I usually try to preface my reviews with something clever, but this time I’ll begin with an admission: I have never been a fan of Guitar Hero. I always have, and always will, consider Guitar Hero to be a remake of PaRappa The Rapper or Space Channel 5 with a big expensive gimmick controller. While this is admittedly a simplification when you consider that the guitar controller take at least a unique coordination to effectively play, I’ll always give most of the credit for Guitar Hero’s success to the appeal of being a rock star. “Haven’t a shred of musical talent? No problem!” However, I can promise you that the latest installment in the franchise, Guitar Hero: World Tour, will receive a fair shake from yours truly.

Gameplay:

Right off the bat, I can tell you that the best thing about World Tour is that it blatantly rips off Rock Band. I don’t have a problem with that, since Rock Band ripped off Guitar Hero first, and what’s good for the goose is good for the gander. But the full, big, huge World Tour package includes a shiny wireless guitar, wired (via the front USB port) microphone, drums and, naturally, the game itself. (Different bundles have different things, though, depending on who you buy from or where you pre-order.) Be forewarned that some assembly is required, but none of it is terribly difficult. Right out of the box, you can use all three instruments to play cooperatively (and for the sake of the review, let’s just pretend a microphone is an instrument). While it’s up to the guitarist and drummer to continually hit “notes,” the singer must remain on key in order to successfully pass the song. While higher guitar and drum difficulty increases the number of notes and the speed at which they must be hit, higher singing difficulty makes the song more pitch sensitive. In layman’s terms, you have to suck less, so karaoke fanatics might want to stay away from any difficulty higher than “Medium.”

That’s the gameplay in a nutshell. Timing and coordination is everything. How much room there is for error is determined by the song and the difficulty you play on. One of the nicest features in the game, though, is that each player, regardless of the instrument they play, can play on a separate difficulty. My friend AJ, whose singing ability could be ranked somewhere between “Howler Monkey” and “Human,” was able to keep his vocal critique on the Easy setting, while my sister was strumming away on Hard. When my friend Kim, who is a professional singer by trade, switched from bass to lead vocalist, she was able to crank the setting up to match her own voice accordingly (though no amount of difficulty tweaking would allow her smooth, silky voice to stand in for a Motorhead song). As I alluded to earlier, another great gameplay feature is the ability to use a second guitar controller to let one player play bass, giving you a four man ensemble of lead singer, lead guitar, bass guitar and drums.

The career mode is still in place, allowing you to go from venue to venue earning cash for your in-game avatar. This cash can be used to buy outfits and accessories for your virtual rocker to further customize him or her to your liking. If you’re new to Guitar Hero and want to tune up, so to speak, before engaging in a musical career, worry not, as there is a practice mode to give you a nice tutorial on what to do. For the uninitiated, this can be a lifesaver. Advancing farther into the career unlocks more and more songs and brings guitar battles against celebrities like Zakk Wylde and Ted Nugent.

With a package like this, you have to discuss the hardware, too, and by and large I felt like the controllers were all very well made, sturdy and reliable as far as hitting the notes. They even have a solid range on them, so all four players won’t have to crowd around the TV to make sure they keep a connection to the Xbox. The microphone is absolutely perfect, and the wireless guitar doesn’t seem to miss a beat as long as the batteries are fresh. It has a good weight to it, doesn’t feel cheap or inferior, and just looks cool to boot. The drums, as well, are very sturdy and hold up to the constant pounding they’ll take without being too cumbersome or taking up too much space, and hey, they come with some sweet wooden drumsticks. The only complaint I found with the drums was soon dispelled. Initially, I was worried about the hit detection after tapping the drums on the corresponding notes. However, this is simply because I was hitting the drums too lightly, and after really giving them a good smack to hit each beat, I was soon on course and in rhythm. I only have one complaint with the drums and guitar. I really would have liked it if the rechargeable Xbox 360 battery pack could have been used to power both, instead of the usual Double A batteries. Eventually, that can eat up a lot of money unless you invest in some rechargeable batteries.

Graphics:

While no one is going to buy Guitar Hero, World Tour or otherwise, because of the visuals, there are some nice presentation values that deserve mention. The venues look nice, hardly cutting edge or gorgeous, but nice, and that goes for character models as well. The celebrity models look particularly good and accurate, and you can tell who agreed to have their likeness put in the game. The attention to detail is probably the most impressive aspect of the venues, rather than the shading or a polygon count. Everything looks like it belongs at a concert, the lighting feels right and the stage has the perfect ambience to it. The camera has some slick cuts going back and forth on different aspects of the action. You’re treated to close-ups of the guitars, the drummer, or the lead singer and lead guitarist singing the chorus. Of course, all of those nice shots are barely noticeable, since most of the time your eyes are going to be glued to the highway and the notes. Since all of the “action” takes place in the background, it’s mostly just a neat bonus for anyone who isn’t playing and is stuck watching.

Sound:

Sound is obviously going to be the most important part of this game, and with over 80 songs, World Tour does not disappoint in terms of selection. There are songs from several different decades, and with artists as varied as Michael Jackson, Motorhead and Linkin Park, everyone is sure to find something they like. The sound quality of every song is absolutely top notch, and that goes for both the quality of the song as well as the performance, since every song in the game is a Master Track. That’s right. No covers here, folks. Everything sounds amazing and the music is very crisp and clear. If you’re used to listening to MP3 versions of any of these songs, then prepare yourself to be blown away by the beautiful, lossless audio from World Tour. Oh, and while not exactly a good thing, try to notice how the music will stop or alter when you miss a note. It’s a little detail, but one that made me grin and appreciate how the game even captures the realism of screwing up.

Longevity:

I won’t lie here. I’m tremendously impressed by the lengths that were taken to make sure players get their money’s worth out of World Tour. On top of the already massive list of songs available from the outset, World Tour comes complete with a Studio mode that will allow players to create their own songs and upload and download them via Xbox Live marketplace. That’s just amazing, if you ask me, and something FAR MORE GAME DEVELOPERS SHOULD ALLOW. But wait, there’s more! As if just including the Studio wasn’t enough, the career mode is playable from all four band positions. While sweet, it wouldn’t be an Xbox game without Live play, right? On that note I am happy to say that not only can you battle online with any instrument or play cooperatively with your friends in the same room, but you can also battle online with your friends against four other people! With tons of single player things to do, tons of co-op things to do, and even more online things to do, World Tour will keep you playing for weeks if not months to come.

Overall:

I am not a Guitar Hero fan, but for anyone that is, I feel like this is a great purchase. I especially feel like the bundle that includes the drums, guitar and mic is a great purchase simply because of the quality of the controllers. 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. Guitar Hero: World Tour earns a very, very solid 9 out of 10, and is a great game for the people who have made the series a phenomenon. If you use it as the tremendous party game that it should be, bump that score up to a 10 out of 10, because not even Mario Party can match the fun you’ll have with four people all singing along and rocking out together.