog. Close, but not right alongside its competitor.

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.

NZGamer

Simply a lot of fun. It has the benefit of being familiar to those who have played previous Guitar Hero titles, and builds in the drum and microphone instruments pretty well.

HellBored

It really comes down to this: if you are going to buy a band kit, which do you buy, Rock Band or Guitar Hero World Tour? I say the latter. Better drums is the big thing if you’re getting the whole kit, because if you’re not, the Rock Band has more songs to play, if you have the money to download them. But if you are after drums, there’s only one answer: and this game is it.

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.

GamingXP

On the whole Guitar Hero IV is THE party game to play together with friends on a weekend. Hours of rock combined with lots of fun and real sweating guarantee lots of fun!

Gaming Target

Guitar Hero has the more innovative drum and guitar hardware and a promising custom music feature. But, snazzier instruments and a tricked-out music studio don’t guarantee triple platinum success.

Meristation

Neversoft presents a new iteration of Guitar Hero with remarkable steps to innovate over the formula and adding new and interesting concepts. The new onlines modes are great, and being able to create and share your own tracks with the Studio mode has a lot of potential for the future. Too bad that the career mode is not very interesting.

WonderwallWeb

Gamers looking to replicate the being in a band experience will not go wrong with this game.

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.

Official Xbox Magazine

World Tour is a big leap in content and polish over last year’s game, but we’re disappointed by a few unsatisfying creative calls. The extended song endings aren’t always enhancements, the unlockable gear doesn’t match the effort put forth to earn it, and we prefer Rock Band 2’s looser career-unlock structure. Most of all, Rock Band 2 simply feels more musical and organic; we get the suspicion that some World Tour songs had notes added to their charts simply to make them trickier, and not because the music suggested it.

Variety

While World Tour beats "Rock Band" with an innovative music creation and sharing system and a more realistic drum kit, it lags behind in subpar animation and the racket those drums make.

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.

AtomicGamer

Guitar Hero: World Tour has some interesting pluses - the drum kit is excellent, and there are a few gameplay perks to be found here and there. But to me the touch panel on the guitar is a bust, the mic is still wired (even though that Microsoft karaoke game Lips figured out how to do a wireless mic), and the game is rather light on content both before and after you're sick of the on-disc set of tracks.

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.

GamingTrend

The anticipation for Guitar Hero World Tour was palpable, and to see the party turn South the way it did was a bit concerning.

DailyGame

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

Armchair Empire

For a solo player the purchase doesn't make much sense; grab Guitar Hero and some downloadable content. For someone with a lot of friends into music games, this will get a lot of play, especially with the potential endless supply of songs over Xbox Live.

Thunderbolt

The impressive sounding music studio is a bit of a disappointment - being overly complicated and only producing ringtone-type songs - but a decent set list, enjoyable, and improved, guitar duels and a wealth of celebrity appearances make this a complete package.

Totally360

If you are a fan of the rhythm genre I would say to definitely give this game a try. If you are a music aficionado then I would definitely recommend giving the music studio feature a try. There is definitely something for everyone.

G4 TV

World Tour's most distinguishing feature is its challenge. Its expert setting is sure to bring some wicked grins to those who felt Rock Band 2 unworthy of their plastic peripheral proficiency.

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.

Boomtown

There are no deal breaking major issues with World Tour, only the hardcore will be annoyed by the over-charting at the harder difficulty levels. Guitar Hero: World Tour is a damn good game. But in a month that sees the release of Fable II, Far Cry 2, Dead Space, Midnight Club, Gears of War 2 etc. it needed to be a bit better.

GameDaily

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.

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.

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.

XboxAddict

While the music is great, the key feature of being able to create your own and share is simply just too confusing and uneasy to use, which is a shame.

GameSpot

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

DarkStation

There are some minor issues with this game, but if your a Guitar Hero fan ready to make the transition to the entire band experience Guitar Hero: World Tour is a fantastic option and definitely worth a look.

Wired

But I was pleased to discover at least one genre of music that fits in surprisingly well with all the limitations of the system: classic videogame music.

Console Monster

My main gripe with Guitar Hero: World Tour is that it's too similar to Rock Band. The features are too minimal to be a major leap forward and the setlist, in comparison with Rock Band 2, is a lot poorer in my opinion. I guess it's all down to which setlist you prefer in the end.

Gamer 2.0

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

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.

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.

Edge Magazine

Perhaps its greatest achievement is defying comparisons to Rock Band and emerging as its own game. GHWT might be a little rough around the edges, but it’s a good stab at reinvigorating the franchise. [Christmas 2008, p.96]

D+PAD Magazine

Sadly Guitar Hero is starting to succumb to its heritage of being Rock Band's old man, and slowly growing out of touch with the gaming generation. Guitar Hero: World Tour doesn't offer anything of any substance over Rock Band, especially with its less than stellar selection of tracks and a disturbing lack of atmosphere.

Gaming Nexus

It's not as polished compared to Rock Band 2 but it's not a bad game.

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.