The foundation of rhythm music in video games is evolving, and for aspiring heavy metals, pop artists, and other would-be rock stars, this is the moment to let their alter ego take center stage, as they head-bang to the beat of Guitar Hero: World Tour. Activision has reignited the Guitar Hero franchise by incorporating full band instruments! With friends that can hop in as a drummer, a vocalist, a bass player, and a guitarist, you’ll be firing up a visceral concert in no time. The ability to play as “real” band is certainly becoming more popular these days, and you don’t have to look too far to achieve a sense of American idols with Guitar Hero: World Tour.

The best part of Guitar Hero: World Tour is that it has maintained the rhapsodic legacy of its predecessors – at least to the guitar-centric proceedings. The controls for bass and guitar are incredibly responsive, which make it easy to hit the notes on the screen. The drum, however, is somewhat out of sync. Sometimes, you’ll need to calibrate its audio and video hardware performance a few times to get the right response. Nevertheless, the overall gameplay is definitely smooth, and once you’ve nailed down the groove to a soundtrack, that’s when ecstasy takes over. When you and your friends are shamelessly jumping, ridiculously hot-stepping, and deliriously showboating, that’s when you know you have a great party on your hands!

What makes World Tour such an astounding experience is the great collection of music, comprising of over 80 songs, all of which are master tracks from the original artists! It covers several variety of music genres, from classic rock-and-roll to today’s biggest hits. And that’s not all! The game features some of the most legendary names in the music industry, including The Doors, The Eagles, Metallica, Lenny Kravitz, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Michael Jackson, and Jimmy Hendrix among others. If the soundtracks are getting too repetitive, World Tour provides a virtual store where you can purchase new music. With this addition of downloadable content, the platform for encore performances is practically limitless.

One of the many interesting aspects of World Tour is the ability to create your own custom soundtracks. At its core, it's a robust program that will give players some insights to being a talented producer; however working with such program where the layout is muddled with technical properties can be challenging to navigate around. The menus are not as user-friendly as we had hope for, and many of the editing panels are just too intricate for average artists to be generating one simple track. Obviously, there is no denying the endless possibilities of crafting some great tunes here, it’s just gamers will take a great deal of effort and long hours to record something original. Also, it would be nice to see vocals or lyrics inserted into your new album.

If you’re not quite ready yet for a rock band, you can still get high with the game’s single-player Career Mode. What’s great about this feature is that you can personalize your rock star, complete with rugged outfits, tattoos, body piercings, and on-stage attitude. Your career mode revolves around touring different cities, playing in small concerts to earn money. The cash you have obtained can be used towards upgrading various items in your inventory such as your guitar and bass instruments. When performing these small concerts, you have some control over which setlist or songs you want to tackle first; but bear in mind, the path to stardom is quite linear. Fortunately, the boss battles provide some exciting jam session and are quite enjoyable.

Guitar Hero: World Tour delivers one of the best rhythmic ensembles in the gaming business. The guitar instrument works great and the addition of a drum set completes the whole concert experience. With over 80 original songs, there is enough music to satisfy every inspiring rock star. Given enough living room space, World Tour is just an MTV party waiting to happen. Thanks to downloadable content, your encore performances will keep the gameplay on the edge. The one aspect that gamers will appreciate about this World Tour is the introduction of a music studio, which allows them to create their own exciting songs. If you want to take your music life into center stage, Guitar Hero can certainly bring you one step closer to that spotlight.