Guitar Hero World Tour for PS3, Wii, Xbox 360 and PS2 – Rock Band clone

When Guitar Hero first emerged it was a breath of fresh air to the usual gaming fare of shooters and sports games. But like everything after a while, the concept soon became slightly tired and in need of something new, something extra. Cue Rock Band, which is coincidentally making its début in Europe this week. So where could Guitar Hero go from here?

Enter Guitar Hero World Tour complete with the option to play the role of drummer or singer to go with the usual lead guitar and bass guitar roles. Sound similar? Why yes, because it’s basically a complete and utter rip-off of Rock Band, or to put it slightly more politely, a clone.

The game, the fourth full incarnation in the series (excluding the 80s and Aerosmith specials) is due out from Activision this Fall and is clearly aimed at winning back the fans the game may have lost after Rock Band was released and added a whole new layer to the idea of the original.

There will be some differences, and Guitar Hero World Tour will offer some new features to try and outdo Rock Band. The main two of these new features are an ability to play online against other bands of four people to once and all prove who is best, and the ability for players to compose their own anthems which can then be made available for others to play.

These are on top of the usual features including a broad range of songs included from retail, including bands such as Van Halen, The Eagles, Linkin Park and Sublime. For the first time ever, all the songs featured will be using the master recordings, doing away with the need for any studio re-records. This is no doubt due to the success of the previous releases, and the fact that artists have found sales of their records have improved since being featured.

According to Yahoo News, Mike Hickey, an analyst with Janco Partners commented on the new game:

“I certainly think it takes the edge off ‘Rock Band’. What’s ‘Rock Band’ going to do now, add a flute and banjo?”

He has a point, where the hell can either franchise go from here? Apart from adding new online functions and more instruments, which apart from a keyboard would feel forced and unnecessary.

The ability to compose and record your own compositions is certainly a plus point, and one which the fans have been calling for for a while, but apart from that, it is at the end of the day merely a Rock Band clone. I suppose it was an inevitable move but it still feels slightly shady and underhanded.

The game is being developed for the Playstation 3, and Playstation 2, Xbox 360 and the Wii.

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