Guitar Hero: World Tour

So I finally got Guitar Hero: World Tour (thanks for taking 25 bucks off, Target). And it is everything you would expect from the Guitar Hero universe. Fun to play, ridiculous characters and venues, great solos, and some songs that will leave you wondering wtf just hit you in the face.

Meghan and I did our usual guitar trade off during the tour mode, and quickly remembered why GH is so much better than RB. The songs are just fun to play in GH, where in RB they are just boring. Even the annoying songs from RB that are also in GH (why the FUCK does Bon Jovi need to be in both games? sigh) are actually enjoyable to play in GH. Even if the song itself is annoying, playing the guitar is just a blast. Also, the tour/career mode doesn't force you to play the same songs over and over again. Thank christ. Was this too much to ask in RB? No. Makes the tour mode so much less of a chore. We were unlocking new venues left and right, and often the new venues we unlocked were 2 or 3 ahead of the current one we were on. So nice. The venues also retain the same GH sense of humor, like the ferris wheel at the state fair breaking off it hinges and rolling through the fair, cutting a swath of mayhem. Cliche, but appreciated nonetheless.

Another nice touch in GH is the appearance of real musicians throughout the game. GH3 saw a little bit of this (Slash and Tom Morello), but WT takes it to a new level. We first saw it with Billy Corgan on a Smashing Pumpkins song early along in the tour mode. Then it seemed like every venue had a special guest. We saw Zakk Wylde, Travis Barker (who I don't think was modeled with the burns...), Ozzy, and others. The best was when Ted Nugent rode out onstage on the back of a buffalo... amazing. Another amusing one was when this female came jumping onto the stage in a white t-shirt with the typical punk anarchy symbol on it. I'm like... who the hell is this? Then we see the name and it is the lead singer of Paramore. Meghan is furious at this point since it is her turn and she HATES Paramore. I laugh at her. Then, she passes me the guitar at the end of the song, and we see the next song is "Hotel California", which is one of her favorite songs. I laugh at her some more and then quickly pass back the guitar before being pummeled.

Also, the new GH:WT guitar is incredibly nice. The classic GH fret buttons, along with a nice solid design make for a nice (fake) guitar. The slide bar is also really fun to use, when you actually get the time to in a song. It is a nice addition, and it actually adds something to the game, while offering a different take on RB's "soloing frets" which are only used for random, inane mashing during certain sections.

So, Guitar Hero reigns supreme in the land of plastic toy instruments because it remembers it is a GAME, and not an outlet for musical expression. Oh wait, it has the song creator in it. Guess it wins on that front too, and I've heard some good things about the song creator.