When Neversoft announced the addition of drums and vocals in the next Guitar Hero title, many cheered but others sighed. How would it function with 4 people? Would the difficulty level drop? What else would be changed? People pondered these question, but none perhaps greater than “Can it possibly stand up to Harmonix and the Rock Band IP”? Comparisons are inevitable. Welcome to Part 1 of our review.

The Music

First off, there are a total of 87 songs, all of which are master recordings. You look at that number and say “big deal, thats only 3 more than Rock Band 2 has, and the’yre all master recordings too.” This is a fact, however it merely takes a look at the songs themselves to notice how truly incredible the setlist is. Sure, there are a few Rock Band repeats, (actually 19 too many for our taste) but when you see near immortal songs like ‘Hotel California‘, ‘Sweet Home Alabama‘, and ‘Purple Haze‘, your heart skips a beat. A few of these (’Sweet Home Alabama‘ included) go even farther, and are actually Live recordings of these tunes. You wouldn’t believe how much of a difference there is. The Live songs are filled with even more energy than you can pack into a master, and you can’t help but keep a smile on your face when you hear Jimi Hendrix sing “Excuse me while I kiss that guy” instead of “kiss the sky.”

There are a whole bunch of worthy names making an appearance in Guitar Hero’s 4th true sequel, and they are ones that fans have been waiting for since they first picked up their plastic SGs on the PS2. Van Halen, Eagles, Bullet for My Valentine, Tool, (whose 3 songs melt into a single marathon of confusion if played one after the other; they are long.) and many more round out the tracks. Not to say that Guitar Hero is all flash, because Neversoft has included smaller bands who probably will get exponentially more popular overnight because of their presence. We admit that these indie songs don’t quite carry the same catchiness of ‘Honest Bob’ or ‘Bang Camaro’, but they’ll have your toes tapping all the same. And it’s also worth mentioning that there are no, repeat, no Sonic Youth songs in the game, so those still taking knives to their throats because of ‘Kool Thing’ in GH3 can rest easy. Unfortunately, the Beastie Boys are still present, and we still can’t figure out why.

The game isn’t metal-centric like its predecessors, and those on the smoother side of life will enjoy tracks like ‘On the Road Again‘, ‘Santeria‘, and, yes, ‘La Bamba‘. That isn’t to say those of us who are hot and heavy wont be disappointed though, there is still all the helpings of Metallica, The Living End, and Korn that you can want. (Get it? Helping of Korn? Ok…) Plus if you pay attention there will be more downloadable songs on the way. There is already a music store up, with songs from Metallica and An Endless Sporadic, (remember them?) and with the announcement of some Jimi Hendrix DLC launching later, Neversoft seems to be really stepping up all its weaknesses.

Overall, there are many songs to like in World Tour, and we are talking MEGA-HITS here. “Hot For Teacher“, “Crazy Train“, and a bunch of other songs you’ll recognize and love, from the very first note. Others, like the indie tracks and RB2 crossover songs, won’t necessarily pull in on-the-fence potential buyers but if the tunes stick to you like they stuck to us, you will be humming melodies and banging on surfaces for a very, very long time.

For the complete setlist, click this.

The Visuals

Throw memories of the soul-less GH3 drummer out the window. All he is now is a reminder of how much better the graphics and, specifically, the animations have become. Every band member seems to be brimming with life, moving realistically, and giving a proper rock and roll show. Bodies move around with great fluidity, and when you see Ozzy Osbourne on stage, you might forget its a game. Seriously, the guys at Neversoft deserve some kind of award for their mo-cap work. It sounds surprising, but World Tour is perhaps the new yardstick against which all following games will be compared to in the animation department. It may sound like a bit exaggerated reading all that at once, but when you see your lead singer moonwalk across the stage during ‘Beat It’ in true MJ style, you know you have something special on your hands.

Aside from the on-stage characters, the graphics in general are quite pleasing. If you didn’t like the cartoony style of GH3, though, you won’t like it this time around either. Each of the (quite numerous) venues have their own special style, and encore animations. They vary from a gothed-out church to Times Square, to even an Aircraft Carrier in the middle of the sea. We won’t spoil the last venue for you, but it is definitely one of our favorites from any rockin’ simulation game yet. The crowds are a bit less lively than the on stage performers, but they look decent enough when in large numbers.

That’s it for part 1 of the Guitar Hero World Tour review, stay put to receive our final score & verdict coming soon. (Not to mention a final epic showdown between Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero!)

Part 2 / Part 3

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